Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 12, 1993                   TAG: 9308120179
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

ASPIN SQUELCHES SINGLES CORPS

Marine Corps Commandant Carl E. Mundy Jr., declaring that "far too many" young Marines have failed marriages, had directed his recruiters to stop enlisting married individuals after Sept. 30, 1995. He also had ordered that all Marines attend annual "educational awareness" lectures on the dangers of early marriage.

Aspin, who learned only late Wednesday of the directive that Mundy issued last week, "instructed the U.S. Marine Corps to withdraw its policy," according to a three-sentence statement. "The Marine Corps has done so. The secretary has directed that any new policies on this matter be subject to departmental review."

Mundy's orders, news of which began to circulate widely Wednesday, had threatened to pose a series of challenging legal, political and social issues for the Defense Department and the Clinton administration.

"What the Marines have done is throw a hand grenade in the middle of this socially conscious administration," Martin Binkin, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution, said before Mundy's directive was quashed. Binkin said the orders could trigger another political firestorm like the one stirred over President Clinton's decision to let homosexuals serve in the military.

Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., a leading advocate of programs for military families, had called the orders "outrageous" and a reflection of "nostalgia for the good old days" when enlisted personnel had to secure approval of their commanding officer before they could marry. No other service has a similar ban.

Schroeder expressed doubt that Mundy had the authority to ban married recruits, saying it was counter to legislation directing the military to improve the quality of life for military families. Binkin said, however, he believed Mundy had the authority as part of his power to set recruiting standards.