An army cook and single mother may face criminal charges after skipping her deployment flight to Afghanistan earlier this month, saying no one could care for her infant son while she was overseas.
Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, 21, said that she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders after planning for her mother to keep the 10-month-old infant during her year-long deployment, and later being told by her mother that she was unable to care for the infant since she was caring for three other relatives with illnesses and special needs.
Hutchison, who joined the U.S. Army in 2007, and was assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, was arrested by military police on Nov. 6 ordered by commanders at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga.
Hutchinson’s civil attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, said that one of Hutchinson’s superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care.
Hunter Army Airfield spokesman Kevin Larson said that the Army would not deploy a single parent who does not have anyone to care for his or her child.
“If she would have come to the deployment terminal with her child, there’s no question she would not have been deployed,” Larson said.
The U.S. Army requires single parents with children to have plans concerning the care of their dependents in the event they were ever deployed.
According to the U.S. Army’s Family Care Plan, a single parent must provide short-term and long-term care providers if one becomes a single parent while in the military, and provide detailed plans for the care and support of the child or children.
Both with written acceptance, the short and long-term care provider must agree to care for the member’s child at any time in the event the military member is deployed without notice, or in the event the military member is deployed for a significant period or assigned to a ship at sea.
Additionally, the military member must notify his or her commander no later than 30 days of the occurrence of change in family circumstances or personal status. The commander may grant an additional 30 days if circumstances arise.
After caring for the infant for a week in California, Hutchinson’s mother, Angelique Hughes, told Hutchinson that she would be unable to continue to care for the child. She returned the child back to Hutchinson a few days before her deployment date.
The Army gave her an extension of time that allowed her to find another care provider, yet a few days before her original deployment date, she was told by the Army that she would not be granted the extension time.
Junior television production major John Knight agreed with Hutchinson’s actions.
“I feel as though the actions taken were a bit drastic and tactless,” Knight said. “She is a mother who does need to tend to and nurture her child. That, in my eyes, is a basic human right.”
Hutchinson remained confined at Hunter Army Airfield while the case is investigated although no charges have been filed. Her son is currently in California with Hutchinson’s mother.
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