Spouses charged with adultery

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 22:56:23 -0400

Should spouses of SMs be charged with adultery? I understand that they did not enlist or commission but they did agree to a contract of sorts when they married a SM. Spouses get to enjoy the perks of the medical and dental coverage we receive, the discounted items in the commissary, and other awesome programs on and off installations. Is it only fair that if they commit adultery they should be held accountable as well? There is no right or wrong answer only opinion and I urge you to share yours. 

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 31 at 2014 11:11 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:11:59 -0400

What would the punishment be? Review what the typical punishments for service members committing adultery are and you will quickly see why it wouldn't apply.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 31 at 2014 11:12 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:12:40 -0400

It's a good thought, but I don't think that spouses should be charged with adultery. If the Army isn't paying the spouse, and the spouse hasn't signed a contract stating that they will abide by the terms of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Army should have no jurisdiction in that civilian's life.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 31 at 2014 11:13 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:13:29 -0400

No. It wouldn't make much sense. We are sworn to uphold a higher standard. Civilians are not. Adultery is only a crime in the military because it affects the good order and discipline of a Soldier. If it bothers that your spouse committed adultery then the best thing to do is remove their perks, as you call them. This will hurt more in the long run than any criminal charge, which would most likely be a misdemeanor at best. 

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Mar 31 at 2014 11:18 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:18:16 -0400

Nice thought, Most Military folks like us are all about fairness so I get your Point very well, Hell the Military is the only legal system that actually has a fairness clause. Unfortunately you can't hold dependents(Civilians) to our higher standards. There are still laws against it in most states but it is not longer applied, Kinda like the requirement to have a Horse Hitching Post in Kansas City Kansas is still on the books but never seen a ticket written for it.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Mar 31 at 2014 11:56 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:56:53 -0400

Adultery is a crime for civilians too. In most states anyway. But that's civilian law. Nothing to do with the UCMJ, which doesn't apply to civilians unless they sign a contract agreeing to abide by it (sometimes done with civilians in combat zones, but not frequently).

Edit

RallyPoint - The Professional Military Network

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 2:07 AM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 02:07:28 -0400

They are civilians and therefore not governed by UCMJ. It is not illegal to commit adultery as a civilian, so it is legally incorrect for them to be charged for doing so. So sadly, there is a right or wrong answer. You simply cannot do anything about it legally.

Response by PO3 Candace Gracik made Apr 2 at 2014 7:34 PM

PO3 Candace Gracik — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 19:34:25 -0400

Committing adultery is not a crime or criminal offence. Questions that should be asked was there a verbal or written contract stating that you could not have sexual relations with others? Some military couples are quite promiscuous. In the court of law you are allowed to divorce your spouse on the basis of adultery but ask your self this did you have sexual relations with anyone will underway, or overseas? The court will look at the offence if it was a one time issue or frequent. How long were you married? If you were married longer than 9 years your spouse is entitled by the court of law to a percentage. My father has been through 2 divorces and retired as a Master Chief but still has to pay both of his previous wives because of the length of time they were together. Say you were an E-5 when divorcing your spouse they will get a percentage of an E-5 retirement not an E-9. One thing to remember is once your divorced your spouse has no more benefits from you unless you pay child support until you retire. You only pay spousal support until your spouse is remarried.

No I do not think its far to hold the Military spouse at different standards than civilians but I do understand the sacrifice my spouse made for me to give up a promotion, move across the country 4 times and take care of the home front while I was away from home. I recognize that the spouses commitment is significant and with out them were would we be?

Response by TSgt Kevin Buccola made Apr 2 at 2014 10:09 PM

TSgt Kevin Buccola — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 22:09:25 -0400

On a personal note, spouses will and should lose all military benefits, ID, everything....also personal I found out she cheated with a few military members, I brought charges against them....justice served.

Response by SSG Robert Burns made Apr 3 at 2014 11:40 AM

SSG Robert Burns — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 11:40:54 -0400

<p>The term most of these arguments lack or over-look is the term forgiveness.  Say your spouse committed adultry and you forgave him/her for it.  Then the military decides to prosecute them instead.  How would you feel about that?  The fact is not every relationship that suffers from adultery ends in divorce.  Some people are in for better OR worse.  It is everyone's right to forgive their partner and move on.</p><p>The reason adultery is a crime for military folks is because of how it can affect the Unit.  Not how it affects your marriage.  If civilian should be punished by UCMJ then they need to hang out at the commisary and watch all the uniform violations.  Im just saying.  Choose your battles.</p>

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 3 at 2014 1:04 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:04:07 -0400

I think there should be some kind of punishment for spouses. I know of a soldier whose wife cheated on him. She took every penny from their joint bank account. The soldier missed paying some bills because of this and had to open a brand new bank account. On top of the bills he already had and the confusion of coordinating them with the new bank account, his chain of command enforced him to pay her spousal support because she chose to move away from on-post housing. His credit dropped tremendously. His chain of command also wouldn't help him with getting an AER loan to help start paying a lawyer to speed up the divorce process. All of this stress took his attention away from the fight mentally and hurt the unit's training and the soldier's personal readiness. My point is that a cheating spouse should not be entitled to spousal support or any other military services and benefits because she basically took a soldier out of the fight. What if the soldier was deployed and all of this happened? If the soldier is dealing with this issue and isn't focused on the mission, people could get hurt or killed in combat. Now the spouse has created an even bigger issue. So why shouldn't a spouse get some kind of punishment?

Response by SSG Nathan Bryant made Apr 28 at 2014 8:57 PM

SSG Nathan Bryant — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 20:57:20 -0400

As of 2014, adultery is a criminal offense in 21 states. To Christians, adultery is considered immoral and a sin. "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is one of the ten commandments.

Enough said?

Response by PO2 Rocky Kleeger made Apr 28 at 2014 9:45 PM

PO2 Rocky Kleeger — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:45:14 -0400

I agree. At one point, on a base I was stationed on, in base housing, we had a regular little bordello going. Women would leave mops or brooms on their door steps. Bristles down meant hubbie was home. Bristles down meant c'mon in

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Apr 28 at 2014 11:30 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 23:30:51 -0400

No...if your non-military spouse cheats, handle your business.

The military didn't marry you, cannot grant a divorce, but can offer counseling...take advantage of the counseling or part ways.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 26 at 2014 10:07 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 10:07:57 -0400

It's a tough question. There are limits to the UCMJ, and only the service member swore to it. I think that it would limit the ability to repair the relationship if you punished the spouse. I know it sounds silly, but our Soldiers get married so young. They do not have all the right answers, and the military does not set them up with financial counseling or any type of family counseling. And, as unfortunate as it sounds, outside most every military installation there are people, male and female alike, that know what military benefits are and spend their time looking for that free ride that a service member can offer.

Find a way to better equip our service members with life skills, and you may not have as many marital issues to begin with.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jun 9 at 2015 10:54 AM

SrA Edward Vong — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 10:54:33 -0400

I don't think spouses should be charge and much than a service member should be charge. The only way a service member should be charged is if it is fraternization, but alone already leads to disciplinary action.

As strange as it sounds, we can also be charged with sodomy -_-

Response by SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA made Jun 9 at 2015 11:01 AM

SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 11:01:00 -0400

My wife didn't sign any contract nor did she agree to any "contract of sorts" that has to do with the military. She's a civilian through and through.

With that said, if she ever decides to run around on me, and I can prove it, she can be charged with adultery in the civilian legal system, there is such a thing, its not just in the military. It is mostly useful when determining divorce proceedings and who gets what.

UCMJ has no control over our civilian spouses.

Response by MSgt Michael Smith made Jun 6 at 2016 3:44 PM

MSgt Michael Smith — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:44:49 -0400

A civilian spouse is just that --a civilian. It is up to the State to decide what or what not to charge him/her with. If you don't like that, then I suggest you vote in local elections.

Response by PO2 Zach Van Exum made May 4 at 2018 9:48 AM

PO2 Zach Van Exum — Fri, 04 May 2018 09:48:54 -0400

Spouses are a component to the overall operational readiness of any unit. Spouses are married into the military, thus should abide by a code-of-conduct that would make adultery a punishable offense.

Response by MCPO Don Hopkins made Nov 20 at 2019 8:42 AM

MCPO Don Hopkins — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 08:42:34 -0500

There is No military law or regulation that the Non-Mil-Member Spouse could be charged under. The agrieved Spouse does have the right to sign an Affidaivt of Adultery in the Civilian Community against the spouse. But' the agrieved spouse has to be the one to swear out the charge and then has to be the one to prove it in court. If I remember correctly adultery is a Misdemeanor Offense in all 50 States & I do beleive some of the states have actually removed the offense of adultrey from their criminal law books. All that being said, if found guilty, the punishment would be a fine and court fees. No jail time on a single first or second offense, up to the Judge on subsequent offenses commmitted by the participating spouse, but it could be a fine & up to 6 months incarceration.
That being staid "Your Spouse is just that Your Spouse", not the Military's responsibility. All Offenses would therefore fall strictly under Civilian Jurisdiction & rightfully so.

Response by CW3 Michael Clifford made Dec 17 at 2020 12:18 PM

CW3 Michael Clifford — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:18:45 -0500

Spouses are not subject to the UCMJ and most states have eliminated all criminal statutes regarding adultery.