Did you hear about the American soldier who got thrown in jail because she missed her deployment plane to go save families and people in other countries? Yes, she got jailed because plans she made to have her 10-month old son cared for during her tour fell through at the last minute and she missed the plane! While she was being asked to go save other families in far away countries where she will probably be killed, she is being punished for trying to take care of a little boy who is just TEN MONTHS old.
How sad is it that the most powerful country in the world sends soldiers – young men and women, to fight injustice and neglect in other parts of the world, yet cannot afford to take care of a 10-month old boy while his mother goes to war on our behalf.
This is not an isolated case. We have seen numerous news reports of soldiers coming home from deployment to broken marriages, estranged family relationships and mental degeneration. Many of these innocent victims of a careless administration that pays lip service to caring for our troops are just that: VICTIMS. These folks cannot express disagreement with a useless war, or the killing of innocent women and children they are faced with on a daily basis. The few who drum up enough courage to take a stand get dishonorable discharge after serving jail time.
What exactly is the U.S. military trying to investigate now that this shameless treatment of the young single mother has been exposed? “The case is under investigation” like it is a unique and isolated occurrence. It is almost a safe bet to argue that this sort of treatment happens to thousands of soldiers daily but never get national coverage. It is a despicable display of nonchalance and a disdain for a family structure within military households. It is almost as if the military is blaming the young woman for having a child.
How much would it cost for the U.S. government to provide care for the children of single parents who are deploying to battle? What message does it send to other single parents who are thinking of enlisting?
Yes, this one case will get resolved and a press conference will be held where top military parrots will deplore the “inexcusable treatment of this patriot” and we will all go back to our daily grind. And no doubt there have been lazy arguments like:
“the 30-day notice and counseling are standard anytime a single parent could be deployed”; “… most single-parent soldiers have a backup family care plan as well as a primary”;
“if thousands of other single-parent soldiers can and do manage, then she should be able to as well”;
And this one the most callous and ignorant of all:
“She took our tax-payer money under the agreement she would deploy if needed. It was clear, and her obligation, to find someone to take care of her child. If someone wasn’t available she should have resigned.”
The one theme from the comments above is the shallowness of the thinking of most Americans. The inability to see the bigger picture that this could be a situation that caught the Army specialist off-guard. There is almost a Hobbessian brutality that negates our attempt to brand ourselves as civilized and compassionate. The disturbing aspect of all of this is the perpetual state of denial we, as Americans, seem to be in. When we engage in acts of injustice or cruelty, we often try to justify those acts as legal or strive to blame the victim.
What do you think the reactions of the people who made the comments above would be if this was reported by CNN as an act that was perpetrated by say, the Iranian or North Korean military? There will probably be some including military leaders and members of Congress who would be clamoring for more sanctions and some form of “strong language” of condemnation.
It is a shameful act indeed, but truthfully, as one can deduce from reading comments like the ones above, it is hardly surprising.