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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
A woman on 15 day leave in the US from Iraq is refusing to return
to Iraq - she says her 7 children need her at home and that she is quitting the military. The US govt. says otherwise and may prosecute her for desertion. Apparently her husband is also in the military and the childrens grandmother has been caring for the children while they have been gone. This presents a touchy situation for the Pentagon. Do you want to look like you are beating up on a mother of 7 by sending her to prison or do you let her out and set an example that others are going to use to get out of their military obligations?. I saw the story on CNN this morning. |
#2
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
In article , Ignoramus14934 says...
I am sorry for the kids, but not as sorry for the mother. What was she thinking enrolling in the military with 7 kids with the husband also in the military? That she had alternate arrangements should the occassion arise that they both be deployed, apparently. The grandmother, and the OP's description doesn't say if her husband is deployed - just that he's military. I haven't chased down the story. The problem is a change of heart once she saw the kiddies again. But, yup, if she's AWOL, she's to be prosecuted, and I dont' think the Pentagon will face the backlash for it the OP thinks. I think folks are starting to get tired of that subset of contemporary military personnel who didn't really internalize that war might be part of the pitcure when they joined and are bitching about the situation. Although I get the feeling there's more to the story.. Banty (military brat myself) |
#3
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
In article , Ignoramus14934 says...
Well, sure. We have a volunteer military, so they better fight the wars that they were paid for. Personally, I think that it is not very smart to join national guard. Especially if you have 7 kids. So, how much of your opinion is from not thinking it smart to join when you have a large family, and how much of it is from not thinking it smart to join *at all*? Did you really mean the second sentence? Banty |
#4
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
"John Stone" wrote in message
m... A woman on 15 day leave in the US from Iraq is refusing to return to Iraq - she says her 7 children need her at home and that she is quitting the military. The US govt. says otherwise and may prosecute her for desertion. Apparently her husband is also in the military and the childrens grandmother has been caring for the children while they have been gone. This presents a touchy situation for the Pentagon. Do you want to look like you are beating up on a mother of 7 by sending her to prison or do you let her out and set an example that others are going to use to get out of their military obligations?. I saw the story on CNN this morning. I'm not so sure the 2 weeks of R&R is a good idea anyway. I can't imagine having to get my kids used to dad being gone *again*. I bet tons of military personnel will go UA/AWOL. I feel for the grandmother, I *can* imagine how hard it is for her. Not only the complete lifestyle change, but also the worry of her child and child-in-law being in Iraq. That being said, too bad so sad. She knew the consequences when she signed on the dotted line *and* had children. Plenty of dual military families are dealing with this and they haven't deserted. -- Sophie - TTC #4 |
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
Banty wrote in message ...
In article , Ignoramus14934 says... I am sorry for the kids, but not as sorry for the mother. What was she thinking enrolling in the military with 7 kids with the husband also in the military? That she had alternate arrangements should the occassion arise that they both be deployed, apparently. The grandmother, and the OP's description doesn't say if her husband is deployed - just that he's military. I haven't chased down the story. The problem is a change of heart once she saw the kiddies again. But, yup, if she's AWOL, she's to be prosecuted, and I dont' think the Pentagon will face the backlash for it the OP thinks. I think folks are starting to get tired of that subset of contemporary military personnel who didn't really internalize that war might be part of the pitcure when they joined and are bitching about the situation. Although I get the feeling there's more to the story.. Banty (military brat myself) With 7 kids it was probably the necessity of some kind of job. I suspect that is why she joined but she probably didn't give the long term implications as much thought as she should have. If things stay ugly in Iraq I suspect we will see more AWOL attempts when they come back for their 15 day leave (both men and women). |
#6
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
In article , John Stone says...
Banty wrote in message ... In article , Ignoramus14934 says... I am sorry for the kids, but not as sorry for the mother. What was she thinking enrolling in the military with 7 kids with the husband also in the military? That she had alternate arrangements should the occassion arise that they both be deployed, apparently. The grandmother, and the OP's description doesn't say if her husband is deployed - just that he's military. I haven't chased down the story. The problem is a change of heart once she saw the kiddies again. But, yup, if she's AWOL, she's to be prosecuted, and I dont' think the Pentagon will face the backlash for it the OP thinks. I think folks are starting to get tired of that subset of contemporary military personnel who didn't really internalize that war might be part of the pitcure when they joined and are bitching about the situation. Although I get the feeling there's more to the story.. Banty (military brat myself) With 7 kids it was probably the necessity of some kind of job. I suspect that is why she joined but she probably didn't give the long term implications as much thought as she should have. Um, that's not the problem. Assuming the issue is that grandma was unable to provide the backup care if/when both parents are deployed (neither of which is actually clear from your OP), the problem is that the child's father joined the military thereby making this predicament possible. This is at least as likely a source of the problem as your suggestion. Now coming from a military family myself, I'll tell you that large families are actually rather common - people join for the medical benefits, and because the military has been a path to upwards mobility for many families. The *real* problem here is that many have not truly considered that war may be part of the picture. But many details being unclear, despite your eagerness to tag the mother with fault (although it does sound like she's AWOL, but that's *it*), I'd like to get, as Paul Harvey says - The Rest Of The Story. Cheers, Banty |
#7
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
On 5 Nov 2003 16:59:35 GMT, Ignoramus14934 wrote:
In article , Banty wrote: In article , Ignoramus14934 says... Well, sure. We have a volunteer military, so they better fight the wars that they were paid for. Personally, I think that it is not very smart to join national guard. Especially if you have 7 kids. So, how much of your opinion is from not thinking it smart to join when you have a large family, and how much of it is from not thinking it smart to join *at all*? Did you really mean the second sentence? Well, it is pretty irrational to join the national guard, unless you want long exciting assignments like searching for insurgents in Iraq. Ummmm.... you do realize that there are people out there who believe that they owe service to their country, right? The National Guard is a perfectly fine way of doing that. Sure, there are people who joined in the expectation that they'd never be called into conflict, but there are also people who, while they certainly wouldn't WANT to go into battle, accept that it's also a possibility. Not to mention helping out in natural and manmade disasters, etc, that can take them away from home on short notice, and for long terms. Sheesh. |
#8
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
My husband is career active duty Navy and has been gone for long periods of
time throughout the years. I understand the hardships but why join if you already have kids and aren't prepared for the possibility of deployment. We thought LONG & HARD - BEFORE we decided to have a child, and that was with him having already been in for 14 years. Mare "Sophie" wrote in message ... "John Stone" wrote in message m... A woman on 15 day leave in the US from Iraq is refusing to return to Iraq - she says her 7 children need her at home and that she is quitting the military. The US govt. says otherwise and may prosecute her for desertion. Apparently her husband is also in the military and the childrens grandmother has been caring for the children while they have been gone. This presents a touchy situation for the Pentagon. Do you want to look like you are beating up on a mother of 7 by sending her to prison or do you let her out and set an example that others are going to use to get out of their military obligations?. I saw the story on CNN this morning. I'm not so sure the 2 weeks of R&R is a good idea anyway. I can't imagine having to get my kids used to dad being gone *again*. I bet tons of military personnel will go UA/AWOL. I feel for the grandmother, I *can* imagine how hard it is for her. Not only the complete lifestyle change, but also the worry of her child and child-in-law being in Iraq. That being said, too bad so sad. She knew the consequences when she signed on the dotted line *and* had children. Plenty of dual military families are dealing with this and they haven't deserted. -- Sophie - TTC #4 |
#9
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
"Sophie" wrote in message ... "John Stone" wrote in message m... A woman on 15 day leave in the US from Iraq is refusing to return to Iraq - she says her 7 children need her at home and that she is quitting the military. The US govt. says otherwise and may prosecute her for desertion. Apparently her husband is also in the military and the childrens grandmother has been caring for the children while they have been gone. This presents a touchy situation for the Pentagon. Do you want to look like you are beating up on a mother of 7 by sending her to prison or do you let her out and set an example that others are going to use to get out of their military obligations?. I saw the story on CNN this morning. I'm not so sure the 2 weeks of R&R is a good idea anyway. I can't imagine having to get my kids used to dad being gone *again*. I bet tons of military personnel will go UA/AWOL. I feel for the grandmother, I *can* imagine how hard it is for her. Not only the complete lifestyle change, but also the worry of her child and child-in-law being in Iraq. That being said, too bad so sad. She knew the consequences when she signed on the dotted line *and* had children. Plenty of dual military families are dealing with this and they haven't deserted. -- Sophie - TTC #4 Does anyone know if this is the family that was profiled in TIME magazine? I remember a family with lots of kids, and both parents were sent to Iraq, with the grandmother leaving her then somewhat not terribly healthy husband to take care of the kids. After the grandmother got there the grandfather took a turn for the worse, she couldn't go back to help and has been watching these kids and worrying about her husband and having no idea when anyone is coming home. The stress was wearing on the grandmother, and her health was beginning to look iffy. It was an excellent article detailing how much hardship war puts these families in, even when they thought they had back up. I'm disappointed our military can't give these families more help back home. I'd pay more taxes for that. |
#10
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Mom goes AWOL from Iraq - says children need her at home
"Mary" wrote in message ... My husband is career active duty Navy and has been gone for long periods of time throughout the years. I understand the hardships but why join if you already have kids and aren't prepared for the possibility of deployment. We thought LONG & HARD - BEFORE we decided to have a child, and that was with him having already been in for 14 years. Mare Yep, mine's an active duty Marine. Each child was planned (one around a deployment). She's crazy if she thought she'd never have to leave her children at some point. -- Sophie |
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