Should an Army specialist (and single mom) be punished for missing her deployment flight to Afghanistan in order to care for her 10-month-old son? That's what might happen to Alexis Hutchinson.

Hutchinson, 21, was arrested at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA for missing the flight, and was briefly jailed. Her attorney stated that Hutchinson refused her orders when her only family—her mother—became unable to care for the child while she was away. A superior officer allegedly told Hutchinson that she would have to deploy anyway and that her son would be put into foster care.

Our Military Wives board has been buzzing about this story. Most expressed compassion for Hutchinson's situation, but some thought that she should deploy anyway.

Here's a sampling of their comments:

"She wasn't trying to get out of a deployment. She had a care plan. It fell through and she needed time to figure out another one. Telling her she has to deploy on schedule and that her child will go into foster care is asinine."
—cl-amermae

"The soldier simply asked for more time to find someone to care for her child. Who knows why the baby's father can't or won't care for the child? Maybe he's unable to or unfit. She needs to be given more time and not be charged with anything. She wasn't trying to get out of deploying and she didn't go AWOL. She remained at her base trying to find care for her child.

"I say give her a break. She wasn't trying to avoid duty. She just needed a little extra time to fulfill her obligations to her child and to the Army."
—t09w

"There are single moms (and probably dads) out there who use kids as an excuse to never deploy. I see a lot of ridiculous waivers for guys on my husband's ship that allow them out of deployments. However, I think this case might be different. The article states that the grandma took the baby in October for two weeks and this is when she told her daughter she could not handle the situation. Up until that point, I think the daughter thought she had a care plan in place. If her commander did tell her [that her child might go into foster care], then someone needs to really look at that situation. You cannot tell a mother something like that and then expect her to just hand her kid over. I hope they really check all the facts in this one before they bring a judgment here."
—momranhan

"This is a very sad situation. She should have never joined the military if she did not have several relatives or friends who would step up and help her during a deployment. My husband was in charge of compiling the SRP (soldiers readiness processing) plans for his unit. There had to be indications of her irresponsibility prior to this. 'At risk' soldiers should be identified and calls should be made well in advance of deployments to verify that the soldier has a real plan.

"The bottom line is that she has got to go. No excuses."
—debtfreefirstofficer

"I think that the Army was wrong to force her to deploy without a proper care plan for her child. I know Brad has to fill out a mountain of paperwork and risk assessments just to take a weekend of leave, so you would think they would require the proper paperwork in this situation.

"I do, however, think that it was her responsibility to figure something out in this situation. Most deployments these days are announced far enough in advance that you can take care of stuff like this. I know that her mother said she would take care of the baby, but then later in the article she talks about her mother being ill and caring for other ill family members. Shouldn't that have been a warning sign earlier on that she wouldn't be able to care for the baby?"
—bradsarmybride

Compiled by Laura Motta

Do you think Hutchinson should be punished—or forced to deploy? Or do you think the Army should give her a break? Share your comments below.

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