I would like to comment on "Single mothers face multiple battles" (Opinion, Mary Eberstadt, Feb. 28), about single mothers serving in the military.

For five out of the 7½ years I have been in the military, I was a single mother. I know how hard it is to spend more time on the military and your career than you do on your children. I still try to overcome the guilt when I wake my daughter at 5:30 a.m., drop her off at day care, and pick her up 12 hours later.

However, Eberstadt seems to imply that women should not deploy to a combat zone. I beg to differ.

My daughter is 6 years old, and I have been deployed for three of those years. While it never gets easier, I am proud I serve and do things that many years ago would have been suitable only for males.

Eberstadt brings up Spc. Alexis Hutchinson as if we should feel sorry for her. I believe she got what she deserved. It is unfortunate that her son lost his mother (he was temporarily placed in foster care), but she knew what she was getting into when she joined the military.

People who enlist know they might deploy. It is fairly obvious that if you are sexually active, you may become pregnant while in the military. When a female becomes pregnant, she has the option of getting out of the military. If she chooses not to get out, she must have a family care plan (unless she has a nonmilitary spouse). For that soldier to refuse deployment is a slap in the face to the rest of us who are mothers and who have packed up, said our painful goodbyes and completed the mission, usually more than once.

We are fully capable of completing any mission the military hands us.

Staff Sgt. Melissa HarcrowCamp As sayliyya, Qatar

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