War widow set to return to Iraq

[Captain Liger 0]

I don't know what her problem is. Her ex-husband died last Saturday and already she's gone to media and caused a stink? Gee, that was fast. Something doesn't add up. Again, I feel for the kid but his momma is a grown woman and she's made the conscious decision to stay on active duty therefore she needs to get it through her head that she is not an individual but property of the United States Government until she can get out. Realistically speaking, though, she probably won't deploy.

As I've said before, we don't know that she sought out the media. This was a local affiliate. Local affiliates are always looking for local angles on national stories. If she were wanting to go to the media to cause a stink, why not contact the Today Show, NYT, The View, Ellen, Washington Post, CNN, Oprah, Air America, etc.?

Local affiliates aren't allowed unbridled access to members of the military without first going through the installation public affairs officer. Even then some topics and questions could be deemed off limits by the PAO or the service member could be given scripted answers for questions that are tagged sensitive. If this story was about nothing but her NOT wanting to back to Iraq because of her son then the only way the media would have caught wind of this would have been if she had actively sought them out or had a friend do it for her. However, here's a scenario I didn't think of: The media probably went to her house to interview her about the death of her ex-husband, how's she taking it, does her son realize what has happened, etc, etc, etc. In the course of the interview the reporter discovers that she is in the military and is about to go back to Iraq and she really isn't excited about it. The media blows it completely out of proportion and labels the Army as an evil, heartless organization. This very well could be the case.

Sounds like she knows she's property of the US Military:

“I'm expecting them to understand and leave me here with my son, but the military is the military. So, whatever they say goes.”

Sounds alot like what you're saying.

Hmm, yes. But I have to wonder if she's sincere in what she's saying or just paying lip service to cover her own behind down the road.

[TexasTiger 13,028]

I don't know what her problem is. Her ex-husband died last Saturday and already she's gone to media and caused a stink? Gee, that was fast. Something doesn't add up. Again, I feel for the kid but his momma is a grown woman and she's made the conscious decision to stay on active duty therefore she needs to get it through her head that she is not an individual but property of the United States Government until she can get out. Realistically speaking, though, she probably won't deploy.

As I've said before, we don't know that she sought out the media. This was a local affiliate. Local affiliates are always looking for local angles on national stories. If she were wanting to go to the media to cause a stink, why not contact the Today Show, NYT, The View, Ellen, Washington Post, CNN, Oprah, Air America, etc.?

Local affiliates aren't allowed unbridled access to members of the military without first going through the installation public affairs officer. Even then some topics and questions could be deemed off limits by the PAO or the service member could be given scripted answers for questions that are tagged sensitive. If this story was about nothing but her NOT wanting to back to Iraq because of her son then the only way the media would have caught wind of this would have been if she had actively sought them out or had a friend do it for her. However, here's a scenario I didn't think of: The media probably went to her house to interview her about the death of her ex-husband, how's she taking it, does her son realize what has happened, etc, etc, etc. In the course of the interview the reporter discovers that she is in the military and is about to go back to Iraq and she really isn't excited about it. The media blows it completely out of proportion and labels the Army as an evil, heartless organization. This very well could be the case.

That's what I think probably happened.

[Captain Liger 0]

DKW, getting pregnant while on active duty is STILL a free out of the military so nothing has changed since your time.

So she could be free and clear of any duty if she wanted to be.

Well......sort of. She could've gotten out when she was physically pregnant. Now that she's had the kid, which apparently was quite a while ago, and has remained on active duty then all bets are off. She's voluntarily taken on the responsibility of raising a kid and staying in the military. She's being paid to be a soldier and to protect the Constitution of the United States. She's not being paid to just wear a uniform and sit at home while the rest of her unit gets sent into harms way just because her ex-husband got killed. That's no excuse. It's a crappy situation for her and her kid, yes, but no one forced her to stay in.

[DKW 86 7,441]

DKW, getting pregnant while on active duty is STILL a free out of the military so nothing has changed since your time.

So she could be free and clear of any duty if she wanted to be.

Well......sort of. She could've gotten out when she was physically pregnant. Now that she's had the kid, which apparently was quite a while ago, and has remained on active duty then all bets are off. She's voluntarily taken on the responsibility of raising a kid and staying in the military. She's being paid to be a soldier and to protect the Constitution of the United States. She's not being paid to just wear a uniform and sit at home while the rest of her unit gets sent into harms way just because her ex-husband got killed. That's no excuse. It's a crappy situation for her and her kid, yes, but no one forced her to stay in.

All I meant was that she HAD a ticket at one time, not now, unless she miraculously becomes pregnanat again. We all have seen it happen.