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COL Randall C.
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At first my reaction was "WTF!? They're adding daycare centers to West Point and giving them separate housing or something?", but after reading the article, it makes more sense.

"Under the policy change, a cadet can now grant temporary guardianship of his or her child to another person while the cadet finishes his or her studies at the academy. A student would have to create a family care plan like ones that active-duty service members with children are required to produce.

Women can take up to two years away from their studies to give birth under the new law."

So if a cadet/midshipwoman gets pregnant, then they can deliver and either a) study their butts off and catch back up, or b) take time off and come back in a later class. In either case, they will have to give temporary guardianship of the child to someone else while they complete their Service Academy training.
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MAJ Montgomery Granger
MAJ Montgomery Granger
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I hear you, Sir, but in adult life there are choices to be made. USMA cadets are supposed to be a cut above and focused on their future in the Army. As my TAC Sergeants told us in AIT, "The Army didn't issue you a spouse and children, so don't expect Uncle Sam to deploy you with a family." Military life is challenging enough without the complications and split loyalties of a family at the beginning of a career that is dangerous, demanding and not conducive to family life. The focus should be on lethality on the battlefield, and everything that takes away from that weakens the force. Down the road, when things settle in and a battle rhythm emerges, experience and maturity make having a family more practical and more likely to succeed. Divorce rates and abortions among military members are above the average for non-military folks. The new policy may see humane and sensitive, but commitments to the military academy's should come first, IMO.
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