The IRR Mom, USAToday and TAH
Those of you who keep up with us on Facebook noticed that I did an interview with USAToday in regards to the “IRR Mom” who showed up at Fort Benning Monday with her two kids in tow for her IRR call up. It was a fifteen minute interview with Marisol Bello and they boiled it all down to a single sentence in the resulting article (it’s the last paragraph at this link). Here’s the screen capture in case they cut it out later;
Apparently, This Ain’t Hell bloggers are the “go-to guys” for all of the military’s miscreants these days.
What they left out was the same point I made on Sunday when I first wrote about it; both the Army and Mrs. Pagan had a year to rectify the problem before Monday and neither took advantage of it – the only party who is going to come out ahead is Associated Press (they first wrote about the situation).
Pagan had a year to come up with a family care plan, and the Army had an opportunity to discharge her during her previous attempts to dodge her duties. If the Army wanted to take a stand, they’ve had other opportunities to take a stand with Matthis Chiroux and countless others who’ve dodged their responsibilities without the benefit of toddlers as props for the media.
I also told her that if the Army lets her off with out at least a wrist-slap, they’re opening themselves up to millions of problems from millions of parents in the military.
Category: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Media, Society
They actually consulted a blogger! But, but, but,,,, we of the blogosphere aren’t educated in the ways of proper news gathering and reporting…..
What the 4th estate despises about us is that we attempt to “report” the news, rather than to “shape” the news, as a recent poll within academia found that journalism students felt their job would be in the news media jobs they are aspiring to.
When TV News was first born, (yes I am old enough to have been there), the newspapers said that TV News would not be valid. Folks, especially those of us within the Mil-blog community have arrived. Those of us who do not seek government assistance to “fair and balanced”, or government assistance to squelch our opposition; are known, and even feared and revered.
As long as we continue to use fact as the basis of our writings, rather than just rant and rave all the while stomping the facts into the mud, we will remain a perceived “threat” to those who do not.
Way to go, Jonn
nuf sed
All those decades of feminist gains down the drain.
Odds are that she will receive an honorable discharge under Chapter 5-8 Involuntary Separation due to Parenthood (lack of an adequate family care plan). Usually to get the General discharge, you have to get to the General Officer level of approval. Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with giving someone an Honorable discharge when they are unable to come up with a adequate FCP, but she went out of her way to make this a media circus.
I was thinking the same thing in regards to her family care plan. I had to chapter a soldier before for not having an adequate family care plan after giving her plenty of time to come up with one. She received an honorable discharge which I had no problems with.
So, is she just a procrastinator or an attention hound?
Oh, never mind – you answered my question:
“the benefit of toddlers as props for the media.”
Exactly.
We don’t need the likes of her in the Armed forces. However, I don’t think she should be able to take advantage of the full range of Army benefits because she didn’t fulfill her side of the bargain. But, I’ll bet she will.
Groan. The Army gives you a year and you fail. General Discharge seems more fitting than honorable. You would have to have quite a shitty family support system not to have something set to go. Really.
And, then dragging her kids into to try and prove a point shows just how immature she is. Nope. No honorable for her, seriously. Then you just screwed all of the people who busted their asses did what they were supposed to by ‘honoring” that failure.
I am the dissenting radical conservative here, today. I guess I’m one of those throwbacks that believe mom’s should try to be home with their kids not out fighting wars- especially when they are little. I also think that many women change once the kids are born. I believe that some mothers, myself included, would go against all things, including the US Army if it was for her kids.
They could give me ten years to try and I couldn’t get a family care plan together. My parents are in their seventies, my good sister has cancer and my other sister: I have custody of HER kids. My ex-husband is psychotic and my current (and forever) husband has no rights to the kids so they’d go to the nut-job anyway. Believe me, I’d take my general discharge if I had to. This woman isn’t one of those freaks out there making a mockery of the war and their service.
And also: all of those ‘busting their asses doing what they had to do’ are thanking God in heaven THEY never got called back from IRR. Believe me, I am.
The year long stalemate between Pagan and the US Army has shown some interesting facts. I don’t know all the reasons why Pagan could not find a relative or family member to take care of her children for the undetermined amount of time of service with the military. It would create a hardship for the family since the children are quite young and they are bonding with the mother. If the mother is not present, that destabilizes the family structure. That is a concept that is lost on the military. The military has demonstrated an uncooperative attitude because they could have staioned her at Fort Bragg in the Fayetteville area. That would have allowed her to be closer to home and her family. This might have made the transition of another hitch of military service easier to perform. Why did she have to report to Fort Benning in Georgia? If she is a truck driver, I am sure there are trucks at Fort Bragg that she could drive. It is unfortunate the military will not leave her at Fort Bragg because she could attend classes at Fayetteville State University on fort. She would also get the discount of taking classes through the military. this would help a small bit to offset the loss of income for her in house day care that she can not have anymore. Is the military going to provide her with quarters for her children so they have a good home. How long will the extended service last for Pagan? I have not seen that information. Will the military single her out for “special attention” and make her time miserable with with military. If it is a “stop gap” move, she could be in the military until after the bulk of the troops leave Iraq in August 2011. The “stop gap” is simply a way to hijack American citizens into the military for extended service. It is worse than conscription since you have no avenues to challenge the situation or get a deferment. It is military slavery. And the military wonders why the suicide rate has… Read more »
Hey, Jonn? Now that you made a mentionable paragraph in USA Today, you ain’t going to get all swell headed on us, are ya?
heh
Mr. and I use that term with trepidation, Hill, what exactly was the “agenda” of the president. And don’t trot out the tired, old “blood for oil” idea, please.
Also, “stop-gap” is not a way to “hijack American citizens into the military”. You really should have skipped the movie and done some reading. Not a single soldier, sailor, Marine or airman was forced at gunpoint into the military. Really, just go read the enlistment contract and it’s obligations, troll.
I want to say that when I say that reasonable people can have reasonable requests and and that does not make them America haters like code pink freaks, I do not mean to imply any of the wacked-out crap Hill proceeded to vomit.
The IRR is a perfectly legitimate tool to maintain a reserve of military people but along the same vein, a 26 year old married stay at home mother of 2 toddlers in not the same person that enlisted 8 years ago. If she’d gotten fat like a good woman she wouldn’t have this problem.