Posted on 11/16/2009 6:26:41 PM PST by mom aka the evil dictator
SAVANNAH, Ga. – An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.
Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders because the only family she had to care for her 10-month-old son — her mother — was overwhelmed by the task, already caring for three other relatives with health problems.
Her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, said Monday that one of Hutchinson's superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care.
"For her it was like, 'I couldn't abandon my child,'" Sussman said. "She was really afraid of what would happen, that if she showed up they would send her to Afghanistan anyway and put her son with child protective services."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Where the child will go now since there is no one to take him if they prosecute her for being AWOL? If she goes to court with no one he will go directly to Fostercare upon sentencing.
Well I am still looking for some coal. I’ll get you the address if you can come up with enough coal for six.
Mom, I think you is my new bestest buddy! :)
Nope. Women wants more than just to stay at home and take care of children.
Find another or you have to get out..
I can’t believe some of the comments I’m reading..women should be home barefoot and pregnant and women get special treatment..that is total baloney!!! I’ve met your kind in the AF and they are a minority and didn’t last long. I always wondered what their mothers did to them.
That is baloney!!!!
You make it sound easy.
I take exception to that. I have 5 national defense ribbons and I worked my butt off and made alot, alot of sacrifices.
This women knew beforehand she needed a guardian, the policy is no guardian, you will be discharged. I’m not defending her, she knew.
Because of this one women you and others here generalize all women are like this. There are men or boys IMO that shouldn’t be in the military either, lazy and useless. But I don’t generalize all men are like that.
That is the policy, it started at the onset of the first Gulf War. I’m a desert storm/shield era vet.
More power to you, but the military is a combat organization. That is its purpose. If you do not or cannot engage in combat, you do not belong in the military.
Because this soldier decided taking care of her baby was more important, MANY OTHER SOLDIERS MIGHT DIE because an essential part of the combat machine is left untended.
It MAY not be the case in this situation, but I have NO TIME for the “awwww.... she didn’t want to leave her family” types....
Again. Kill people and destroy things. This is what the military does. It is an all volunteer force. If you do not want or cannot kill people and destroy things - DO NOT JOIN!!!
Doesn’t matter what you are or what the policy states. The reality is that there are exceptional circumstances whenever a guardian backs out unexpectedy and needs to be replaced.
Women should never be allowed in the military for many reasons. First of all, we do not need them. The military existed for a long time without women. Secondly, women are the ones that get pregnant, not men. What do you do with a pregnant solider? Thirdly, the absentee rate for women is ten times or more higher than for men. You never know when they are going to show up for duty. Fourthly, the wives of service men are not crazy about their husbands serving with women, especially Navy wives. It creates a morale problem. The divorce rate is very high because of adultery. The military would be far, far better off without women in the military. There are far better ways for a woman to support her country than by joining the military.
Agreed. The military is a combat organization. This soldier knew that before she signed the dotted line. She also knew this before she got pregnant. There are some damn fine soldiers who are female and there are some sorry pieces of garbage who are male. Each should be judge on their own merit. She is a piece of garbage for thinking she should get preferential treatment. She chose to join the military for the benefits and now she doesn’t want to pay the piper. “It is only fair when you are being given, not when it is time to pay up.”/s
I am in agreement with another poster that said women with children shouldnt be enlisted. And they should not be in combat.
Really? It seems to me the only place the line can be reasonably drawn is to exclude all women of child-bearing years fron the military.
Really? It’s my experience too.
You will not believe the ridicule I received for staying at home. Most of it was of course from other women. NONE from any man.
Please note in this story that the baby is 10 months old and the woman joined the forces in 2007. I guess we paid health care for her pregnancy and got some shit on a shingle for our trouble.
I’m going to have to agree with EricT. As a woman, you were not in the best position to see the impact such behavior has on the other side of the aisle so to speak. I’ve worked with many women during my 20+ years in the service.
Out of the many, the percentages who were always ready for duty or deployment were in the single percentage. I find that highly suspect considering the married males had a much harder time getting time off for similar issues. Their wives were left to fend for themselves without their husbands support.
Those females who did deploy were given special considerations in almost every facet of the deployment. A full tent used for three women while males were sharing bunks or sleeping on the floor of bldgs. Things like that and many others, unfortunately, I don’t have time to detail them all.
Women demanded the equal opportunity and some use it to their advantage. It’s not systemic, but it is widespread. She needs to be punished with an Article 15 or Court Martialed for missing movement and then discharged. Period.
We’re not all male chauvinists, we’re posting our experiences and observations. By denying our side of the story, you are in essence supporting the notion that women are indeed “special” and require special handling.
I note your comment about “...your kind in the AF and they are a minority and didn’t last long.” Curious comment, since no one mentioned anything about sexism as you purport. Although I will tell you that based on your comments, you appear to be woefully ignorant of the double standards present in just about all facets of society today.
Women have the advantage, men are guilty until proven innocent. That is as a result of the equal opportunity initiatives and other PC claptrap. You want to be treated as an equal? Act like one. Don’t shirk your duties while you are under your service contract, pull your weight, watch your buddies back, etc. You will then be treated like an equal. As I’m sure many are, this female is one of the few who take it public and make a mockery of the values of the military.
Until then, you’re “special”.
SZ
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