US Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother of an 11-month old baby boy, faces one year in jail if she refuses to go to Afghanistan - despite she hasn't been able to find someone to take care of her son.
International press agency IPS reported that Hutchingson earlier this year was granted extra time to find someone to care for baby Kamani. This was rejected, after which she was arrested and detained at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia. Her son was placed into a county foster care system.
Initially, Hutchinson's agreed to take care of her grandson, who also has the care of a daughter with special needs, her own ailing mother and an ailing sister. After a week, Hutchinson's mother realized that caring for a small infant was too much.
The Army then gave Hutchinson an extension of time to allow her to find someone else to care for Kamani. Meanwhile, the boy returned to his mother's care.
However, only a few days before Hutchinson's original deployment date, she was told by the Army she would not get the time extension after all, and would have to deploy, despite not having found anyone to care for her child.
Hutchinson chose not to show up for her plane to Afghanistan. The arrest followed, and her child was placed in a county foster care system.
Currently, Hutchinson is scheduled to fly to Afghanistan on Sunday for a special court martial, where she then faces up to one year in jail.
"The core issue is that they are asking her to make an inhumane choice," IPS quoted Hutchinson's civilian lawyer, Rai Sue Sussman. "She did not have a complete family care plan, meaning she did not find someone to provide long-term care for her child. She's required to have a complete family care plan, and was told she'd have an extension, but then they changed it on her."
Asked why she believes the military revoked Hutchinson's extension, Sussman responded. "I think they didn't believe her that she was unable to find someone to care for her infant. They think she's just trying to get out of her deployment. But she's just trying to find someone she can trust to take care of her baby."
According to Sussman, the soldier needs more time to find someone to care for her infant, but does not as yet have friends or family able to do so.
Although Hutchinson's mother has retrieved the baby, she has said that she does not feel able to provide long-term care for the child.
Hutchinson apparently told her lawyer that: "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."
Army's JAG attorney, Captain Ed Whitford, replied that she "told me they thought her chain of command thought she was trying to get out of her deployment by using her child as an excuse." '
Major Gallagher, of Hutchinson's unit, also told Sussman that he did not believe it was a real family crisis, and that Hutchinson's "mother should have been able to take care of the baby".
