Good for this woman. Her first priority is her child. There are pleanty of people who are mentally ready for combat, and a handful of single parents staying behind to care for their children is not going to loose a war. I hope more single parents will choose to stay out of harms way. It is a common ideal that women should not be in war, and this is the number one reason. Leave your child in foster care!!! That is dispicable!!!!

As a military brat and now a mom of an Air Force daughter, I wholeheartedly do not think that single moms nor any mom should be given any kind of leniency. Choose to be a mom or a soldier, you can't be 100% at either when your loyalties are divided. As a soldier, those serving beside you are putting their very lives in your hands and you owe them 100%. Besides, she was not drafted, she chose to enlist and should now honor that commitment above all else, as that is what she signed up for.

"Mom of 3" are you insane?? You don't know anything about this woman's situation she could have signed a 5 year commitment and then got pregnant by accident. You REALLY think she should have put her child in foster care so she could give other solders 100%? I feel sorry for your children!

This shouldn't even be up for discussion, the military should have it all together so that in situations like this, there would not be an issue up for discussion.

Not good for the Army. Every person in uniform takes an oath and knows well in advance that the Army comes 1st. The military asks that of each husband, wife, and child associated with the military. If every person who has a personal issue refused to show up for duty, what kind of Army would we have? I appreciate her situation, but if she cannot serve in the military due to personal hardship, then she should be discharged. That's just the reality of wearing the service uniform. There are many single parents in the military - one person who refuses to follow orders or show up for duty impacts the other people in her unit who are depending on her. And the larger impact is the military could refuse to allow single parents to serve and ask soldiers who become single parents after going on active duty to be discharged. The impact is larger than just one single parent..........

Being an Army wife, I feel that what she did was wrong- she skipped her flight for duty, and because of that, she will have to face criminal charges just like any other soldier that has done the same. As for her situation, I feel it is unfortunate and I do not agree that putting her child in foster care is a good idea. However, we do not know both sides of the story. She did, in the beginning, have a plan in play- and it fell through. The Army is ususally willing to work with soldiers in situations like this if you take the time to talk with people, such as by finding proper care for her child, then deploying her at a later time. Had she taken the apporpriate steps, she may not be in this situation she currently is, and people would not be looking at the Army like they are because of one sad, unfortunate story that happened to hit the medias attention. Judge the situation, but don't blame the Army.

Mom of 3-- I whole heartedly agree with you. I have no sympathy for a soldier who signed up and then gets pregnant, whether on accident or on purpose. She KNEW that going in she could possibly be deployed. Where is the father in this situation?? Why can't he care for the child? No excuses, she should go. One would think that a soldier should be a little more prepared than what she was. Call me heartless, but I have family over there and would like to know that they are going to be safe.

I agree that we don't really know all the facts of her situation. Did she try to talk to her superiors, or did she just not show up for her flight. And how much notice did the mother give he?

I don't think foster care, however was an acceptable alternative. They could have given her more time to find a child care solution.

This woman enlisted in the army knowing very well that she could be deployed at anytime. When you have a child you always have to have a plan set in place for someone to take care of the child when you are gone. I am married to a soldier and we have three children and he has been depoyed many times and he is lucky that he has me, but we have quite a few friends who both husband and wife are in the military and get deployed at the same time and they have a set plan for when that happens. This is just her excuse for not wanting to go. What makes me really angry is the fact that while they sort this or even prosecute this woman another soldier who wasn't supposed to deploy will probably have to take her place. If you are not prepared to deploy and fight for your country then do not JOIN!!!!

To all you inconsiderate people, put yourself in her shoes. It does not matter what the situation is, if you are a single parent with no-one to leave your child with, you should not have to choose your child over anything else. There are enough children as it is in foster care because of parents that don't give a crap, and you want someone that wants to be a parent to just give them up, come on now! My children come first, above everything. Situations come about all the time and there has to be something else they can make her do. And the comment that she is using her child as an excuse, dang straight that is an excuse! Grow a heart people, what do you think your children would think of you if they knew that you would have no problem giving them up to foster care!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't have my kids in foster care because I would have done what you are required to do and that is have someone set up who will care for your child. Melinda the fact is she didn't care enough about her child to have someone ready to take care of him. I also think her children would be very proud to have a mother who actually had some honor and did what she said she would do, that being getting deployed and fighting for our country....Even when it means sacraficing time away from your family.

Being a military brat and now a military wife, I am appalled at some of the responses I am reading. Alexis is in the military and part of her job may require her to be deployed to various places, and in this instance, Afghanistan. People fail to realize that Alexis did not refuseto serve her commitment, but only asked that her deployment be delayed so that she could find adequate care for her child. The Army could and should be reasonable in granting her request. It is unfortunate that the Army is known not to be "family friendly." This only goes to prove that point even more. When a female joins the Army and has dependents, the Army does not do enough to ensure that the recruit has an adequate family plan for cases when they are deployed. They are too busy trying to meet the "numbers." The Army took Alexis, made her a solider and now is asking her to turn her back on her child so she can make the "numbers" required for deployment. It makes you wonder if Alexis was to turn her back on her child, would she be quick to turn her back on her fellow soldiers. The people making this decision, need to think about this when they go home to their children.

I am a mom in the military, and I will be the first to tell anyone that it is the hardest thing in the world leaving your children behind. Both single parents and dual military parents are required to have what the military calls a "family care plan". This plan details who will take care of your child if you are deployed. This woman should have had some sort of contingency in place for her child. I know I am lucky to have a husband to care for my kids while I am away, but I always leave with a contingency plan if something should happen to him...

Melinda, AMEN sister. I agree with you whole heartedly.

Melissa do you have kids? I hope not. She had someone setup and they backed out. There are other jobs she could do to help her country.

Seems to me she had prior plans for the care of the child and criminal charges shouldn't be brought against her, just delayed activation until she can make arrangements for her childs care.