My wife served in the Air Force as a Security Forces
(military police) member from June 1999 to November 2002. She was notified in
October 2002 that the US would begin its ground invasion of Iraq the following
March and that she would deploy there as a participant. She was also due to give birth the following
February and would be provided with 6 weeks recuperation before deployment. She voiced her concern with the short
turn-around time and was given a choice: deploy or get out. Leaving her newborn, 2 year old daughter, and
active duty Air Force husband behind was asking too much of her. The Air Force lost a motivated and talented
airman.
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James recently commented
on the change in policy of deploying women after pregnancy, which now provides
women a full year adjustment before deployment.
The change alleviates the strain on “some of our talented airmen [who
choose] to leave the Air Force as they struggle to balance deployments and
family issues, and this is especially true soon after childbirth.” Today the Air Force is a bit wiser and has
taken some long overdue steps toward taking seriously the needs of airmen and
their families. I am extremely proud of
my wife’s service and it pleases me to know that other women of her caliber of
professionalism and technical expertise will now be afforded better
opportunities.
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