WASHINGTON The same week in December that Briell Zweygardt is due to give birth to her first child shes also scheduled to report to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kan., for drills.
Zweygardt, 25, is a second lieutenant in the Kansas Air National Guard and like other women in the National Guard or military reserves shell face a tough choice when her child is born. If she takes time off from her monthly guard duties to care for her child, shell lose out on pay and points toward her retirement.
I have actually seen women bring their newborns to drill because they didnt want to miss, said Zweygardt, who lives in Wamego.
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Defense enacted a 12-week maternity leave policy to cover active duty personnel, but the policy did not cover women in the National Guard or military reserves. They can still be penalized for taking time off to care for their newborn children.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., has introduced legislation that will close this loophole and guarantee 12 weeks of paid maternity leave for guardswomen and reservists.
Roughly 150,000 women nationally serve in either the guard or reserves, according to Moran. That includes 661 women in the Kansas Army National Guard.
The Mothers of Military Service Leave Act or MOMS Leave Act would ensure that these servicewomen dont lose out on credits toward their retirement for taking maternity leave.
Women who serve our country should not be inadvertently penalized for having a child, nor should they be expected to return to drill duties in the weeks following childbirth, Moran said last month when he announced the bill.
In an interview, Moran said the issue was first brought to his attention by an Army fellow working in his office.
I cant figure out any reason that distinction makes any sense. If its the right thing to do for active duty military, its the right thing to do for the guard and reserves, Moran said in a phone call Tuesday. In an all volunteer military, it matters what the benefits are.
Moran said servicewomen should not have to worry about paying their bills when theyre getting ready to have a baby.
Zweygardt said Morans bill would be life-changing for her and other expectant mothers in the National Guard.
It would just be really important for me financially. We really depend on my drill income, she said. This is going to give me the opportunity to really bond with my child.
The Military Officers Association of America released a statement backing Morans bill, saying that having a baby and juggling drilling responsibilities is cumbersome and not appreciative of the challenges of motherhood.
Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain and spokeswoman for the Service Womens Action Network, said that pregnant women have been serving in the military for decades, but prior to the 2016 policy change, each branch of the military handled maternity differently.
The military has sought to standardize how it treats maternity leave in recent years, but the National Guard has been left out of that change.
