gut wrenching...

This is such a heartbreaking story. I learned of this particular story while on Yahoo! today. The story comes out of Georgia Army base. A single-soldier-mom refused deployment and was subsequently jailed by military police. She was jailed because she skipped her flight to Afghanistan. Her reasoning: no relative or close friend could take custody of her son while away for at least 15 months. The father of the child is ABSENT (like many young fathers in America). Her mother (the grandmother of the baby) promised to take care of her grandson while she was away, however she is overwhelmed with taking care of her dying mother, special needs daughter, and her ailing sister.

Military officials suggest that they do not allow single parents to deploy without a plan of action in place for their children. Unfortunately, her plan of action fell through. Initially some military personnel suggested that she go ahead and ship out to Afghanistan while her child be placed in foster care. Of course, the young mother declined because she does not want to abandon her child.

This is a tough situation to be placed in. When in the military there is a Fog of War, or chain of command, which means you have the duty and obligation to do whatever you are told by a "higher up." One side of the argument is that she has made a commitment, which needs to be filled. The otherside of the arguement is that she should not be seperated from her infant son because he could suffer pshycologically.

If it were another issue, for example, paralysis, there would be no question that the commitment to serve and protect the country could be broken. Unfortunately, she is going to have to make a case for herself because she is a female in a male dominated industry. Lets face it, most men don't have to worry about where his child will be while he is deployed.

To read more on this story click here