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nastyleg
02-12-2010, 12:41 PM
Army discharging single mom who refused deployment

By RUSS BYNUM, AP Military Writer Russ Bynum, Ap Military Writer – Fri Feb 12, 2:25 am ET

SAVANNAH, Ga. – A single-mom soldier who says she refused to deploy to Afghanistan because she had no family able to care for her young son will be discharged from the military instead of facing a court-martial, the Army said Thursday.

Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, an Army cook stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, was arrested in November after skipping her unit's deployment flight. Hutchinson, 21, said she couldn't leave her son because her mother had backed out of plans to keep the child a few days before the soldier's scheduled departure.

The Army filed criminal charges last month against Hutchinson of Oakland, Calif., but a general at neighboring Fort Stewart chose to settle the case by granting her an administrative discharge rather than try her in a military court.

"She's excited that she's no longer facing jail and can still be with her son, which is the most important thing," said Rai Sue Sussman, Hutchinson's civilian attorney. "We're very happy about it right now."

The decision still carries consequences for Hutchinson. She is being demoted in rank to private and will lose benefits afforded to military service members and veterans, Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said.

Larson said the Army had evidence that Hutchinson, regardless of her family situation, would have resisted deploying "by any means." He said commanders decided a court-martial would be too disruptive to the Army, requiring soldiers now in Afghanistan to return to the U.S. to testify.

"This case wasn't about a soldier having to choose between her duty to the nation and her family," Larson said. "There is evidence both from Pvt. Hutchinson and her fellow soldiers to indicate she had no intentions of deploying."

Sussman denied that Hutchinson was exploiting her status as a single-mom to get out of going to Afghanistan.

"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.

According to the Defense Department, there are more than 70,500 single parents on active duty in the U.S. military — about 5 percent of all service members. Nearly half of military single parents are in the Army.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_soldier_mom_deployment

scoutsout80
02-12-2010, 12:44 PM
Cunt bitch lazy fuck

MickDonalds
02-12-2010, 12:49 PM
More reason and incentive for us to ban females from deployment and treat them as the second class soldiers they are 99% of the time. She was a shitbag, and deserves this. She probably joined the ARMY out of unemployment desperation, and when it comes time to put up or shut up, she thinks "oh well i just wanted to sit in the rear and be a typical, fat army chick collecting benefits".

Besides, Cooks aren't even needed in theater anymore. That shouldn't even be a fucking MOS anymore, but a secondary skill identifier

nastyleg
02-12-2010, 12:50 PM
I joined the Army so I could get college money and free health care to raise my kid......oh you mean to tell me welfare could have done that for me...i do not need to join the Army to get it....she even said that she would resist any way she could to get out of a deployment. My wifes "friend" used chapter 8 to get out of the Army so she would not have to go to Iraq. She joined after the Iraq invasion (Jan 2004) and well after 9/11/01. People like her and this women deserve no respect and should be forced to repay the military all of the monies they spent on thier training.

Reactor-Axe-Man
02-12-2010, 09:27 PM
No doubt she was happy to live on Uncle Sugar's dime right up until the point where she had to deploy.

MickDonalds
02-13-2010, 11:54 AM
She joined after the Iraq invasion (Jan 2004) and well after 9/11/01. People like her and this women deserve no respect and should be forced to repay the military all of the monies they spent on thier training.

I HATE kids that do this. "Well I thought only those infantry guys deployed. I didn't know I'd be expected to go..." Yeah okay..

And that's a genius idea about making them repay all money afforded them and spent on their training