He's a Marine officer, I will be AF enlisted. Can we date?

Question

I just graduated college. I am enlisting in the AF posthaste because I desperately need to pay back my loans and I have been flirting with joining the AF since I was 10.

Problem- a long time friend of mine just graduated Marine OCS. I like him, I'm not certain about how much he likes me. What I would like to know is simply this- If I join the AF and he proceeds into the Marines as he has planned, will we be allowed to date or is that against the rules? Would writing each other count as fraternization or not?

Thanks for your assistance.

Answer 1

if you are not dating now, then technically, NO he is in violation of the UCMJ should you enlist and then decide to date.  

you would have to prove a pore existing relationship BEFORE you enlisted in order for him to be able to  avoid  this pitfall.

and even though you could be in different Branches, the appearance alone doesn't look good on him.  

Answer 2

Strictly speaking, no. No officer - enlisted relationships.

Answer 3

I think so, if you were both in the Air Force then it would not be allowed.

Answer 4

ethically, I wouldn't see the problem..

Morally and LEGALLY - No. I do not advise a relationship between an officer and enisted member.

You may not be under his command or somewhere that he may have to give you an order  BUT it is prejudicial to good order and discipline.

edit:

The MCM goes on to offer further explanation of the offense:

In general. The gist of this offense is a violation of the custom of the armed forces against fraternization. Not all contact or association between officers and enlisted persons is an offense. Whether the contact or association in question is an offense depends on the surrounding circumstances. Factors to be considered include whether the conduct has compromised the chain of command, resulted in the appearance of partiality, or otherwise undermined good order, discipline, authority, or morale. The acts and circumstances must be such as to lead a reasonable person experienced in the problems of military leadership to conclude that the good order and discipline of the armed forces has been prejudiced by their tendency to compromise the respect of enlisted persons for the professionalism, integrity, and obligations of an officer.

Regulations. Regulations, directives, and orders may also govern conduct between officer and enlisted personnel on both a service-wide and a local basis. Relationships between enlisted persons of different ranks, or between officers of different ranks may be similarly covered. Violations of such regulations, directives, or orders may be punishable under Article 92.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of problems using the UCMJ/MCM as a basis of charges. First and foremost, the UCMJ/MCM only makes fraternization a crime for commissioned and warrant officers. Under the provisions of article 134, enlisted members could not be charged with this crime. While they could be charged under service regulations, each of the services had different and wide-ranging policies and definitions as to what constituted an "inappropriate relationship." Additionally, the explanation of what is and is not allowed is not specifically spelled out in the MCM/UCMJ.

Been there - been screwed as the enlisted part of the couple.

Answer 5

AF will NOT tell you "yes."

Officer/Enlisted relationships are against UCMJ.

What you two do is ultimately up to you and people do manage to maintain Officer/Enlisted relationships, esp. when they are in different services but you must realize there is still a risk.

Since you have a degree, why aren't you trying to become an officer?  I would look into that prior to enlisting.  

Answer 6

Why don't you apply to be an Officer in the Marines or Navy.  You have a college degree.  Go for it.  Don't waste your time with the Enlisted side.  You've spent some hard hours and money to get that degree.  At least give it a shot.  By applying for Officer status in the Navy or Marines, that would give you the best shot of being stationed together vs joining the Air Force or Army.

Fraternization is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It falls under a subparagraph of Article 134, and is defined by the Manual For Courts-martial (MCM).

Generally, they frown on Officer/Enlisted relationships especially in the Marines.  He would get the most heat since he would be the officer.  First and foremost, the UCMJ/MCM only makes fraternization a crime for commissioned and warrant officers. Under the provisions of article 134, enlisted members could not be charged with this crime.

The Marine Corps fraternization policy is contained in Marine Corps Manual 1100.4.

Answer 7

NO.

Per DoD regs, Enlisted personnel and Officers cannot date, or have intimate relationships, even if they are in different chains of Command and even if they are in different Services.

Sorry, but this rule is the same for everyone in every branch and it is punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Answer 8

Once you enlist in the AF, you cannot date him or have any romantic relationships with him, according to Marine Corps regulation. However whether the Marine Corps will go after him or not is a different story. In the Marine Corps, your friend can be charged if: there is a perception that he is fraternizing with you, the relationship compromises the chain of command, and if good order, discipline, morale and authority is undermined. It's hard to say because each chain of command operates differently in terms of enforcing fraternization regulations. Some go exactly by the books, others would enforce it only when the relationship goes out of hand, ie: if there are any compromises to the chain of command, etc.

Answer 9

Rules, rules, and more rules...tsk, tsk, tsk...they are not enforced. My company commander is married to our recruiter, a sergeant. Real life, no what ifs or "the rules say they can't," they are married and have a son together now who is 1 year old. No repercussions because they are not in the same chain of command. In short you can. Especially if an American Soldier can go to Iraq and try to bring back a terrorist bride, then YES you can. Fraternizing involves your chain of command, not other branches. Your particular commander may say otherwise, but I have living proof that you can at my unit.

Answer 10

Valeriya,

The AF will most likely tell you yes.

The Marines will tell him absolutely not.

The Marines are vehemently opposed to officer/enlisted fraternizing, even with different services.

When I was on Okinawa with 1st Marine Air Wing a Maine 1LT was put out for dating an enlisted woman from Kadena AB.

"Ranger"