2ID Opens Abandoned Spouse Hotline

This is a problem that really pisses me off when soldiers leave not only their wife in Korea, but even their kids as well:

U.S. Army officials have started an “Abandoned Spouses Hotline” here in hopes of helping women left stranded — both intentionally and unintentionally — by their soldier-husbands.About 30 women have gotten help courtesy of the year-old outreach program, which officials hope will become a model for U.S. military communities around the world.

Most have not been abandoned in the classic sense. Many were foreign-born military wives who needed help working through the maze of immigration paperwork necessary to join their husbands in the U.S. or at their next duty stations.

However, in about a half-dozen instances, the program has come to the aid of women whose husbands have left South Korea with no apparent intention of taking their wives or children with them.

“That is really, really bad,” said Elizabeth Samarripa, the Army Community Services outreach program coordinator for Area I, the northernmost region of South Korea. “It is against Army regulations. You cannot abandon your family.”  [Stars & Stripes]

When 2BCT deployed to Iraq in 2004 that is when this issue was most prevalent.  I can understand that some of these soldiers get buyers remorse after marrying some of these juicy girls from the ville, but that still doesn’t mean you can abandon them, especially if you have a kid.