US Army vs. Single Mother

In a story brought to us by CNN, the US Army has discharged a single mother for failing to deploy to Afghanistan with her unit. The soldier, Alexis Hutchinson had a ten month old at the time of the incident. The reason she gave was because she did not have anyone to stay with her son while she was away. The Government requires all soldiers to sign Form D-A 53-05 which states that they have a family care plan and that they acknowledge they could face disciplinary action if their plan isn't maintained. Rather than being court martialed, Alexis was reduced to the lowest enlisted rank and possible loss of Army benefits.

When I read the first part of this article, I was amazed that the Government would treat one of their own this way. Reading the facts listed, it seemed as though they were discriminating against a woman for not having anyone reliable enough to watch her son while she was away for up to a year. I didn't think this was fair at all.

The end of the article changed my mind about my initial reaction somewhat. a statement issued from the US Army said "The investigation revealed evidence, from both other soldiers and from Private Hutchinson herself, that she didn't intend to deploy to Afghanistan with her unit and deliberately sought ways out of the deployment ." If this is true then I have a lot less respect for Private Hutchinson. It must be very scary facing time in a war zone, but it was her choice to sign up for the Army and she was aware of the fact that she could be deployed when she signed up, so the sympathy can only go so far. I personally am not brave enough to face that kind of danger and I respect the hell out of someone who is.

I can't really say whether or not Private Hutchinson deserves to be punished for her actions, but I do hope she doesn't set an unfair precedent for other soldiers. If she ends up losing her benefits, it will not only hurt her, it will affect her son also. He is the innocent one in this ordeal.