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In a photo that has gone viral, a group of female soldiers at Fort Bliss nursed their babies in full uniform as an effort to normalize breastfeeding in the military.
When Tara Ruby was on active duty in the Air Force from 1997 to 2001, support for breastfeeding moms was practically nonexistent, she told the Huffington Post.
So when the mother, now a photographer, heard that a dedicated nursing room was being built at the Fort Bliss Army post in El Paso, Texas, she knew she wanted to provide the decor, the Huffington Post reported.
“I thought it would be nice to have a uniformed soldier breastfeeding portrait to hang in the room,” she told the website. She hoped that such a photograph would show military moms that they “can be amazing mothers and soldiers at the same time.”
Partnering with the Fort Bliss P3T program, a moms’ support group, Ms. Ruby gathered 10 volunteer mothers to pose for the shoot on Thursday.
Fort Bliss Public Affairs and Garrison Command approved the shoot, an Army spokesman told CNN.
“I think it’s great the Army is supporting active-duty mothers,” Ms. Ruby told CNN. “Sometimes, you hit a point in your military career where you have to choose between being a soldier and a mother, and a photo like this helps mothers so they don’t have to choose. “
The photograph of the soldiers went viral on Facebook, but it was removed late Thursday night without explanation.
“It had simply disappeared from Facebook,” Ms. Ruby said. “I confirmed with others that I knew had shared it and it was missing from their pages as well … like it had never existed. So we just reposted and reposted again. It looks like it will stay this time!”
Facebook has not commented on the disappearance of the picture, the Huffington Post reported.
A new posting of the photo on Ms. Ruby’s photography page has been shared more than 8,400 times.
Photo:
Now I do know that the military is pretty strict with what you can and cannot do while in uniform, but this is certainly a grey area. On one hand I can see where they are coming from in that women should be allowed to nurse whenever and wherever but on the other it seems kind of odd to make a stink about.
The police-oriented novelist Joseph Wambaugh addressed a somewhat-simllar question in his recent book Hollywood Station, (the author often "borrows"from real-life issues) in which a group of female officers found a vacant room where they could nurse during their lunch break while on patrol.
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with this, as long as it is emphasized that basic duty can, and must override the amenity at any time. Beyond that, it just serves as a respectful reminder that underneath the uniform, we're all human.
These kinds of things are inappropriate and incompatible with military service, IMHO. But that's one of the reasons why I'm getting out. I strongly disagree with the direction in which it's headed (and I'm only approaching 4 years in).
Sigh.... Yes, yes indeed, that sends a very strong message of military readiness.
It is fine that they want to nurse, it's good for the baby. But, they aren't exactly deployable, are they?
I would hope that they are deployable.
When I was a single parent in the Air Force, I had to do a Form 357 that was a detailed plan for how I would make sure my son was taken care of so that I could meet both short-term and long-term duty requirements. I had to list the names, addresses, and phone numbers of who would immediately take my child if I had to report to any length of duty. I hope they still do that.
I saw this when it was first published a couple of weeks ago, prior to "going viral." The photo, the shoot, and the publication were all approved by the base command.
The amount of truly hateful, disrespectful, and even violent commentary that was posted in response and leveled at female servicemembers in general, much of it from people claiming to be servicemembers themselves, was absolutely disgraceful. and if those posting actually WERE predominantly people serving (I fully believe many probably were, and also believe that many posting vitriol have never been closer to a military experience than watching old G.I. Joe cartoons), it reflects very, very poorly on them and their character.
When I was a single parent in the Air Force, I had to do a Form 357 that was a detailed plan for how I would make sure my son was taken care of so that I could meet both short-term and long-term duty requirements. I had to list the names, addresses, and phone numbers of who would immediately take my child if I had to report to any length of duty. I hope they still do that.
Although I never served in the military, my logistics background drew their interest as an officer candidate upon my graduation from college (and this came about after I'd already failed a draft physical). My brother, who was a veterinary student, got a similar proposal. And I later got a lot of "outsider's exposure" to daily life in the military while working in the Petersburg / Fort Lee (VA) area.
My point being: Military service and operations are a lot more flexible than a public conditioned far too much by elements such as the media and entertainment industries are led to believe. But conditions can change quickly, and this phenomenon has intensified in the Age of Uncertainty. Hence, the contingencies for the reconciliation of the need for rapid deployment and multiple scenarios have to be modified. But the human condition does not change, and that creates small "backwaters" of daily life in military service like the photo in the original post.
Life will go on; some people will surely get hurt due to the realities of dealing with the harshest side of human behavior. But the nation, and its institutions, will adapt.
In and of itself I have no problem with the act and would encourage any mother to breastfeed if she capable of it.
The inherent activism, either real or symbolic, involved in staging the picture though makes me reluctant to support the actions of these women in particular.
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