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Court-Martial for Mother or Foster Care for Her Baby?

By Janet Langjahr

Mother is in the military and is scheduled to be deployed overseas.

Mother arranges for Grandmother to care for Baby during Mother’s deployment.

Grandmother reneges … a few days before Mother’s deployment.

It appears Baby will have to go into foster care if Mother is to deploy as scheduled.

What’s a mother to do?

Mother misses her appointed flight overseas.

After Mother makes other arrangements for Baby’s care, Mother reports for duty.

And, for her trouble, Mother is arrested for dereliction of duty and other charges, and under threat of court-martial and imprisonment.

In the end, the military merely grants Mother an “other-than-honorable” discharge. Mother’s rank is lowered and she is stripped of some of her military benefits.

The military reportedly views Mother as trying to avoid her commitment and not availing herself of alternative options it, presumably, considers adequate for Baby.

In 2009, 10,000 single parents were able to be deployed overseas.

But hundreds, if not thousands, of other single mothers in the military have reportedly been administratively discharged over child care difficulties similar to Mother’s.

Read more in this New York Times article: Single Mother Is Spared Court-Martial.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on February 12, 2010 (boomark / email).