Clear Policy Needed on the Effects of Pregnancy When Seeking a Commission

In February 2001, a staff sergeant in the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program MECEP in Chicago, Illinois, was told that upon graduation her commission would be delayed due to her pregnancy. She was told that being pregnant was a disqualifying factor to being commissioned and that she would not be commissioned until she could pass a physical fitness test PFT after giving birth. The staff sergeant had fulfilled all requirements She had completed Officer Candidate School, she passed the PFT while two months pregnant with a score of 277, and she was to graduate that May from the university she was attending. In January 2001 one month before being informed of her commissioning delay, she had taken her commissioning physical. The examining doctor, S. H. Isaacma, approved her as physically qualified for pre-commission. The staff sergeant requested mast to the Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command CG, MCRC. She also submitted a request for review of her case to the Board of Corrections for Naval Records BCNR. In each case, the policy was cited as nonnegotiable. Anatomy is not something the Marine Corps can change, but the policies the Marine Corps uses can be written in a clear, logical, and nondiscriminatory manner so that a pregnancy does not hinder the career advancement of a female Marine. The Marine Corps makes logical exceptions to technically unlawful circumstances i.e., in the case of a dual active duty couple having one member seek a commission while the other remains enlisted. The Marine Corps needs to revise MCO 5000.12E and make it clear, logical, and nondiscriminatory in application to commissioning programs.