How well does the Army treat its volunteers?

[kentuck]

Do they treat them like indentured servants? Are they treated humanely? Or are they treated like chattel?

The way they treated this young mother from CA makes one think the worst. They take her young baby and put it in foster care, arrest the mother, send her back to Afghanistan to stand a court-martial. What about the baby? Are we so desperate that we cannot let one person out of the military if they "volunteered"? I wonder?

[Greyhound]

1. They are chattel, why do you think they are called G.I.s?n/t

[demosincebirth]

2. Maybe there is more to this story, but my question is why did she

get pregnant while on active duty... and how did she expect to raise that child while in the Army?
I guess some think, when they join the Army, that they can pick and chose where they go and what they do. In the Army, they have rules and regulations and thats the way it was, like it or not. They used to say, in basic, that "if don't like it, well, thats tough shit," and I should have thought of that before I joined.

[C_Lawyer09]

4. She had a valid family care plan as required

But her mother reneged on it, saying she couldn't take the responsibility. She'll probably just get a dependency chapter under the provisions of AR 635-200. No law against getting pregnant, and it looks like she is a reservist from CA that just got activated.

[demosincebirth]

7. Getting pregnant sure complicates your tour of duty. I just hope they

resolve it for the child's sake.

[noamnety]

6. Since half of all women have at least one unplanned pregnancy

I've learned not to ask questions like "why did you decide to get pregnant?"

Assuming these are joint efforts, that tells me half of all people are involved in an unplanned pregnancy at some point in their lives.

So ... I am guessing the reason she got pregnant while on active duty is that she had sex. It's not the priesthood, you know.

I know this is shocking, but even the guys in the army are involved in unplanned pregnancies. Those cases just aren't as visible since they aren't the ones with the large bellies. They've done their fair share of knocking up women abroad in past wars, some of which they take responsibility for, some of which they don't.

[C_Lawyer09]

9. I'm starting to really appreciate

Your supply of edgy sarcasm, "It's not the priesthood you know" I have to laugh like hell.

[C_Lawyer09]

3. Validate your facts

We don't know if she's getting a court martial or if she's getting sent over to Afghanistan yet. Right now she is on post restriction and her command is working with her legal counsel to resolve the situation. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7118010

[kentuck]

5. I think the situation they are trying to resolve...

with her legal counsel, is the fact that she has been ordered to Afghanistan where she will be court-martialed. That is the situation that has to be resolved. And the baby has been ordered to foster care. We hope, with the publicity, that her counsel is successful. So far, I have not read that.

[C_Lawyer09]

8. I'm with you

As far as the baby being in foster care. I'm inclined to think there is an element to this story that is not being made public. However, if I'm wrong, I hope these events set a precedent for anything similar in the future. I do know she's a Specialist (E-4)unless she possess a critical skill, such as Arabic linguist, most commands would cut bait super fast and give her a dependency chapter under the provisions of the AR 635-200

[stray cat]

10. You mean how do you and I treat our volunteer army don't you?

We are paying them so we don't have to risk our own necks or sacrifice time or effort.

[kentuck]

11. No.

The US military is not dependent on my paying them to do anything. If that were the case, I would say to bring all our troops home now and cut the defense budget 50% immediately. No, I am not paying them so I don't have to risk my own neck. I am not in the Defense Dept decision ring.

[C_Lawyer09]

12. As myself and many other vets maintained

The story doesn't seem quite as sinister now, does it? Talk about sensational journalism!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_us/us_soldier_mom_deployment