It is illegal (and prosecutable) under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). My post#1 to this thread was deleted (I must have posted a Getty image or something).
To reiterate, in my military career I never saw a female officer charged with and prosecuted for adultery. I am not saying it never happened, but it was very rare. I have seen make officers charged, prosecuted, and jailed because of adultery in the military.
My guess is that politics plays a huge role here. The military is reluctant to prosecute female officers for adultery and be seen as pinning a scarlet letter on their uniforms.
Double standard? Very, very likely.
The valid point here, however, is that Gen (ret) Petraeus will not be so fortunate:
The woman who made the false charges of rape against the Duke Lacrosse students, Crystal Mangum, was guilty of adultery while in the Navy (I think it was). I don’t remember all the details but I think they kicked her out of the service rather than prosecuting her.
Here’s another take on the affair, possibility of prosecution, etc from psychologist Stanton Peele who writes about addiction. Not sure I agree he’s right about Petraeus, but love the Leonard Cohen lyrics at the bottom of the article:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201211/is-petraeus-strung-out-love
Here’s another take on the affair, possibility of prosecution, etc from psychologist Stanton Peele who writes about addiction. Not sure I agree he’s right about Petraeus, but love the Leonard Cohen lyrics at the bottom of the article:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201211/is-petraeus-strung-out-love