Army's Drill Sergeant Single Moms Face Challenges

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) — Few women make it into the ranks of the Army's top drill sergeants, and even fewer who face the challenge of being a single parent. But there they are, running fresh recruits through the grueling boot camp that welcomes every new soldier.

To juggle childrearing with a job that features 18-hour days and six-day weeks, the women take different paths: One sent her two daughters to live with relatives in Tennessee. One drops her son and daughter at an Army-run day care center at 4:30 a.m. A third woman's own mother moved from Texas to care for her 7-year-old granddaughter.

There are 74 female drill sergeants at South Carolina's Fort Jackson who are single parents. They are among 202 women holding the job at the Army's largest training installation.