An Army mother who refused to go to Afghanistan because she failed to get someone to care for her son wants the military to discharge her rather than enforce a policy that thousands of single mothers have abided by.
By ALAN GOMEZ - USA TODAY
Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, was to depart Nov. 5 with her unit of the 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Ga. She refused after her mother declined to care for Hutchinson’s 10-month-old son, Kamani.
Her lawyer insists that Hutchinson is genuinely stuck and not using her child to get out of duty.
Under Army policy, soldiers who cannot find a suitable caregiver may be disciplined or honorably discharged.
“These women are given a choice which is a very bad one to face: deploying and abandoning your children, or refusing your orders and facing charges,” says Hutchinson’s civilian lawyer Rai Sue Sussman. “I think (the Army has) shown . . . a lack of understanding for a young soldier, a young mother, in a difficult situation.”
The Army says Hutchinson may have acted improperly in her handling of the situation and is not entitled to be treated differently from other women.
“There are thousands of soldiers that have similar circumstances,” Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said. “They’re single parents. They do the right thing. They prepare for their deployment. They fulfill their sworn duty.”
More than 30,000 single mothers have deployed to the two most recent wars, according to a study by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
An Army cook, Hutchinson turned herself in to military police the day after she was supposed to deploy.
Hutchinson was ordered held, and her son was placed in a protective service until Hutchinson’s mother could fly from Oakland the next day to care for him.
Hutchinson is confined to the base, awaiting the result of an Army investigation.
Larson said Hutchinson was detained because her command “became aware of additional information” and concluded that there may have been “alleged misconduct” on her part. He would not elaborate.
The Army generally gives mothers enough time to formulate a written plan for care of the children prior to a deployment, Army spokesman Wayne Hall said.
Sussman says Hutchinson has done all she can to find a caregiver and wants a discharge.
While not speaking directly about Hutchinson’s case, Hall said a unit’s commanding officer generally oversees a court-martial. Hutchinson’s unit is now in Afghanistan, which means she could end up there after all.
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