Remedios Cruz
Remedios Cruz is an American who, in 2017, was one of the first three women the United States Marine Corps allowed to serve in a combat unit.[1] In December 2018 she was discharged from the military after admitting "fraternizing" (ie having sexual relations) with another Marine.
Cruz had been serving in the Marine Corps for three years, when, in 2016, then Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ordered the Marine Corps to admit women to combat units.[1] Cruz had completed combat training in 2014, and she promptly applied for a transfer. Cruz and the other three women were admitted to the First Battalion of the Eighth Marine Regiment on January 1, 2017.
Cruz and her lover married shortly before her unit was deployed overseas. Her Battalion Commander Anthony C. Johnston wanted to charge Cruz with adultery and accessory to larceny, in addition to a charge of fraternization -- even though her preliminary hearing recommended evidence did not exist to prosecute those charges. In the US military justice system only a commanding officer has the authority to decide whether a subordinate should face charges, and they are not required to explain their decisions. It is not uncommon for a commanding officer to decide not a subordinate should not be charged, but the New York Times quoted Mike Berry, and expert on military law, who said decisions to lay charges in spite of recommendation, are rare. Cruz and her lover married.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thomas Gibbons-Neff (2018-09-12). "One of the First Women in the Infantry Will Be Discharged From the Marines". The New York Times (Washington, DC): p. A20. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/us/politics/women-marines-infantry-discharge-.html. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
