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From ‘Courage to Resist’:
Army has mom, Alexis Hutchinson, arrested and 11-month old son put into county foster care system. Alexis has now been ordered to deploy to Afghanistan on Sunday, November 15, where she will be court martialed.
Action Alert: Contact Congresswoman Barbara Lee to urge her to "Request that the Army not deploy Alexis Hutchinson to Afghanistan so that she can care for her son." From the 9th District (Oakland/Berkeley, CA) phone: 510-763-0370 (fax: 510-763-6538). Nationwide: 202- 225-2661 (fax: 202-225-9817).
Donate to Alexis’ legal and family support fund (couragetoresist.org/alexis)
By Rai Sue Sussman. November 12, 2009
Specialist Alexis Hutchinson of Oakland, CA is the single mother of an 11-month old boy, Kamani. Currently she is confined to Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, where she has been posted since February 2008, and threatened with a court martial if she does not agree to be deployed to Afghanistan, even though she has not found anyone to take care of her child while she is away. (photo: Alexis Hutchinson and son Kamani / Facebook)
Alexis’ attorney now available for media inquires. Contact via Courage to Resist.
In anticipation of going overseas Specialist Hutchinson flew to California and left her son with her mother Angelique Hughes of Oakland, as per her Army family care plan. However, after a week of caring for the child Specialist Hutchinson’s mother realized that she was unable to take care of Kamani on top of her other duties to her special-needs daughter, her ailing mother, and her ailing sister. In late October Angelique Hughes informed Hutchinson and her commander, Captain Gassant, that she was not able to care for her daughter’s baby after all. The Army gave Specialist Hutchinson an extension of time to find someone else to care for her son, and in the meantime her mother brought Kamani back to Georgia. However just a few days before Specialist Hutchinson was scheduled to deploy she was told that she would not get the extended time after all and would have to deploy, even though there was no one to care for her child.
Faced with that choice Specialist Hutchinson did not show up for her plane. The military had her arrested and they put her child in the county foster care system. Currently, Specialist Hutchinson is scheduled to fly to Afghanistan for a special court martial on Sunday and is facing up to one year in jail. Her mother flew to Georgia and retrieved the baby but is overwhelmed, and does not feel able to provide long-term care for Kamani.
Specialist Hutchinson would like to have more time to find someone to care for her infant. However, she does not have a lot of family or friends who could do so. She says: “It is outrageous that they would deploy a single mother without a complete and current family care plan. I would like to find someone I trust who can take care of my son, but I cannot force my family to do this. They are dealing with their own health issues.”
It’s no wonder the Army has lowered it’s enlistment standards so much given the idiocy of this kind of action will have on retention.
12 Comments
As someone remarked to me, apparently our soldiers taking care of kids in Afghanistan is more important than taking care of kids here.
The US takes care of children in Afghanistan?
This is yet another example of the stupidity, insanity, and stubborn pride of an unthinking military in love with its sick and twisted dispensable warrior ethos and inviolable regs; dispensable if killed or wounded in action, but not dispensable to care for a child; and inviolable if not in the officer corps, but accommodating and flexible if you are.
I can’t believe that the Army would court martial a single mother who needs to take care of her 11-month-old son.
When there was the draft during the Vietnam War, wasn’t it prohibited to draft a mother or a father of minors? I’m not sure how this is different.
Why can’t they find another way for her to serve on a base where she can take her son?
I think this is a tough call. Our military spends significant money training a soldier. This isn’t just a job. Did she have the baby while enlisted or before? I don’t know the answers, but I remember when I was in the navy, I was government property. Maybe I’m cold blooded (I don’t think so) but active duty soldiers probably shouldn’t be having babies to begin with. You can’t do it in a month of leave, and you can’t do other parts of your job while pregnant. It isn’t fair to the mother or the military.
That being said, I hope they make a decision that is clear and conscientious, and is applicable to the future.
I agree with you mapsguy. We have a volunteer army, I would object to drafting any parent (male or female) of young children, but Specialist Hutchinson volunteered for military service. If family problems had rendered inadequate made the childcare arrangements SHE HERSELF had made, she should have filed for a hardship discharge. But apparently she was happy taking the Army’s money and benefits up until she faced a combat deployment.
We are in a shooting war and if Hutchinson doesn’t deploy per her orders some other man or woman (probably leaving behind children of their own) will have to fly out and take her place in a war zone.
Wow, I think you and mapsguy are being too judgmental about the woman and ignoring the child’s best interests. How can placing a blameless 11-month-old child in foster care be in the child’s best interests?
Are either of you suggesting that unexpected changes in circumstances shouldn’t be considered?
Or that arrangements couldn’t be made to keep her stateside?
Are either of you saying she should have aborted the child and should face the career consequences because she didn’t?
Or, perhaps she should have killed the child and reported on time for duty?
Then again, maybe y’all spent too much time in uniform and need to relearn how to think?
I’m not calling you out; just asking you to think about what you said.
Maybe you’ll change your minds and maybe you won’t. Don’t know.
I think that maybe there’s something about simply not showing up for the plane that might not sit right. Might be a little more to the story than is presented here.
What does “Courage to Resist” have to do with this situation?
I will take care of him. Have them call me, Lauren Unruh, 925 033-9659.
I live in Pleasant Hill not far from Oakland. I would do this as a service project. My niece went into the military to support her own baby and one of my sisters has baby sat like this for a friend in the military. I would be more than willing to do this and I am able.
Contact via Courage to Resist; and bless you for your actions.
This should be front paged. Arresting a Mom for carrying for her son first? If a Father’s wife died would a Man get leave to take care of his kids? If not he should. The problem of parents in the army needs more debate. I’m on the side of taking care of kids first.