Military mom reports to duty with her kids

Military mom reports to duty with her kids
By Tom Foreman Jr. - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 2, 2009 9:28:05 EST

DAVIDSON, N.C. — A North Carolina mother who reported for Army duty with her two young children in tow is waiting to see what happens next.

Lisa Pagan, who was recalled to the Army four years after being honorably discharged, drove nearly 400 miles and braved a Southeastern winter storm to report for duty Sunday at Fort Benning, Ga.

She says she has no one to take care of son Eric and daughter Elizabeth, so she brought them with her. She has reserved a motel room for a week and doesn’t plan to stay in the barracks.

“Them being away from me is not an option,” she said.

Pagan is among thousands of former service members who have left active duty since the Sept. 11 attacks, only to be recalled to service. They’re not in training, they’re not getting a Defense Department salary, but as long as they have time left on their original enlistment contracts, they’re on “individual ready reserve” status — eligible to be recalled at any time.
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UPDATE
March 2nd, 2009
Soldier reports for duty — with kids
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/
Posted: 04:39 PM ET
By Eric Marrapodi and Chris Lawrence
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A soldier who reported for duty with her children in tow has been granted her request for a discharge, her lawyer said Monday.

Lisa Pagan reported for duty Monday morning at Fort Benning, Georgia, with her two pre-school children. She had been honorably discharged from active duty four years ago but was recalled as part of the Individual Ready Reserve program.

The former Army truck driver asked for a reprieve from deployment because her husband travels for business and they would have no one to care for their children if she was sent overseas. Until Monday, her request had been denied.

Late Monday afternoon, Pagan’s lawyer told CNN the Army would grant her request and begin the process of discharge again, this time for good.

Since September 11, 2001, the Army has recalled about 25,000 soldiers. Nearly half requested a delay or a full exemption, and the Army says it granted nearly nine out of 10 delays and six out of 10 requests for exemption.