By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 22, 2008 5:49:58 EST
Memo to Defense Secretary Robert Gates: Fix the disparity in post-birth maternity leave for military mothers in the four services and ensure that the new policy puts mothers and infants first.
That’s the gist of a letter sent to Gates on Tuesday by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who pointed out that each service has a different post-birth deferment-from-deployment policy. The Army, she said, gives mothers just four months to stay at home with their newborns. And, she noted, it has the longest war zone deployments, currently 15 months.
According to a news release that accompanied the letter, the Marine Corps gives new moms a six-month exemption from deployment — Marines typically deploy for seven months at a time — while the Navy, whose sailors generally deploy for six months at a time, grants 12 to new moms. The Air Force exemption was not immediately available.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_maternityleave_080221w/
