Mom not using baby to skip duty, lawyer says

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Army Spc. Alexis Hutchinson refused to deploy to Afghanistan because she could not find care for her son, Kamani.


Mom not using baby to skip duty, lawyer says
By Alan Gomez - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Nov 18, 2009 19:13:21 EST

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.

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."


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/gns_mom_not_deploying_111809/