Female Soldier Refuses Deployment to Care for Baby

[Mford019 0]

Well, well, well first let me start by saying people do not know the regulations of the United States Army should not even be commenting on the situation. A single parent within the Army must have a family care plan! Who took care of her child when she went to field problems etc.? It's funny how some people are commenting and never served a day in their life. Let a male try what she did, he would be in jail as we speak. Equal rights, yatta yatta yatta, we are all equal, I am not bashing women in the Army but if you want to be a soldier and be equal then be it. OOh and by the way I do serve and have seen 3 deployments just in case you want to criticize me and my efforts...

[Mford019 0]

she was an army cook, i dont think she's in the wrong line of work.. but if it was war we're talking about, if she signed up to go to war asap, then i think she may be in the wrong line of work. When she joined she just had the possibility of going to war, there's that uncertainty, so i think it's unfair that she should be thrown out of the army just because. A punishment if proven she was greatly at fault and just did that because of the fear of deployment and not because of her kid, would sound fair to me.

But you cannot just say they should leave unemployed because of it.

Wouldn't you think it's unfair if your boss would fire you because you failed to go work because no one could watch over your kid?

Who are you and what fantasy world do you live in. The Army is governed by rules that are to be followed. I understand she had a kid, but she knew she was going to deploy way before time came, contrary to popular belief the word about deployment around the Army leaks out way before you get the call. When she first learned of the deployment she should have consulted her care plan, and if it didnt work out she could have been chaptered out for no family care plan. Please do not get on her and speak about what should and should not happen when you have never served. If you are offended then I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand post and only then you will realize what soldiers go through.

[dalegg 143]

I think that is one downside to women serving in the military

Of course they are going to feel more inclined to serve their family.

A woman should be given the proper time to spend with her new baby.

It's only fodder for people who think women shouldn't be in the military in the first place. I agree with her thinking in the now- she has a baby an unquestionably her place is with that baby. She will just have to accept discharge. We'll get by without her.

Edited December 23, 2009 by dalegg

[natty bumppo 297]

Well, well, well first let me start by saying people do not know the regulations of the United States Army should not even be commenting on the situation. A single parent within the Army must have a family care plan! Who took care of her child when she went to field problems etc.? It's funny how some people are commenting and never served a day in their life. Let a male try what she did, he would be in jail as we speak. Equal rights, yatta yatta yatta, we are all equal, I am not bashing women in the Army but if you want to be a soldier and be equal then be it. OOh and by the way I do serve and have seen 3 deployments just in case you want to criticize me and my efforts...

okay ... you threw down the gauntlet ...

it's "yada yada yada" ...

[mRx 16]

Well, well, well first let me start by saying people do not know the regulations of the United States Army should not even be commenting on the situation. A single parent within the Army must have a family care plan!

What if the FCP falls through, and a guardian is unavailable? If SPC Hutchinson seeks counsel from superiors and "foster care" is the only viable option her management can provide...

Then I'd say ineffective leadership is to blame for her decision to abandon the deployment, no?

[sachinky 465]

This is a case of you can't have your cake and eat it too.

She joined the U.S. Army. This isn't a part-time job at Barnes and Noble. Things don't work in the military as they do in civilian life--so comparisons with your boss firing you for not coming into office on a particular day doesn't hold water here. The military has it's own code of rules and regulations and its own hierarchy--complete with the punishment that comes with disobeying direct orders. That's just the way it rolls. She joined the army--meaning her country comes before her own and anyone else's life. No one forced her to join it.

Life happens. She got pregnant, had the baby and then decided that she couldn't bear to leave her child behind or there was inadequate care for the child. In that case, she should either leave or be discharged from the Army on some hardship count. She should receive no further military benefits. Using the previous analogy--you wouldn't expect to get paid if you don't show up for work, do you? Inadequate childcare or not.

If you choose to be a soldier, you have to accept everything that comes with it. Sometimes that means leaving your children behind in times of deployment. If you choose to be a mother, then you have to accept everything that comes with that. It's naive to think you can have everything. In this case, these things are not inclusive.

Also, one would assume that these things did not just happen to her. She didn't wake up one morning and find herself in the Army. She made the conscious decision to join it. For argument's sake, let's say that this child was not an unexpected pregnancy. She then made those particular life-altering decisions--joining the Army and getting pregnant.

But yeah, tough situation to be in.

[sachinky 465]

If you choose to be a soldier, you have to accept everything that comes with it. Sometimes that means leaving your children behind in times of deployment. If you choose to be a mother, then you have to accept everything that comes with that. Sometimes that means unable to perform military duties because, in your heart, you've already decided the life and well-being of your child is of paramount importance. Over and above anyone else's.

I don't think either one is a nobler pursuit than the other. But I will say you can't have it all.

Could you be an equally good soldier and an equally good mother? What do you guys, think?

Of course, I'm not a soldier nor a mother, so I could just be speaking out of my butt. Consider this my uninformed $0.02.

[zqt3344 21]

She should be court martialed and stripped of her rank, pay and retirement and medical benefits while being jailed for at least 5 years.

Here's the link:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

Thoughts?

[Ban Hammer 13,429]

She should be court martialed and stripped of her rank, pay and retirement and medical benefits while being jailed for at least 5 years.

she has no retirement benefits as of yet. plus that's the wrong answer anyways on your part. read the entire thread and note replies by nowhereman and myself - two individuals with lengthy military service to draw on - and see how your replies stack up against those that have "been there and done that"