Military Mom Defends Choice

[asquint]

Check this out



http://www.military.com/NewsContent?...ESRC=army-a.nl

[rogue49]

For those who don't like to click links

Deployed Mom Defends Choice
By Pfc. Christina Carde
Army News Service
July 3, 2003


BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- While sitting at my desk writing my daily article for the Freedom Watch, an Army newspaper for soldiers in Afghanistan, my co-worker casually turned to me and suggested that I type my name in the Yahoo search engine to see all of the articles I've written that have been posted on the Internet.





Not thinking anything of it, I typed my name in and began to scroll down headlines of stories I've written since my deployment to Afghanistan. I was not prepared for what I found.

"Agape News Press - The case of Private Christina," read one of the sites on the page. Curious, I clicked on it to see what had been printed about me. I received the shock of a lifetime.

Cort Kirkwood, a journalist and editor of The Daily News Record in Harrisonburg, Va., had read an article about me run by the Department of Defense Web news site, Defend America, titled "A Mom's Mission" and had decided to rip it to shreds. He called me everything from basically an unfit mother for leaving my son to go off to war to a sellout for enlisting in the Army for "30 pieces of silver," a.k.a., the Montgomery G.I. Bill.

As I read the article, I realized this was not only an attack on my 3-year-old son and me, but on all mothers deployed in the service of their country. However, since Mr. Kirkwood believes he is the subject-matter expert on the lives of women in the military he has never met or spoken to, I thought I would take the time to broaden his horizons using a few points he made in his article.

"Patriotism ain't the real reason Pfc. Christina signed up (for the Army). She enlisted for college benefits and to improve her family's lot in life, she enlisted for 30 pieces of silver."

Before I joined the Army, my son and I were living in one of the worst sections in the New York City area, where getting your next drug fix took nothing more than walking across the street or knocking on the neighbor's door. Working up to 60 hours a week was just barely paying the bills, and my 2-year-old son could have walked out the door at any time and been shot during a drive-by.

I suppose I could have taken the alternate route and applied for public assistance, so upstanding citizens like Mr. Kirkwood could pay my bills for me, but I decided to get out of the rut I was in on my own and joined the service. Now my son lives in a neighborhood where you can hear a pin drop and lights are out by 9 p.m.

"Who are the military morons who think this is a good idea (to allow mothers to deploy overseas)?"

When I came to this portion of the article, I could do nothing but sit back and laugh at the irony of his statement. The same "military morons" who give American women a chance to serve their country and provide for their families, are the same who fight and die alongside many of these women in today's combat operations. They are the ones who give journalists like Kirkwood the freedom of press and speech to write tasteless, unprofessional and uneducated "news articles" such as "The Case of Private Christina."

At least these mothers can return home with a sense of pride and accomplishment and be able to tell their children that they had a part in defending their country. What will Mr. Kirkwood be able to say other than he bashed the integrity and courage of these female troops during a time of war?

"Perhaps the would-be MacArthurs see nothing wrong with a mother dumping on her young son," was the final statement that stood out for me in the article.

Like many other deployed parents out here, I haven't seen my son in six months. However, I know my son is in a safe place with everything he needs. He will never be a child who has to wear second-hand clothing or the one stuck at home because I can't afford to send him on a class trip. That is the way things should be, and if I have to deploy in search of every Bin Laden and Hussein on the planet to keep it that way, then so be it.

[lurkette]

*sigh*

Hasn't that journalist heard about walking a mile in another person's shoes? What on earth would make him 1. write an article without even talking to its subject? 2. assume that ANY mother would rather be deployed in Afghanistan than be home with her 3-year-old son?

People like that give us peaceniks a bad name.

[Sparhawk]

Here's the article that inspired it. My thoughts to follow when I read it.

*ctrl-c, ctrl-v

The Hard Line
Moms March to War

By R. Cort Kirkwood
February 12, 2003

(AgapePress) - An ignored issue in the upcoming war in Iraq, the waning war in Afghanistan, and indeed the U.S. military in general, is mothers. And not the mothers who send their sons and husbands to die.

We're talking here about mothers in the military, those dispatched overseas to leave husband and hearth behind, and most importantly, young children in the lurch. For some, this is "progress," to use the peculiar patois of feminists and their swains in the military.

But the other end of this nutty egalitarian equation, infants and small children, probably wouldn't view it that way.

The Case of Private Christina
The most recent case concerns Private Christina Carde, a "print journalist" serving in Afghanistan. The Armed Forces Press Service celebrates her in the article, "U.S. Army Pfc. Christina Carde: A Mom's Mission."

After witnessing the destruction and murder of September 11, 2001, Pfc. Christina told the propaganda agency, "I thought about my son and what could happen again if we didn't do something. That's what made me go ahead with my conviction to join the Army."

Lest you think we're talking about a 13-year-old boy who might understand Mom bailing out for a hitch in the Army, don't. He is 3 years old. "He didn't understand," she said, but "I think he's become more accustomed to it now."

And why is that? "Carde was in basic training and Advanced Individual Training for about eight-and-a-half months," the press service reports. "Her son was then with her again for five months before she deployed to Afghanistan for six months. ‘In total,' she said, ‘by the time I get back I'm going to have been away from him a third of his life.'"

In other words, the boy doesn't know his mother.

Does Anyone See a Problem Here?
One has to wonder what's going on at the Pentagon?

Perhaps the would-be MacArthurs see nothing wrong with a mother dumping her young son. Or maybe they think separation from Mom is best for the tike.

Or maybe someone lost his mind. Who are the military morons who think this is a good idea? Then again, given that many mothers dump their kids in daycare to pursue careers anyway, perhaps this is the next logical step.

The feminists will say Pfc. Christina has as much "right" as the next guy to serve her country. That isn't true, of course, but for a minute let's concede the argument. It doesn't follow that a mother has a "right" to ditch her kids. The best interests of the child supersede the professional desire or patriotic zeal of the mother and trump the interests of the state.

For that little boy, the best thing is to have Mom at home.

By the way, patriotism ain't the real reason Pfc. Christina signed up, the press service reported. Rather, she "enlisted in the Army to earn college benefits and improve her family's lot in life."

She enlisted for 30 pieces of silver.

Bring the Mothers Home, Mr. President
Pfc. Christina isn't the first or only mother who shipped out for the Gulf and left a child in the lurch.

But she ought to be the last.

If President Bush is as "compassionate" as he says, maybe he can spare a little compassion for these kids.

Be a man, Mr. President. Bring the mothers home.

[Sparhawk]

lurkette,

This guy isn't a peacenik, he's a reactionary christian scumbag of the worst sort.

He really needs to be tossed to the lions, calling her a judas for joining the military for the benefits. 1 out of 2 4-year enlistees join because of the GI Bill, christ, it's probably the single best veteran benefit ever created.

#$%#%^@#@@#%!!!!!

#@#$@#$^!!!!!!!!

[gov135]

Anybody else get the impression that htis guy was born with a silver spoon wedged up his... ah, that's not fair. I assuming just like this "journalist" did. But it seems that he is unable to discern what a benefit college tuition and child-care programs can be.

Luckily for us, this guy is easy to expose as an unthinking, unfeeling ignoramous. Unfortunately, it's the unthinking, unfeeling ignoramous's that hide behind an air of authority that are more difficult to see through. They are far more dangerous than an idiot at a keyboard.

[Lebell]

Well, something we can all agree on:

This gentleman is a complete ass.

[seretogis]

What a moron. If the three year old child had no father to live with, then he would perhaps have a point in that one instance but to suggest that women who give birth to children, ever, should not serve in the military is pretty ridiculous.

[Mr Scorcex]

The fact that he used the word 'aint' in a published op-ed piece leads me to doubt his credibility. He's just an angry, ignorant person.

[sexymama]

Should dad's not be allowed to serve? They are away from their children months at a time too. I notice this "ass" addresses mothers only. Mr. President, please bring the dad's home, their children need them!

[Jonsgirl]

My thing is this, does the guy think that she actually enjoys being away from her 3 yr. boy?!? While I'll agree that she has probably spent too much time away from her son, it doesn't mean that she's a terrible person and a bad mother. She did say she joined the army to "earn college benefits and improve her family's lot in life." and I think she's doing exactly that. This guy is completely off his rocker.

[Capt.JamesHook]

The article is solid and well written.

Personal Resonsibility surrenders again.

[giblfiz]

Wow, the depths of human stupidity never cease to amaze me.