Here’s the law if you care. It’s called the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and it clearly prohibits US citizens from travel to Cuba without special approval.
http://www.treasury.gov/office.....bertad.pdf

You must be approved for a license by OFAC in the Treasury Department to travel to Cuba. Period.

Special approval!
hahahahahahahaha

These are American soldiers and this is 2007 — it’s not the Prussian Army of the 1770’s with Frederick the Great in charge.

There’s one thing the troops prize above all else and that’s their “time off”. Take it away from them as a form of mass punishment and you’re going to have informal and formal complaints going up the officer and NCO( chain of command; poor morale will also quickly manifest itself in other ways that will become noticeable to outsiders (such as a serious drop in the re-enlistment rate).

A total lockdown of any unit (company, battalion, brigade, division) and/or confinement to base can be justified normally only in extreme circumstances that the troops can readily understand, such as the impending outbreak of war, or the existence of a serious threat from portions of the civilian population (ie at the heighth of the mass demonstrations (2002?) about the two schoolgirls run over by the AVLB).

Another case I can imagine would be the possibility of a serious breakdown in discipline and order of a particular unit or installation. Such as the discovery of a sizeable conspiracy to engage in gang warfare within members of a unit, say by gangs organized along racial lines, ready to go after each other with weapons (as evidently commonly occurs in max security US prisons).

Some of this type of thing occurred in the US Army towards the end of the Vietnam war, but nothing I’ve seen in the news media reporting from Iraq (or from Korea, to include the individual USFK disciplinary offenses featured on this blog) suggests to me that anything like this is even remotely possible.

It seems to me that a potential malefactor who is deliberately planning to commit a serious offense off-post will find a way to change out of the uniform and “blend in” anyway.

Marmot, what is it that you think you are looking for? I sure don’t get a sense from his website http://www.usfk.mil/USFK/index.html
that when Gen Bell took over, he summoned all his cowering staff and lower-level commanders to a conference, loosened his tie, poured a few stiff drinks, and roared: “Alright, enough of this “being on our best behavior!” My troops work hard, and by God when they’re off-duty I want them to be able to relax and play hard!”

If serious court-martial level offenses have gone up by, say, 10% since Gen Bell took over, one would expect to find a 10% increase in the number of court-martials (or equivalent punishment under the Korean judicial system, for those offenses in which the Koreans have — and choose to exercise –SOFA jurisdiction).

Severe punishment for those offenders, well-publicized to other members of the command, should have the desired effect.

By the way, if you take a look at the above-mentioned USFK link, you’ll see “headlined” various items of “command policy”; even though I’ve just glanced at them w/o reading in detail, that’s enough to tell me something about Gen Bell’s “command emphasis” (ie “Bell sends”):

A partial quote:

a) “USFK Good Neighbor English Camp Message
Strong community relations (COMREL) are one of three pillars that comprise our USFK Good Neighbor Program…..”

b) “USFK 2007 Summer Safety Campaign
We are responsible and we are accountable. No deaths and no excuses is our charge…..”

c)”USFK Force Protection Advisory….”

d) “Good Neighbor English Camp: Host Families Needed
The USFK Public Affairs office is looking for families in the Seoul area who would like to host Korean 10th grade Students….”

Etc etc.

Like I said, it’s your constitutional right to do anything not prohibited by law. Going anywhere in Cuba without special approval is indeed prohibited by Federal law. It has nothing to do with punishing someone for someone else’s behavior which would be illegal. Try again?

Alas, I suspect MrChips is being excessively charitable in presuming that Kabiddles is yanking his chain. I’m afraid he actually smokes what he’s selling.