The  Family  Home  Care  (FHC)  program allows   spouses   of   Navy   members   to   care   for children  of  Navy  personnel  in  their  government quarters.  FHC  serves  over  30  commands  stateside and overseas. Those who wish to open their homes for day care must complete training that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction. Child  care  providers  involved  in  the  FHC  program must purchase insurance, which is available at a nominal fee. A professional monitor ensures that the child care offered is of the highest quality by providing   training,   screening   and   background checks,  and  monthly  visits  to  FHC  homes. The Navy requires all single parents to include in  their  service  record  a  Dependent  Care  Plan and   Navy   Dependent   Care   Certificate,   OP- NAV 1740/1, that provides a plan for dependent care  arrangements.  The  plan  must  include  details such  as  who  will  provide  care  for  the  children during  the  parent’s  normal  duty  hours,  temporary additional duty (TAD) assignments, and deploy- ments,  as  well  as  other  pertinent  information.  The parent  must  also  provide  a  will  with  guardianship provisions  and  a  power  of  attorney  authorizing medical  care.  The  Military  Personnel  Manual (MILPERSMAN),   article  3810190,  outlines  the dependent care policy and specifies the informa- tion  parents  must  include  on  the  certificate. Some people worry that their status as single parents  may  hurt  their  Navy  career,  but  this  is simply not true. As long as parents keep an up- to-date dependent care certificate in their record, they  have  no  limits  on  what  they  can  achieve. Single  parenting  in  the  Navy  isn’t  easy,  but an  understanding  of  Navy  policy  can  help  a  single parent’s  career  run  more  smoothly.  Single  parents should  realize  the  Navy  expects  them  to  accept full  responsibility  for  the  care  of  their  children as  well  as  their  job  requirements. FRATERNIZATION Navy customs and traditions have historically defined  the  bounds  of  acceptable  personal relationships  among  its  members.  Proper  social interaction  among  officer  and  enlisted  members has traditionally been encouraged, as it enhances unit morale and esprit de corps. At the same time, unduly  familiar  personal  relationships  between officers and enlisted members have traditionally been contrary to naval custom. They undermine the respect for authority that is essential to the Navy’s ability to accomplish its military mission. Over  200  years  of  seagoing  experience  has demonstrated   that   seniors   must   maintain thoroughly  professional  relationships  with  juniors at all times. This custom prevents personnel from using  a  senior  grade  or  position  to  show  (or give  the  impression  of  showing)  favoritism  or preferential  treatment  or  for  personal  gain.  It  also helps prevent officers from becoming involved in other   actions   that   undermine   good   order, discipline,  authority,  or  unit  morale.  In  a  like manner,  custom  requires  that  junior  personnel recognize and respect the authority inherent in a senior’s  grade,  rank,  or  position. Fraternization  is  the  traditional  term  used to  identify  personal  relationships  that  cross the   customary   bounds   of   acceptable   senior- subordinate  relationships.  Although  it  has  most commonly  been  applied  to  the  officer-enlisted relationship,  fraternization  also  includes  improper relationships  between  officer  members  and  be- tween enlisted personnel. By  definition,  fraternization  is  any  unduly familiar personal relationship between an officer and  an  enlisted  member  that  does  not  respect differences  in  rank  and  grade.  It  also  includes personal  relationships  between  officers  or  between enlisted personnel in which a senior-subordinate supervisory  relationship  exists. Fraternization  is  punishable  as  an  offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice when it  is  prejudicial  to  good  order  and  discipline  or brings  discredit  to  the  naval  service.  We  cannot name  every  act  that  may  be  prejudicial  to  good order and discipline or is service discrediting; the surrounding circumstances often have more to do with making the act criminal than the act itself. However, dating, cohabitation, or sexual intimacy between  officer  and  enlisted  members  is  clearly inappropriate.   A   private   business   partnership between   officers   and   enlisted   persons   is   also inappropriate.  Likewise,  such  conduct  between officers and between enlisted members in which a   senior-subordinate   supervisory   relationship exists   is   equally   inappropriate.   Conduct   that constitutes  fraternization  is  not  excused  by  a subsequent   marriage   between   the   offending parties. The   responsibility   for   preventing   inappro- priate relationships rests primarily on the senior. The  senior  party  is  expected  to  control  and preclude  the  development  of  inappropriate  senior- subordinate   relationships.   However,   since   the Navy’s   fraternization   policy   applies   to   both members,  both  are  accountable  for  their  own conduct. 5-9