The 43rd Adjutant Battalion issued a memo last month instructing military personnel to refrain from uttering expletives, the Army confirmed.
An April 17 memo — with a subject line that read “profanity free campus” — made it clear that the use of profanity, vulgar language or rude gestures or remarks is prohibited for soldiers operating during duty hours at the unit, which is stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
“Such language does not align with the Army’s core values and undermines the integrity of our Soldiers and our formations,” read a copy of the memo shared on Reddit.
The memo specified that bad language will not be tolerated during meetings, briefings or training exercises, and cannot be used when speaking with peers, trainees or superiors.
Clothing will not be allowed to depict any offensive language either, the memo stated.
“This is a policy to correct actions that took place within the unit based on results of an investigation conducted earlier this year,” said Fort Leonard Wood spokesperson Tiffany Wood.
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Wood explained via an emailed statement that the investigation was launched after concerns arose over the battalion’s climate and culture in the wake of an alleged “extreme use of profanity.”
Information regarding the nature of the investigation or its findings were not made available to Military Times.
No soldiers have been punished or separated as a result of the policy, Wood said.
To ensure compliance with the obscenity ban, the Army created a four-strike punitive policy.
The first strike will yield a verbal counseling. Strike two will lead to a written counseling placed in the soldier’s file. Strike three will result in the “removal of favorable actions.” And the final strike will lead to “separation for misconduct based on a pattern of behavior.”
The memo listed the golden rule as the overall ethos for the policy’s implementation.
“The most productive work environment is one where employees and Soldiers treat each as they would like to be treated.”
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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