Army Arrests Single Mom, Has Baby Placed In Care, Over Afghan Deployment

By Steve Hynd

A shockingly insensitive U.S. Army has arrested a single mother and soldier who couldn't find a carer for her child while she was on deployment to Afghanistan. The Army also handed the child over to Child Protective Services and now plans to fly the soldier to Afghanistan for court martial because she missed her deployment plane. The soldier's lawyer, Rai Sue Sussman, has issued a statement:

Specialist Alexis Hutchinson of Oakland, CA is the single mother of an 11-month old boy, Kamani. Currently she is confined to Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, where she has been posted since February 2008, and threatened with a court martial if she does not agree to be deployed to Afghanistan, even though she has not found anyone to take care of her child while she is away. She has been told that she will be flown this Sunday to Afghanistan for a special court martial.

In anticipation of going overseas Specialist Hutchinson flew to California and left her son with her mother Angelique Hughes of Oakland, as per her Army family care plan. However, after a week of caring for the child Specialist Hutchinson’s mother realized that she was unable to take care of Kamani on top of her other duties to her special-needs daughter, her ailing mother, and her ailing sister. In late October Angelique Hughes informed Hutchinson and her commander, Captain Gassant, that she was not able to care for her daughter's baby after all. The Army gave Specialist Hutchinson an extension of time to find someone else to care for her son, and in the meantime her mother brought Kamani back to Georgia. However just a few days before Specialist Hutchinson was scheduled to deploy she was told that she would not get the extended time after all and would have to deploy, even though there was no one to care for her child.

Faced with that choice Specialist Hutchinson did not show up for her plane. The military had her arrested and they put her child in the county foster care system.

Currently, Specialist Hutchinson is scheduled to fly to Afghanistan for a special court martial on Sunday and is facing up to one year in jail. Her mother flew to Georgia and retrieved the baby but is overwhelmed, and does not feel able to provide long-term care for Kamani.

Specialist Hutchinson would like to have more time to find someone to care for her infant. However, she does not have a lot of family or friends who could do so. She says: “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.”

I'm told that a press release today from the Army says that they've postponed flying Specialist Hutchison to Afghanistan for now, but she still doesn't know how long she'll be allowed to stay in the U.S.

Come on, Army! There are tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan already and tens of thousands others who are far more able to deploy. Did you really need Specialist Hutchison that much that you had to threaten her baby? If so, then throwing her in jail makes her as useless as not sending her - more so, in fact. And did you have to be such assholes as to put that baby in care and arrest her for just trying to look after the boy?

Surely there was a better solution available if someone just took the time to find it. There's rules, and then there's being hidebound by the rules to the point where you do something stupid and pettily evil like this.

Update: The local ABC affiliate in Oakland, where Spec. Hutchison's Mom lives, has gotten hold of the story and has some more. But the Army told them that Hutchison isn't under arrest - which conflicts with what her lawyer believes and with the threat to send her to Afghanistan for a special court martial.

Comments

[Ron Beasley]

This may not be politically correct but I think it's right. When I was in the service in the late 60s and early 70s a female soldier was given an honorable discharge when she became pregnant - I don't know when that changed. Mothers with small children should not be deployed. If that means they shouldn't be in the military so be it.

[Steve Hynd]

Hi Ron,

I think that'd be fine as an option. Arresting her and putting the baby in care - not so fine. Really not.

Regards, Steve

[anderson]

Douchebaggery, indeed!

[ticked off]

You're not here. You don't know the whole story. The truth is she's lying. You'll see it in court. The truth is she's using her child to get out of a deployment and that's what's pathetic. She knew what she was doing when she signed up - the Army LETS pregnant women get out and she chose not too. She had nine months to realize she didn't have someone to take care of her kid (and believe me, she knew she was deploying since Feb. 2008). It's okay, you can have your opinions about the Army and her - even if they are founded on lies. You'll see in court that the truth is, she's not fit to be a mother.

[white]

I THINK SHE DID THE RIGHT THING... THIS IS THE ARMY AND THAT 11 MTH OLD BABY IS HER SON.... ITS NOT LIKE SHE WILL BE NEEDED OR MISSED OVERSEAS............ SHE SHOULD NOT BE THROWN IN JAIL FOR THIS.....

[former soldier]

Being a former soldier with children, I know how insensitive the Army is. I had just arrived at my new unit and we were scheduled to go to the field for a month. My husband was sick and in the hospital and I had no one to take care of my children. My unit told me to get to know my neighbors, because if my husband was not able to take care of my children, I would have to leave my 6 and 18 month old with someone and they didn't care who.

[Gabriel Berkhoudt]

I have an issue because I am supposidly the father of Kamani Alexander Hutchinson. I have told her numerous times that I would take care of Kamani but because she has issues with our past relationship she won't allow me to be around for this child AT ALL....I have asked her numerous times for an address to send stuff to and she never responds back with the information. All she ever says is to leave her alone. And that Kamani is all hers. I have been dealing with this since she was pregnant. So basically I don't understand why she went to this extreme to make a big deal bout things when she hasn't tapped ALL of her resources.

[Leanne]

I am here in Canada, and I find this shocking. Why can't she stay doing whatever job on base she is doing instead of deploying someplace she cannot take the child. To "Ticked Off"... does it make any difference whatsover about whether she was SUPPOSED to be deployed? As the one talking about Vietnam said, a pregnant mother was given an honorable discharge... and I am assuming that woman knew she was IN the army IN a war when she got pregnant. The fact of the matter is that she is pregnant... and we don't decide whether to give family benefits, maternity leave, the H1N1 vaccine etc based on whether we think the mother is a good or fit mother or not. They ARE mothers, and there ARE children involved. The foster care system in Canada and the US are horrors... I should know, I know enough people who went through them and who have adopted or care for kids in them. Whyever take an 11 month old from a mother and send the mother either to a war (not even a struggle for their country or the world like WW2) or put her in jail for not going to war? She is a COOK for heaven's sake. Can't they replace her? Or simply keep her working on base with the kid, which is what she obviously was doing? And why is she a horrid person if she actually chose to continue to serve her country instead of taking advantage of "The Army lets pregnant women leave"? Isn't that MORE in service to her country than the opposite? Wouldn't the county's and country's $ be better spent keeping a mother home for his kid vs paying to put her in jail and paying to keep him in care? Insane.

And I am sorry to the man who claims to be his father. You'll have to assert your rights in court if you are not on the birth certificate. And no, she doesn't have to place the child with you. There are plenty of divorced parents where one parent doesn't voluntarily give over custody or sharing of custody with the ex. Again, you'd have to go to court. In any case, why was the army not looking for a father if he just appears on online blogs. Did you not contact the army base?

All in all, appalling behaviour, that has very little to nothing to do with if she is a "good mom" or "using the kid". If in WW2 they could allow farmers not to deploy, whyever would they deploy a single mom of a baby?

[gabriel berkhoudt]

No I haven't contacted any the Army Base, I was just told this stuff last night. Alexis Hutchinson sent me an email stating " Your Son Kamani was on ABC news last night he's famous" I replyed back by asking "How and Why" All she said was to type in her name into google. I typed it in and all of this information came up!! I am upalled by what's going on. On top of that they threatned taking little Kamani into CPS. Yet she never tapped all of her resources. I have tried over and over to connect with her for the sake of Kamani but everytime our past relationship gets brought up she says to leave her alone and that Kamani is only hers. No I am not on the Birth Certificate as I have been dealing with this same game since she was pregnant. Only wanting me around Kamani when I was trying to be intamatly involved with her. We went our seperate ways and it has been this way ever since. I don't have money for a blood test or to even take this to court. I'm not a bad father and love my children dearly. I don't drink, don't do drugs, don't beat women or kids, yet I'm left out of any descion concerning "my child" and what happens if they had taken Kamani into CPS?? I'm screwed too? I wouldn't of even been notified!!! If his mom can't even get him out of there what makes me think I could??!!!