I'm posting this here in the hopes that someone on this forum might have some helpful advice, legal or otherwise, that might help all involved.
My boyfriend is in the army on rear deployment (his unit deployed to Iraq recently) and a friend of ours is 7 months pregnant and also on rear deployment. For those who don't know, rear deployment is for those who are on some form of medical profile which keeps them from being deployable, for my boyfriend its the fact that he's having PTSD issues, for our friends its the whole pregnancy thing.
Her whole situation is really just messed up. Seven months ago she was drugged and raped by one of her fellow soldiers and despite bringing charges against him, the case is still open and the rapist is still out there free and serving our country as a 'hero'. Her pregnancy may very well be from the rape (or from her boyfriend of the time who took advanatge/raped her shortly thereafter). Either way, her keeping the child and facing single-motherhood before she's even legal to drink is very courageous.
However, that's not the main thing I wanted to get advice about. Now that she's on rear deployment, the chain of command is having them do menial hard labor tasks. Yesterday, she was tasked with standing out in the Texas heat all day pulling weeds. At 7 months pregnant. She went to see her doctor afterwards because she wasn't feeling well and her doctor about had a fit because her baby had dropped and was pretty much ready for delivery. Today, they had her out there again pulling weeds, but were kind enough to allow her to sit while doing it because her hip was hurting her because of the baby.
We're currently trying to get an ombudsman on the case, hoping that they can get a military medical professional out there to review the flagrant profile violations the chain of command are making (they're not just being assholes to the pregnant women, they're doing stupid stuff to people with bad backs, mental health problems, and such), but we don't know if that will actually do anything.
So my question is, do any of you know what course of action she could possibly take if this does lead to serious damage to her or her baby? Or just to prevent her chain of command from continuing this for the next months to a year till she and all other pregnant women on rear deployment give birth or get out of the military? Is there anywhere they can file a complaint, sue, or anything?
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Jesus! I'm sorry, I don't have any constructive advice. I just wanted to say how appalling this is, and how courageous of your friend to keep serving despite everything. She has my deepest empathy and respect.
It's absurd, how we treat people who volunteer for service. Can she get a note from the physician? Honestly, it almost sounds like somebody made some phone calls to punish her deliberately for speaking out...
I wonder if National Advocates for Pregnant Women would be able to offer support or direction. Their mission is, "National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) works to secure the human and civil rights, health and welfare of all women, focusing particularly on pregnant and parenting women, and those who are most vulnerable - low income women, women of color, and drug-using women."
http://www.advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/
Well, you can't really sue the military, but I am actually surprised that this is her treatment. Pregnant Soldiers and those going through the "Wounded Warriors" programs usually get very good care. I am wondering if this has to do with a bad leadership issue.
Regardless: several course of actions I might suggest. Firstly, use the open door policy and talk to the officer in charge of the facility. Perhaps she/he is unware of the problems your friend is facing, and often times, will quickly change the situation.
Secondly, at seven months pregnant (and I am not an expert in the medical field), your friend should be able to obtain a limited duty profile. Why she doesn't have one is beyond me. First step would be to go see a physician at the base hospital, and discuss this.
Thirdly, if all else fails, I highly suggest contacting the Inspector General. Every base has one, and usually looks into situations like these. Often times, the military tries to solve problems at the "lowest level," but if all else fails, a call to the IG Office most often solves things.
Good luck to you! If you need additional guidance, please feel free to contact me.
She does have a limited duty profile, most of the people on rear deployment have one. The immediate chain of command just happens to be violating almost every soldier's profile in the unit.
I think they're wanting to avoid calling in the IG mostly because it would bring down all sorts of hell onto their heads, not just the chain of command but the soldiers as well.
Well, then, how about calling for a sensing session. What this is, is that rather than going to the IG, the company commander or 1st sergeant would actually have a talk with the unit and all concerns and gripes are thrown out in the open, with no chance of them being backfired. Good leaders almost always do this to assess the morale and needs of their company.
Either way, I would suggest going through the military resources first before bringing in civilian players, simply because most of the time, the resources are there, and also because it's quicker and easier that way.
She needs to go see a chaplain. It would help if she was armed with facts, such as the regulations concerning pregnancy in her branch (http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/OperationalMedicine/DATA/operationalmed/Instructions/Instructions.htm ) and her light duty chit. It's the chaplain's job to mediate in those situations. It would be an alternative to calling IG. If nothing happens through the chaplain she would need to follow the chain of command of the medical center. Medical centers on base have hospitals and commanders separate from bases, she should complain up that line.
I have no advice on how to handle the military aspect of it, but as far as basic pregnancy advice goes:
Dehydration can cause preterm labor. She absolutely needs to stay hydrated. Any onset of contractions needs to be treated immediately with rest and fluids. Spotting or bleeding from overexertion could mean partial placental abruption (separation) and needs emergency medical attention.
If they keep pushing her like this she is either going to end up delivering early, or needing to be on bedrest to prevent that. If the baby has dropped and is putting pressure on her cervix already, that's certainly not helping the odds.
Thank you for the help everyone. My friend is currently on bed rest, but her doctor is still worried about a premature delivery.
I'm actually glad to hear that- it stinks, but bed rest is really the best thing she could be doing right now. It sounds like her doctor, at least, is looking out for her and her baby.
I had very similar problems towards the end of my enlistment. I was on limited duty for a foot injury (that I'm still dealing with 5 years and a medical discharge later). My Sgt was causing a lot of problems and essentially insisting limited duty was a "suggestion" not a requirement (which is false). I eventually enlisted the help of my Dr who was a Lt Col who basically pulled rank on my Sgt and told him the seriousness and that he had to comply.
It wasn't pretty though and thankfully he deployed shortly thereafter then I recieved a medical discharge. Dealing with pregnancies and injuries in the military is extremely difficult and unless you happen to work for someone who has been through it, they tend to think you are playing it up to get out of work. I worked with a girl who was kept on 1/2 hours until her water broke walking up the stairs to work...3 weeks after her due date.
I'm not sure if they have the same people in the Army, but in the Marine Corp we had Equal Oppourtunity Officers in each unit. They dealt with sexual harrasment issues, as well as other interpersonal unit issues that seemed to target specific groups. They are military and usually will take these kind of things pretty seriously.