While I admire this woman very much for putting her children above her career, I think it must be time for her to accept the fact that the career she chose is no longer compatible with motherhood.

If you don't have time to click on the link, the gist of it is, a married couple are both in the Army. The husband is stationed in Iraq already, the wife has received orders to go. They have seven children between them, ages 2 through 12. Most if not all the kids are from previous marriages, but they have full-time custody of all the kids. The husband's ex-wife wants custody returned to her while he is in Iraq. The only way they could stop this (reason why is not given) is for the wife to go AWOL.

We are in the middle of a conflict overseas. We need our soldiers more than usual at times like this. We need our soldiers to fulfill the duties they swore to uphold when they joined the military. Obviously, when this woman joined and had children, there was no ongoing conflict, and she could count on staying close to her kids. But times have changed, and she is experiencing a major conflict between her duty as a mother and her duty to her country.

I understand how she might want to do both, but when it comes to such a situation, she needs to be at home with her kids. Her husband, after all, is still in Iraq and may not ever come home (may God preserve him, though!). Her kids need her to be here, and I applaud her for wanting to stay and feeling that this is the absolute right thing to do. But I also agree with the military -- if this is her choice, she must be discharged from the service. In this case, she can't fulfill both duties, so she should be released from the obligation that is less binding. IMHO, anyway.

--Sparki