So Joanna Cassidy plays his ex-wife, but he's a MSGT (enlisted, E-8) and she's a LT COL (officer, o-5), which means she outranks him by a ton of paygrades.
Does this make sense? Maybe when they were both married, they were both enlisted. Then she got her commission and rose steadily to make 0-5?
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Veni, Vidi, Oh Just Facit!
There is no regulation that prohibits an enlisted member from marrying an officer, as long as they are not in the same unit or command. In this case, since he is Special Forces or Infantry she would never be in the same unit as he since females are prohibited from being in Combat Arms, (Infantry, Field Artillery, Armor, etc). In fact, when i was a First Sergeant in an Infantry unit i dated a female Major in another Brigade. It's only discouraged when both are under the same command, or one is in the chain of command of the other.
shareWrong. That is a violation of Article 134 of the UCMJ. Service wide or on a local basis and also punishable under Article 92. In '98 SOD Cohen directed the different branches to adopt uniform and clear policies regarding fraternization. The Army was always the most lax but is now in line with the Navy/Marine Corps regs.
You may well have dated a female major as an enlisted man BUT it was still against the regulations even if it wasn't prosecuted. I'm very sure she was aware of this. They hammered that into us at OCS. As a retired third generation USMC (second gen officer) and son of a JAG I saw several of these cases prosecuted in my life time.
Bottom line: All services prohibit personal and business relationships between officers and enlisted members, calling them prejudicial to good order and discipline. This includes dating, cohabitation, and any sexual relationship. Business relationships include loaning and borrowing money and business partnerships.
There were cases of couples being grandfathered in prior to Cohen's directive but that was allowed so the Army would not have to retroactively enforce the UCMJ which it had been not been adhering to. Also if one was commissioned while already married to an enlisted person would not be subject to Article 92.
This movie was released in 1989, which means it was likely made in 1988. So nothing you wrote applies.
shareFWIW:
When they first meet Sgt and Col Gallagher are friendly enough to hug. I'd guess that meant a fair amount of time passed since the divorce (unless it was a truly amicable split).
Also when they first meet she says he's lost some weight and he comments that he sees she's made "light Colonel".
So yeah, there's been a bit of time since they divorced it seems.
The ban on Officer/ Sergeant intimate relationships didn't come into effect until 1999/2000. Package takes place in the late 80s.
Like the previous poster stated, there is no ban on marriage itself between soldiers of any rank... However, fraternization is , to the letter of the law, prohibited, since in most relationships fraternization would be necessary before a marriage took place.
But, the Armed forces doesn't really enforce it unless people are stupid about it. Like making out in uniform at a public event, in the offices, etc. Or, being a married General officer and being caught sending a romantic email to your wife that was supposed to go to your female aide...
signalcib; i recently saw it again and i saw that his ex had a ribbon for the Good Conduct Medal, meaning she was, at one time, enlisted or an NCO. The GCM can only be awarded while enlisted but an officer that had earned one as enlisted can still wear the ribbon. And the "ban" on EM/Off relations is news to me. There is only a restriction between EM/Off or EM/NCO within the chain of command or when assigned to the same unit.
shareI believe she wore the Army's JAG (Judge Advocate General) branch insignia as an officer.
Given the grade difference and prior marriage of the two, it would seem likely (at least as far as a back story line) that she got her law degree while a married enlisted person or shortly thereafter and then took a direct commission into the JAG Corps.
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