Army discharges single mom who wouldn't deploy - she had nobody to take care of her son

[Kadie]

Army discharges single mom who wouldn't deploy
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, February 11, 2010


(02-11) 14:23 PST OAKLAND --

A single mother from Oakland has been discharged from the Army for refusing to leave her infant son behind to go to Afghanistan, but she will not be court-martialed, her attorney said Thursday.

Alexis Hutchinson, 21, had faced criminal charges at a court-martial for refusing to accompany her unit when it deployed in November. Although that is no longer a prospect, Hutchinson has been demoted from specialist to private and will lose all military and veteran benefits, said her attorney, Rae Sue Sussman of San Francisco.

She said Hutchinson had been given an other-than-honorable discharge.

In a statement, Hutchinson said she was "excited to know what will happen to me, and that I am not facing jail. This means I can still be with my son, which is the most important thing."

Hutchinson enlisted in the Army in 2007 straight out of Fremont High School in East Oakland. She was supposed to deploy overseas as a cook with her unit, the 3rd Infantry Division, on Nov. 5. She skipped the flight, she contended, because she had nobody to take care of her then-10-month-old son, Kamani.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/11/BAHD1C07EM.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0fH2jGW1S


*****


Army discharges mom who nixed deployment
21-year-old a faced court-martial after skipping Afghan tour to care for son

snip...
"She was willing to deploy, and was ready to do that if her mother had not backed out of taking care of her child," she said.

Hutchinson, who's assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, joined the Army in 2007 and had no previous deployments. She is no longer in a relationship with the father of her 13-month-old son, Kamani.

The Army requires all single-parent soldiers to submit a care plan for dependent children before they can deploy to a combat zone.

Hutchinson had a plan — her mother in California, Angelique Hughes, had agreed to care for the boy. Hughes kept the boy for about two weeks in October before deciding she couldn't keep him for a full year, saying she was overwhelmed caring for other family members with health problems and special needs.

Hughes returned Kamani to his mother in Georgia a few days before Hutchinson's scheduled deployment Nov. 5. They day of her flight, Hutchinson stayed home with her son and told her superiors by phone she would not be deploying.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35354649/ns/us_news-military/

[Uzybone]

1. on edit: I see she had the child after she signed up.

[virgogal]

4. Ditto !

[lazarus]

5. she enlisted in 2007

her son is 10 months old. They should have given her an honourable, not a LTH.

[rd_kent]

8. She got pregnant prior to a deployment and then FAILED to have a family care plan in place

as required by regulations. The Army also provides assistance with coming up with a family care plan, including finding alternatives if your primary AND secondary plans fall through. This woman had NO plan.

[uppityperson]

12. Article in OP says she did...

"Hutchinson told her commanding officers she had arranged for her mother to watch Kamani while she was away for her one-year tour of duty, but when that fell through at the last minute, she could find no alternative."

[rd_kent]

14. How about you re-read my previous post.

Her mother was her primary plan. She was required to have a primary, an alternate AND an emergency plan.

[uppityperson]

15. How about you re-read your previous post.

"This woman had NO plan."

She had a primary plan, not an alternate AND an emergency plan, but she had a primary plan.

[Obamanaut]

20. IIRC, from threads here on DU, this former Army member's plan was

her mother.

Her mother was already taking care of three other people, including the soldiers grandmother, plus the two others with various disabilities.

Toss an infant into the mix with the already overburdened potential caregiver and not have an alternate (good) plan, is sorta like NO plan at all.

[uppityperson]

21. Thank you for the extra info, I didn't have that, only OP here

Sounds like a mess

[Obamanaut]

22. A big mess, and I don't think the young woman was prepared for

the size of the mess.

I think her mom wanted to be the caregiver, because I saw Miz O on the edge of exhaustion trying to tend to a great grandson, only a few short months post-motorcycle accident. She did not want to admit that the two of us no longer can do all the things that we want to, and I would imagine this other mother with the three charges already really wanted to be the care person, but was overwhelmed and had to admit defeat.

It could not have been easy for her.

The young mother was accustomed to seeing her own mom do remarkable things, and simply did not consider that failure could be part of the picture.

As you said, a mess.

edited to add: The last line of my earlier post looks a bit more harsh than I meant it to. I apologize for the tone.

[rd_kent]

28. So in what way did she fullfill her obligation?

No alternate and no emergency plan.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. The Army's assistance amounted to helping her put her child in foster care

No thanks.

[rd_kent]

29. Wrong. Keep reading.

The Army has a WHOLE PROGRAM dedicated to single and dual military parents. You need to read more than just the press release statements from the womans lawyer.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Like I said in another post, I heard her interviewed

I don't give a rat's ass what program the army has. They didn't do squat to help this woman.

[rd_kent]

40. Yes, they did. But you don't "give a rats ass', so , uh, ok.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. Telling her to put her kid in foster care isn't help

[rd_kent]

48. Every post just highlights your ignorance of this case.

Seriously, there is a lot of info on this. Read up, THEN post.

[razorman]

13. Odds are that she can appeal later and get it upgraded.

[jmowreader]

58. A General is as high as they should have given her and even that's pushing it

She was charged with missing movement and going AWOL--court-martial offenses that carry heavy jail time. The OTH discharge was probably the right thing. If you show up at manifest call with your kid, they won't deploy you. That's what she should have done.

[GreenStormCloud]

7. Looks like she had an out-of-wedlock baby after she enlisted.

She is 21 now and enlisted straight out of high school, the baby is 10 months old.

[leftstreet]

9. 'out-of-wedlock'

Do people actually still say that?

[Canuckistanian]

17. Why not just say "bastard child" and be done with it?

Jesus, do people STILL care whether a child is born to a married couple or not?

Anyway, it's not relevant to the issue here.

[TheDebbieDee]

18. I thought the same thing when I read it! How archaic.

I'm 48 years old and I think that's a term that doesn't even belong in our society.

[lies and propaganda]

23. wtf year is this?!

and i suppose you would want any punishments to be the same for the out of wedlock dude that screwed her?

[readmoreoften]

60. Yes, because young people are going to be celibate for four years. Idiotic.

The idea that people who can be sent into battle at any moment are going to stay celibate unless married is ludicrous.

[GreenStormCloud]

64. I thought birth control was invented back in the sixties.

Whatever happened the pill, foam, gels, condoms, IUDs, etc?

In the early 70s abortion became legal.

Sex is a responsibility. Refuse to take responsibility for a few minutes of sex and you can get saddled with real responsibilities for a lifetime.

[uppityperson]

65. Contraceptives fail. Are you advocating mandatory abortions or mandatory celibacy?

Contraceptives fail.

[GreenStormCloud]

72. Use multiple methods at once.

Pill with foam and condom.

If you are one of the ones that it fails on, then life has just dealt you a really bad hand. No one ever claimed that life is even remotely fair. As a society we progressives attempt to even out some of life's bumps, but we can't smooth everybody's road.

She then has to make a lot of tough choices that have real world consequences.

And at some point, you have to take responsibility for the choices that you make, and their consequences.

[emilyg]

75. Perhaps she didn't use any.

[Control-Z]

73. Accidents happen.

Military will not pay for abortions had that been an option for her. She had the baby (hopefully by choice). Did I mention accidents happen?

She still did the wrong thing by not following through on vital planning.

[taterguy]

10. If the child's an infant she probably didn't have it when she enlisted in 2007

But since I'm haven't bothered reading the article I'm not sure.

I suspect she signed up for the same reason a lot of people do:

She needed the money at the time.

[jmowreader]

59. She COULDN'T have had it when she enlisted

The regulation on enlistments is very specific on this: being a single parent at time of enlistment is a non-waiverable disqualification. If you are a married couple and you have a child, you can't both enlist. The Army won't throw you out if you become a dual military couple with child or a single mother after training, but you can't come in that way.

[uppityperson]

11. 2 reasons. May not have planned on getting pg, her arrangements fell through

1) If she signed up right out of highschool, that would be about June 2007. It is now 3/10. Subtract 10 months for baby's age and 9 months incubating and you are back 19 months to 6/08, or 5/08, leaving 11 months for her to be in the service before getting pregnant. It could be she didn't plan to get pregnant but did and chose to have the baby.

2) From the article: "Hutchinson told her commanding officers she had arranged for her mother to watch Kamani while she was away for her one-year tour of duty, but when that fell through at the last minute, she could find no alternative."

[Lorien]

69. That doesn't matter to the child

his welfare comes first. Everyone makes mistakes, some parents get desperate in tough economic times. Not our place to judge. We should only be glad that the child isn't going into foster care and the mom isn't cannon fodder for oil profits.

[Carnage251]

2. Where is the father?

[RZM]

16. One link doesn't mention him at all

The other just says that the mother 'is no longer in a relationship' with him. I hope somebody tracks him down and gets him on the record about this. It's possible the mother does not want/trust him with the child, or that he simply doesn't care (or both). Seems to me his lack of a role in the child's life is a pretty important part of this story.

[Hello_Kitty]

37. Same here and I'm wondering if he's in the military too. eom

[RZM]

66. I doubt it

If he were that fact probably would have worked its way into the narrative. I'll bet he has little interest in the child.

[Lilith Velkor]

76. Maybe he's dead.

[blueamy66]

36. Where's the birth control?

nt

She was a soldier for cripe's sake...

[Lorien]

70. Where's the humanity and compassion?

We can't know everything about her situation. All of the Authoritarian replies from "anti-war Democrats" are disturbing.

[blueamy66]

85. She was in the ARMY!

Jeebus people.

[aquart]

3. Army still hasn't made the adjustment to mothers in uniform.

[rd_kent]

6. Sure they have, they bend over backwards for single parents.

You need to read up on what happened here, a total lack of planning and following of the rules by this mother.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. She was in ROTC in high school and had planned on a military career

So she enlisted and went through basic training and like many women her age, she got pregnant.

And instead of being accommodating to a young single mother, the army tried to send her to Iraq and expected her to put her kid in foster care.

Now which rules did she not follow? The one saying she can't get pregnant if she is in the army? Or the one saying you can't have sex if you are in the army?

No the rule she broke was the one that said in the army you can't have sex or get pregnant unless you have several different support systems in place to parent your child while you are in combat.

I heard this young woman interviewed on the radio. It is a very sad story. The army didn't lift a finger to help her. They recommended foster care and threatened her with prison. That's hardly help.

[rd_kent]

30. You have some really good points on other subjects, but you are allowing your ignorance to get in

the way here.

And instead of being accommodating to a young single mother, the army tried to send her to Iraq and expected her to put her kid in foster care.

That statement shows that you really have no idea at all about how the military handles single parents. If you did, then you probably would not have made that statement.

Now which rules did she not follow? The one saying she can't get pregnant if she is in the army? Or the one saying you can't have sex if you are in the army?

Again, you are allowing your ignorance on the subject to make you look foolish.


No the rule she broke was the one that said in the army you can't have sex or get pregnant unless you have several different support systems in place to parent your child while you are in combat.


Perhaps the most asinine thing yet. The ignorance is stupefying.

I heard this young woman interviewed on the radio. It is a very sad story. The army didn't lift a finger to help her. They recommended foster care and threatened her with prison. That's hardly help.

You heard HER version of the story, not THE story.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. Gee who am I going to believe? This young woman who actually KNOWS her story

or an anonymous person on the internet who is rude and insulting?

Decisions, decisions. . .

[rd_kent]

41. Disgreement is not rudeness and pointing out your ignorance on a subject is not insulting.

Should you use facts or emotions when making a decision?

Decisions, decisions. . .

[uppityperson]

62. These are rudeness...

pointing out your ignorance

you are allowing your ignorance to get in the way here

you really have no idea at all

you are allowing your ignorance on the subject to make you look foolish.

Perhaps the most asinine thing yet. The ignorance is stupefying.

[rd_kent]

68. Those statements are factual and blunt. Rudeness is in the eye of the beholder.

Pointing our facts isn't rude, sorry. This is a discussion board, not a sewing circle.

[Orsino]

78. Ignorance of the fact that the word "ignorance" is insulting...

...comes across as rather ignorant.

[rd_kent]

87. When one cannot use a term that accurately descsribes something, we have become too PC.

ig·no·rance : the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness


Not really sure how that is insulting. Telling someone that they have a lack of knowledge on a subject is insulting? I find it insulting that someone would attempt to form an opinion and then defend that opinion when one is so obviously ignorant.



Nah, I do not see ignorant as an insult.

[Orsino]

90. It's a credit to you that you don't see "ignorant" as an insult, perhaps.

But ignoring the word's connotations--particularly in so terse a manner, without offering a counter-argument--can't help but come across as offensive.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

91. Uninformed is definitely more polite.

[rd_kent]

92. I see your point about not having a counter argument

I didn't think of it that way. I did, in this instance, explain to the poster I was discussing with about why they were ignorant and attempted to educate them on how they were wrong, and was met with indifference and hyperbole that only accented their ignorance.

[JustAVet]

26. I wouldn't say they bend over backwards...

...but they certainly work with single parents and dual military couples as much as possible. This soldier didn't have her act together, and now she's paying for it.

[WolverineDG]

19. Hooray for her, someone else can go in her place

and she's now unemployed.

Why couldn't she have been re-assigned, or required to fill out the family care plan? Was she so isolated that she had NO ONE to care for the child? Really? As someone else pointed out, where's daddy? Unless he's in jail, or committed family violence against her or the baby, why can't he care for the child?

dg

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. It's repulsive the army did nothing to help find another role for her

This is a horrible story.

[rd_kent]

31. Whats repulsive is your use of adjectives to describe something you know nothing about.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. Were you there?!

I'm guessing not.

[rd_kent]

42. I LIVED this life for 21 years, so YES, I was there.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. So you weren't there

You know what the army is SUPPOSED to do. You just aren't willing to admit they fucked up.

They told her to make arrangements for her baby. She did and the arrangements fell through. So they told her to put her baby in foster care. If there were indeed other alternatives and if the army does indeed "help" single parents, then why did they suggest foster care? That's hardly a good alternative.

Do you know anything about foster care? Would you put YOUR kids in foster care?

The army fucked up. It's not like the first time you know. :eyes:

[blueamy66]

46. No, the Army soldier

fucked up.

Where's the Daddy?

What about adoption?

[Raineyb]

57. Adoption? Are you for fucking real?

The child was 10 months old. Don't you think if she had intended to put the child up for adoption she would have done so when he was born? Try to keep up will ya?

[blueamy66]

83. She could have put it up for adoption at birth.

Was she not in the Army when she gave birth?

I am keeping up....thanks...

It's called taking responsibility for your actions.

[uppityperson]

63. Fuck, they should've just involuntarily aborted her!!!111 I'm SERIES!!!111

I mean, REALLY!1111111111


































Just in case :sarcasm:

[proud2BlibKansan]

77. I am hoping you forgot the sarcasm smilie

Adoption?

[blueamy66]

84. No, I wasn't being sarcastic.

She signed up for the Army, not the Girl Scouts.

I stand by what I posted.

Hey, my birth mother put me up for adoption because of her circumstances.....and my life with my family was great.

Can we talk about responsibility for one's actions?

[proud2BlibKansan]

93. Um no

I don't think we can talk about responsibility if you honestly believe a parent should give their child up for adoption and go to war.

[rd_kent]

49. If you really knew about this case and how the military handles singles parents, you would not post

your ignorance for all to see.


The only one that fucked up is the woman. Sorry, but thats what happened here.

[Hello_Kitty]

52. People who have never served don't understand the issue.

You cannot give people a free pass to get out of deployments.

[rd_kent]

54. Yup. The whole "the army should have made an exception" argument only highlights peoples ignorance

on this issue.

[Hello_Kitty]

38. It sucks for her but you can't give people excuses to get out of deployments.

If she got reassigned others would try to follow suit.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. Then they need to make a rule that a female can't be sexually active and get pregnant

And good luck with that.

[rd_kent]

44. No, thats idiotic. They DO have rules that outline how single parents need to be responsible

and have multiple back up family care plans, but you seem to want to ignore this FACT.

The woman in this case had 9 months of pregnancy AND several months (and a 30 day extension given by the Army) to get her Family Care plan together. She neglected to do it. She FAILED, not the Army. Thousands of single parents are in the Military and find a way to make it work. She FAILED, just as you are failing, to make a rational argument here.

[kiva]

47. Really? You mean there are no single mothers in the military?

Or maybe they do what they are required to do and make that plan and don't rely on a mother who is already overextended. More than 30,000 single mothers have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, but this woman is different? No, and it has nothing to do with forbidding women in the military from having sex, and everything to do with expecting someone who volunteered for the military to live up to their commitment.

[Hello_Kitty]

51. I served with plenty when I was in the Navy. eom

[rd_kent]

55. 21 Year CPO here. What was your rate?

I was an AT Aircewman.

[Hello_Kitty]

56. I was a TM - Torpedoman's Mate. Got out as a First Class after 10 years.

TMs got merged with Gunner's Mates on surface units but the rate still exists for submariners from what I understand.

[Hello_Kitty]

50. No, let's not let people use their kids to get out of deployments.

It has nothing to do with sex or pregnancy. As far as I know, women still have the option of leaving the service when they get pregnant. If you opt to stay in there are obligations you must fulfill.

[Orsino]

79. She's not just unemployed...

...she's unemployed with an other-than-honorable discharge, which is kryptonite to employers who will see her DD214 before even interviewing her.

The Army has blackballed her in the civilian world.

[Angleae]

94. And on top of that, probably ineligible for unemployment benefits

[Obamanaut]

32. Lots of good discussion on this much earlier (last year) thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=7102702

[GreenStormCloud]

53. General response to my detractors above.

Humans are a paternal-investment species, although not a total investment. Some species, such as horses and cattle, require no investment from the male in the raising of the young. He simply provides sperm for the females. The female merely accepts being in the harem of the fittest male, but the female is the boss of the herd on all other matters. The male just eats, fights other males, and fertilizes females.

Some species, such as geese, mate for life and the male provides as much care to the goslings as the female. Many birds are like that, requiring both parents bringing food to the nestlings for the chicks to survive and grow. If a bird loses its mate, chicks die.

Humans have been liberated from hunter-gather lives at most a few thousand years in some cultures, while some cultures are still hunter-gather, and some are only a few generations removed from such a life. Millions of years of evolution has shaped humans, including our brains, for a hunter-gatherer life. That is simply a fact of biology.

Human females are the nurturing gender, as females are in all species that have separate gender roles. Again, that is simple biological fact. Women are the ones with the ability to feed babies, men can't do that. Human females require assistance during pregnancy and child rearing years.

In all paternal-investment species, meaning those species that require the male to do more than provide sperm, the male MUST help the female for the children to have the optimum chance to survive and become parents themselves. (Evolution is about becoming grandparents. You need to have the kids, raise them, and see them have kids to be successful in evolutionary terms.) Extended family can help, but on a statistical basis, the help of the father accomplishes more than does the extended family. (Yes, there are many exceptions. Obama is one. But they are exceptions.)

So the female of such species attempts to get a commitment from the male that he will help raise the chick. Usually this is done by requiring him to make some sort of investment to the female before he is allowed access to her womb. In birds he has to help build the nest first. In humans, we require some sort of social commitment to the woman before she allows him to get her pregnant. That gives her the best chance of gaining access to his resources, including his time, to help raise the kid. (We are a social species, which means that we ahve social expectations. In complex socities we call them "laws".)

In America, and in almost all cultures, to be a single mother is a direct ticket to poverty, in the general case. High profile Hollywood single moms are exceptions, not the norm. That is a simple reality, no matter what one's political beliefs are.

For a woman to have a baby without commitment from the father (Commonly called marriage) is a huge economic mistake on her part, even with government help.

The male is not so handicapped. While the woman is putting all of her eggs into a small basket, he can literally get dozens of woman pregnant knowing that some of the children will survive to adulthood, even if most die. He succeeds in become a multiple grandparent, and evolution crowns him a winner. It may offend our sense of justice, but that is the way it is.

Is that a double standard? Yes, it is. But biology doesn't give a crap about our passing political fads. Even with the dinosaurs, the females cared for the eggs and the young. A few decades of politics against hundreds of millions of years of evolution is no match. Evolution wins.

If a woman doesn't get a valid commitment from the man, she strongly handicaps herself. Being a single mother is a hard life.

Yes, as a society, we can, and should, create systems to help such situations. Conservatives would simply abandon her to her own devices. We should offer government assistance because all of the children are our future. Getting that woman out of the Army also freed her to find a situation that will make it easier on her. Her best economic hope is to find a man who will be a good step-father to her child.

[raccoon]

86. I strongly agree with you here:

"In America, and in almost all cultures, to be a single mother is a direct ticket to poverty, in the general case. High profile Hollywood single moms are exceptions, not the norm. That is a simple reality, no matter what one's political beliefs are.

For a woman to have a baby without commitment from the father (Commonly called marriage) is a huge economic mistake on her part, even with government help."

[PacerLJ35]

61. Here's the reason why this girl's problem blew up in her face...

She basically didn't show up for the flight overseas...in other words, she "missed a movement", which is almost like being AWOL. Had she gone to her unit's first sergeant and explained her situation, they would have more than likely worked with her. I've been saying for a while that it was dubious that the Army would simply court martial and try to hammer a girl for no reason over this issue...there's usually an underlying cause when a case goes to court martial. Remember, a court martial doesn't happen unless it's already been through an Article 32 hearing, which is essentially a grand jury.

As I said, she screwed up big time by keeping her issue a secret and then trying to basically skip out on the flight out without trying to work the issue out. I know the military...I've been in for a long time and I see these cases often...the military will typically bend over backwards to try and help single parents in these cases. She was lucky all she got was an other-than-honorable discharge.

[SoCalDem]

67. "girl"?

She joined up (probably because she could not find a job with benefits)
she chose to become a single mom..(military paid her prenatal & delivery)
she changed her mind about military service

she breached her contract..

it's as simple as that.

she could either go, or not go.. she chose not.. and now she lives with a less than honorable discharge.. unless she wants a government job or loan, it will probably not bother her all that much..

[dysfunctional press]

71. at least she got free child birth.

i hear that it can be costly.

[Control-Z]

74. I'm all for giving people

every possible chance and helping whenever possible. I also have a sister who has been in the military for more than 30 years. After years of serving (in different countries/embassies, different states/bases) she was sent to the middle east, 2005 - 2006. 49 YO, mother of two.

If called up again, she will go without question. She will do everything asked/required of her. From day one she has crossed every "t" and dotted every "i", by the book, without complaint (other than some displeasure over the restrictions imposed on women in the early years). She is respected by all.

I know exactly how she would feel about this young woman's actions - though not to say I would necessarily agree. But I'm not in the military - for good reason.

[Statistical]

80. Army did the right thing.

Deployment is part of soldier's job (this coming from veteran with 3 deployments Iraq, Afghanistan, and stateside disaster).

Pure and simply if you can't deploy then you are no good to the Army and no good to the TAXPAYERS paying for your salary, training, equipment, etc.

It would be like a company hiring a writer and then find out he/she can't read or a pilot who is afraid of flying. Keeping a pilot who can't fly or a writer who can't read on the payroll makes no sense.

Keeping a soldier who can't deploy on payroll doesn't make any sense either.

Lastly she "missed movement", this substantially made a bade situation worse. Anyone who has service experience knows how serious this is. If you miss movement you better be dead, dying, or in a coma. Even being sick or injured is not sufficient cause to miss movement. Prior to movement she could have contacted chaplains office, JAG, or even IG. She just chose to desert the unit by not showing up when it rotated overseas. This means unit went into combat short handed. Sorry that is simply unacceptable. She is lucky she isn't breaking rocks in Fort Leavenworth for next 5 to 10 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Disciplinary_Barracks

[howard112211]

81. I'm as anti-war as they come and even I understand that.

I think part of the situation we find ourselves in today is that the public expects the military to be a provider of stable office jobs with attractive career paths. It shows the disconnect between the reality of the purpose of a military and the picture that people have in their minds. The prime purpose of a military is to wage war. Disaster relief is another function that plays a minor secondary role. There really is not much use of a military if there isn't a war to be fought. Problem is, our military is so intertwined with our civilian economy, people
view it as just another job that is subject to the laws of regular employment.

[Statistical]

82. Many people don't realize the significance of the oath of enlistment.

Many people don't realize the significance of the oath of enlistment.

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

The President ordered the unit into combat. Not personally and directly but all officer authority is derived from the Commander in Chief. Her unit commanding officer also ordered the soldiers to report for duty at time of movement.

She took an oath that she would follow those orders (without exception for children or other personal matters) and she also accepted that any failure to follow those orders would result in action under UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice).

The Army response was rather light in this situation (likely due to the circumstances). Technically securing a conviction in court-martial for desertion wouldn't be very difficult and she is no granted any civilian appeal from court-martial.

She is very lucky that her child isn't in foster care while she spends next 5 to 10 years in military prison. Life in military prison is no fun. You are still subject to UCMJ and are expected to act with all military customs and courtesies (standing at parade rest when speaking to a guard for example) despite collecting no pay and being in prison.

[TwilightGardener]

88. Well, her plan crumbled, and she didn't have a back-up, and didn't

show up to deploy. She should take the discharge and be satisfied with it. Lots of single parents are on deployments, they miss their kids but they MADE IT HAPPEN. She is not special.

[rocktivity]

89. CUE THE VONAGE THEME!

Though they simply could have given her a stateside job.

How dare the military expect people to leave their own children behind.

:woohoo:
rocktivity