"If there was no one else to care for the kids, she could have gotten out of the military on a hardship discharge."
Not necessarily. The military has been rather reluctant to discharge mothers in these cases recently.
I believe women can perform as well as men in the military. That being said, however, I don't think mothers ought to be in the military. Children need their moms. This crime was the perfect reason why.
I don't believe that for a second. The military will NOT force a single parent to leave their children when no one else is available to care for them.