Alexis Hutchinson, Army Mom Arrested for Refusing to Deploy, Says There's No One to Care for Baby

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Alexis Hutchinson)

Photo: Army Spc. Alexis Hutchinson and her son, Kamani.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (CBS/AP) Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, a Georgia-based Army cook who's the single mother of a 10-month-old son is in hot water for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan, saying there's no one to care for her child and she feared the Army would force her child into foster care. Military police arrested her Nov.6 at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah.

The 21-year-old from Oakland, Calif. remained confined to the Army post Monday while her case is investigated.

Hutchinson's civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, says Hutchinson planned for her mother in Oakland to keep the child during her year-long deployment. But Hutchinson's mother decided she couldn't because she's caring for three other relatives with illnesses and special needs.

Sussman said Monday that one of Hutchinson's superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care.

"For her it was like, 'I couldn't abandon my child,"' Sussman said. "She was really afraid of what would happen, that if she showed up they would send her to Afghanistan anyway and put her son with child protective services."

Kevin Larson, a spokesman for Hunter Army Airfield, said he didn't know what Hutchinson was told by her commanders, but he said the Army would not deploy a single parent who had nobody to care for his or her child.

"I don't know what transpired and the investigation will get to the bottom of it," Larson said. "If she would have come to the deployment terminal with her child, there's no question she would not have been deployed."

Hutchinson's son, Kamani, was placed into custody of local child welfare officials for "less than two days" when she was arrested and jailed briefly, Larson said. Hutchinson's mother picked up the child a week ago and took him back to her home in California.

Hutchinson, who's assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, joined the Army in 2007 and had no previous deployments, Sussman said. She said Hutchinson is no longer in a relationship with the father.

The Army requires all single-parent soldiers to submit a care plan for dependent children before they can deploy to a combat zone. Hutchinson had such a plan - her mother, Angelique Hughes, had agreed to care for the boy. Hughes said Monday she kept the boy for about two weeks in October before deciding she couldn't keep him for a full year.

Hughes said she's already having to care for her ailing mother and sister, as well as a daughter with special needs. She also runs a daycare center at her home, keeping about 14 children during the day.

"This is an infant, and they require 24-hour care," Hughes said. "It was very, very stressful, just too much for me to deal with."

Hughes said she returned the child to his mother in Georgia a few days before her scheduled deployment Nov. 5.

"Spc. Hutchinson's deployment is halted," said Larson, the Hunter Army Airfield spokesman. "There will be no deployment while this situation is ongoing."

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: Should Army Spc. Hutchinson have to go to Afghanistan?

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by tendersurrender July 26, 2010 1:51 AM EDT

I do not think you should be arrested for not deploying.. there's other ways to handle that.
Next the Army is all about family...unless u r single or both parents are military..why would u deploy two parents at the same time..that's crazy and freaking dumb.
This lady here..had one baby..that's it..just one.Her plan fell through and its the Army's job to help her so she can help the Army..
U other people on her talk your crap and I bet u don't even understand. Leave this woman alone.
How dare u judge a mother for not wanting to just leave her baby with anyone. Get a clue!!!!! The Military is weird and sucks and its why I never joined! U can't even go to the bathroom in training cause if u do u get smoked and made fun of...nice..real nice!

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by bonniejeanmatt September 9, 2010 12:15 PM EDT: Tendersurrender, you don['t have anything valid to say here.

First off, yes the Army CAN and DOES deploy dual military couples and single parents. No, it's not "crazy and freaking dumb", if your job and rank are needed to complete a deploying unit, you go. Whether you're married to another deploying soldier or if you are a single parent w/ physical custody of the kid DOESN'T MATTER.

No, it's not the Army's job to help her so she can help the Army. The Army didn't help her get pregnant, did it? She made that choice all by herself, now it's her job to either prove to the Army that she can fulfill her duties while caring for her family or request a chapter discharge for lack of a family care plan which she would have gotten had she bothered to formally request it. Soldiers who choose not to come up with a famly care plan are in violation of AR 600-20 and subject to adverse actions. You're told about this by your commander as soon as you turn up pregnant and get taken out of regular unit PT.

"U other people on her talk your crap and I bet u don't even understand" Um, I understand, I was a single parent in the Army and somehow I managed to follow the rules and get my kid taken care of.

"How dare u judge a mother for not wanting to just leave her baby with anyone." That's not why she's being judged. She's being judged for poor planning and not following the rules set out in AR 600-20. I personally am judging her for contributing to the stereotype that female soldiers can't be good mothers as well as soldiers.

"U can't even go to the bathroom in training cause if u do u get smoked and made fun of...nice..real nice!" What would you know - you never went through basic, you're just another oxygen thief who enjoys living free without having to earn the privilege - and yet criticizes the system that gave you the freedom to spout off nonsensical opinions that aren't based in fact.

Yes, you can go to the bathroom in training. Every day, soldiers in training are sitting on pottys and digging holes in the woods and taking care of business. No, no one makes fun of you for going to the bathroom. No, you don't get smoked either.

Tendersurrender, you are by far one of the stupidest civilians I've come across and I am proud to have never served with you.


by byrdsuccess February 14, 2010 8:18 PM EST: waltwhite, you are an idiot!!! Where did you get your ficticious facts...out of your xss? 80%, you are crazy... and would you rather wait and fight the terrorist on U.S. soil. No, I am sure you would rather join them in their cause so why don't you go over there and support them so we can make sure you are aligned on the side you obviously support. She doesn't deserve to wear a United States military uniform.; Reply to this comment


by jackeddy February 13, 2010 10:35 PM EST: Let's ask a real hero who sacrficied for his country what he thinks of this selfish woman. Try reading the blog by David Bellavia. He is nominated for the Medal of Honor and wrote the book "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War" He makes a valid point. www.DavidBellavia.com; Reply to this comment


by jackeddy February 13, 2010 10:35 PM EST: Let's ask a real hero who sacrficied for his country what he thinks of this selfish woman. Try reading the blog by David Bellavia. He is nominated for the Medal of Honor and wrote the book "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War" He makes a valid point. www.DavidBellavia.com; Reply to this comment

by tleigh827 February 13, 2010 4:15 AM EST

Just so I am clear: Since she is out of the service, she will OF COURSE need to get a job to support herself and her child since she claims the father isn't in the picture. Now who is it who she will be leaving the child with during her work hours? And just exactly how will she be able to afford all of this daycare along with rent and food? I mean obviously she can't be expecting the "gub'ment" to give her benefits or supplemental income of course. I am sure she has a "care plan" all in place to take good care of herself and her child, on her own dime. But wait... now I am really confused because .... if she has a day care plan and a job/career plan and a housing plan then she probably could have had a plan in place so she could have deployed and actually honored her military service contractual obligation. How much do you wanna bet her "plan" is welfare, food stamps, government subsidies, WIC services and any additional unearned military benefits she can squeeze out? (And I'll bet many people here think that's perfectly justified - gag)

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by aries0419 July 21, 2010 2:24 PM EDT: I don't know if you maybe don't have children or if you are just thick... There is a big difference in paying for daycare and having the child in a daycare program during working hours and having someone to care for your child around the clock, 24-7, for an entire year! Are you not getting that? Why is it that as soon as a woman chooses to be a single mother, all of a sudden it's assumed that she is planning to live off the government? Maybe if men would live up to their responsibilities as fathers, women wouldn't have to make such stands just to be mothers! If the father was around, he should be willing, nay, required, to step up and care for his child while the mother fulfills her military obligations.


by mmmlllmmm February 12, 2010 12:29 PM EST: Get over the pathetic martyrdom of the single mother. She didn?t have to have unprotected sex with an irresponsible man that wouldn?t want her baby. Why do people think that singles mother deserve some sort of special treatment. She knew damn well that while in the military she could have been deployed and could have CHOSEN to wait to have children. She should be made an example of. She signed up for a free pay check and now is not going to fulfill her obligation. No man would have gotten away with this crap and she should not either.; Reply to this comment


by waltwhite January 15, 2010 5:37 PM EST: this just sums up the attitude of all the murders and rapists that fill the ranks of our US military. Almost 80% of all the women deployed in Iraq as soldiers and subcontracts are raped during their tours. And according to their contracts they are not allowed to legally retaliate on the men who rape them. She probably got pregnant from a male rapist US soldier or sub contractor ... and she is not allowed to tell anyone. We shouldnt be there in the first place... then this wouldnt be an issue.; Reply to this comment


by 926CAJUNGIRL January 15, 2010 3:07 PM EST: To all of the "critics" that are saying she had plenty of time, well, that's not true. Yes the mother brought the child back to her, but what CBS neglected to include was this ..." Hutchinson of Oakland, Calif., was scheduled to deploy from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah on Nov. 5. She skipped her unit's flight, saying the only relative she had to take care of her 10-month-old son - her mother - was overwhelmed by the task and backed out a few days before Hutchinson's departure date." (military.com) So before one makes an assumption on anything, make sure you have all the facts to present your case.; Reply to this comment

by colnzgprnts January 14, 2010 9:16 AM EST

This will be another story that the Army relents and lets the woman off with no penalty. The story would be more complete if we knew what benefits this person has already claimed and what she will ask for in the future. Bottom line people volunteer for service in anticipation of raking in the plums, but not willing to make the sacrifices required of them.

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by 926CAJUNGIRL January 15, 2010 12:01 PM EST: Obviously you don't have children and if you do, then you've never been a single parent. Then there raises the question of have you ever served. To address the first statement: If you don't have children, enough said. If you do have children and have never been a single parent, enough said. But lets say you do have children and you are a single parent. Please share with the rest of the world what you would do in this situation. I'm sure there are millions out there that would like to know. Then, if this situation was ever to present itself again, that single-parent-female in "this man's Army" will know what to do. I know it's easy to point fingers and say "women get off with no penalties", but I doubt very seriously if any man or woman would just hand off their child to any state's foster care system just because some buck sargeant, who is probably married with children, tells them to. Think about what you want to say and then think about if what you to say makes any sense. I think you, Rush and Pat need to take some classes together on that.

by Pollynkorect January 14, 2010 1:41 AM EST

The military doesn't exist to provide jobs for losers like Alexis. It's there to protect our country. There should be no special treatment for women in the military. She should be treated EXACTLY like any man would be treated had he tried to pull the same stunt. At the very least, she should be dishonorably discharged and denied access to all military benefits. Maybe jail or deployment would be more fitting, since she'll just go on welfare and get essentially the same benefits for free! She could have just said "No" (to sex or military enlistment), used birth control, aborted the fetus (!), given it up for adoption, or dumped the kid on the doorstep of the sperm donor or his paternal grandmother, or left it in foster care; so Alexis is without excuse. Nobody would give her special consideration if she were white, male and a single dad. Equal rights & equal pay deserve equal treatment all the way.

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