Female GIs Told to Delay Having Kids

From the Stars and Stripes:

CAMP CASEY, South Korea - Female soldiers should avoid having children until they are ready to leave the Army or have established careers, members of a panel of female first sergeants advised troops here Thursday.

Panel members who spoke at a meeting convened by the 177th Finance Battalion to observe Women's History Month cited their own mothers as role models, and all but one are mothers themselves.

First Sgt. Mary Maczko joined the Army 21 years ago as a 30-year-old mother of two. The Queens, N.Y., native said it's natural for younger soldiers to want to have children.

"Between 21 and 30 is when they have children. But we are an Army at war. The best thing to do is not have any children," she advised the soldiers.

I agree. Under the best circumstances, it's a monumental task to succeed at a career and as a parent simultaneously. Potentially being in harm's way as a soldier separated from family members makes it even more difficult.