U.S.: Army Sends Infant to Protective Services, Mom to Afghanistan

thats terrible!! break up a mother and son to fight some stupid war! wow how can the army get away with doin this!?!?

She should go Mega Butch on them and get herself a girlfriend. I bet they won't deploy her then.

Sounds rather socialistic to me, but our Armed Forces do operate on the socialist model.

Even is she does submit to deployment, of what good will she be to the deployed force? She should be administratively discharged for the good of the service. It would allow her service to be classified as honorable and the service to fill the open billet with a another productive asset.

Maybe we are looking at this from the wrong prospective. Maybe women who wish to have family and children should not join military?
I know, I know… Just let me explain….
Women want equality do be able to do everything men can, but women can not pass the “chore” of having children to men. This is the fact of life, only women can have children. Women can not have it all joining military and have children while expecting to modify all requirements. We all must make choices. No one has everything they want. There are worse circumstances then being discharged from military due to family needs.
I may want to be a famous artist but I am not talented to be one. Should I force the world to adjust and “enjoy” my art work because I really want to have equality and I really want to be an artist? This is the fact of life. I was not born to be a famous artist no matter how much I want to be one.

jubal I couldn't agree with you more with your stance on military service. While I would love to defend my country I can't think of an instance since WW II where we have taken military action to directly defend our country. With such a poor track record it's hard for me to justify military service. As far as Hutchinson's case they should have allowed her the chance to take advantage of her second extension or at worst the chance at an honorable discharge because of a family emergency.

I have friends and family who have served relate books worth of horror stories about how the military treat their soldiers. Officers putting their soldiers in life threatening situations against congressional mandates and higher officers orders to start trouble and "see some action". Soldiers denied benefits, medical care, medical payment,disability payments, education benefits and sudden changes of status or activation times, ruining careers education and lives. Sudden changes in activation times, denial of education benefits the list goes on and on. So when people communicate the need for our service people to honor their commitments I agree but I also state the military's need to honor its commitments.

This is completely messed up situation for this woman, and the military policy should be reviewed with an eye towards what is best for the child. An 11 month old child needs her parent to care for him/her, to shape their values and to bond. Separating the mother from the child in this manner causes extreme harm to the child as well as the mother.

It is because of ignorance like this that I could never serve in the military. I love my country and I would fight with my life to defend it, but with the current state of corporate control of our government and that fact that we are fighting illegal wars for the profit stream of "private contractors" causes me to say "HELL NO, I WON'T GO!"

What is the worst thing that could happen to the mother? Could they terminate her parental rights in a court marshal? How long could she be put in jail for refusing to deploy?

The military needs to honor its promise of a second extension but she should also honor her commitment of showing up. There are many ways she could have handled this situation better but the military's refusal to honor its second extension was the impetus for her not showing. If the military expects you to honor your commitments they need to honor theirs. Given that the military didn't honor their commitments she should have shown up and immediately filled for family hardships. If the military refused this after after refusing to honor the second given extension we need to question how honorable an organization is that doesn't honor its commitments.

For those of you that didn't read the article the second extension was given after Alexis Hutchinson's mother determined she would be unable to take care of the infant. Again the second extension was GIVEN. She actually received it and only days before deployment she was told the extension was revoked and she would be deployed despite the fact she had no one to take care of her child. I believe that if you make a commitment you should honor it.

Lets keep in mind also that special needs children in state care can bring them near $5-6000 per month in SS Title IV-E benefits.....

Apparently the government (Haliburton) needs her over there killing babies, not here raising them.

KSirys, you just hit the steel nail on the head with a plastic hammer...

Could it be that the military is driving someone else to a point of serious desperation..? What will be the consequenses this time..? How could she possibly perform her duties properly while this is hanging over her..?

FUCKING GOVERNMENT!! that's right, I said it! FUCK YOU!! It's ok to lock her up, but it's not ok to go after Dick cheney and George dumb ass bush, for never serving because their daddy had money???? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY!?!?

It really amazes me that people do not look beyond the headlines in these articles...... Again, if you had read the article, she did have placement prepared, but it fell through. She asked for only an extension....... Lets not forget the married woman who made a stink about her children and was granted a stay........

We have a complete volunteer Army. You sign a contract. You must live up to the contract. She has had 20 months (including preganancy) to find family care. Its a horrible situation but many Soldiers are honering their contract.

"IF" they decide to discharge her make her pay back all monies to the US Army plus interest.

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the United States. These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) in Washington.

CPS- Physical Abuse (160) Sexual Abuse (112) Neglect (410) Medical Neglect (14) Fatalities (6.4)

Parents- Physical Abuse (59) Sexual Abuse (13) Neglect (241) Medical Neglect (12) Fatalities (1.5)

The military doesn't care about it's recruits (they are merely cannon fodder) nor does the military care about the recruits' families.

Neither does the government (at any level) care, or CPS would be put under a microscope -- the numbers of children who have been harmed by CPS, in every state in the union, are legion -- they yank the kids away from good famlies for the flimsiest of reasons, and leave kids who SHOULD be removed, for their own safety, with families that hurt and even (sometimes) eventually kill them.

Why do government agencies seem to always do the opposite of what they should be doing?

Birdmanbob4 ,

You brought back a 44 year old memory for me ,Nov.1965,when my DI said
to all of us after getting in a line,"welcome to the US military ,although your soul belongs to your maker,while you are here serving, whether stateside or overseas in a foreign country, your Ass and body belongs to Uncle Sam,do you hear me?"
Sir,yes Sir !

Yes. they should just kick her out and she can find a new job.

They should not send her , maybe the publicity will help .

All is fair in love and war. What many here do not realise is that once you sign up you give up the rights as a citizen, the Military ownes your ass. You now play by their rules....Male or Female ...Both are under the same rules. As it should be.......

trut, you never cease to amaze me, you are a stellar example of a leftist 5th column brain in a continual full-mall seizure.

I wonder if she is contemplating taking two pistols and going berzerk like the last guy who didn`t want to go torture for fun and kill children.

And somehow we dont' wonder about the rational and moral clarity this nations leaders represent?

Fuck them take the damm fucking courtmartial,I am a ma of 4 kids and the thought of the Army taking my baby away........just makes me want to scream. Are we that short of soldiers that we cant allow her more time. This is sooooooo wrong.

Where is the father ? Has he been expelled from the child's life?

When one enlists or joins the military one is under oath to obey all orders,under the UCMJ,Uniform Code of Military Justice,
it makes no difference if male or female,mother,father,

After deployment she could have put in for a Family "hardship discharge" which is usually granted,,
The facts remain ,One needs to follow orders, regardless of any ,others, personal opinions,because, the Oath one takes,for military service
Military Oath
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.

Disobey orders = court martial,jail and dishonorable discharge

Wow, her mom's got a lot on her hands to be chasing an 11 month old around. Does the father know about the baby because it sounds like 4 females on the mother side are unable to help. Did she get pregnant while in the military? Gee, I have so many questions.
The baby needs to be with the mom, here on a base with a daycare for her on duty hours.
What a mess.
I know someone that was trying to get pregnant to get out of being deployed, so we need more info to determine the situation.

Children shouldn't be raised by warmongers anyways. How can a contract murderer be a good parent?

The ironic aspect of this is that the stated U.S. goals for being in Afghanistan include protecting the freedom of Afghan women. When did our own actual families become less important than the idealized families of those in a country around the world?

I believe this is the mentality of "It takes a village to raise a child". Many assumed supportive environment for parents to raise their child, instead the real meaning is you produce the child and the "village" will decide what is best.

Why did she join?

They should grant her what they had promised. They said she could...so she should be able to do it. It's unfair to go back on one's word.

Why is a married woman allowed to stay home but this single mother is forced into deployment?? What is the exact difference between the two cases?? Where is the father?? Is it coincidence that one of her children are special needs and they are pushing for CPS involvment (SS Title IV-E $$$$$)??