Military improving policies for new mothers

When Sydney Mariette's first daughter was born April 25, the staff sergeant for the Minnesota National Guard was relieved.

Not just relieved because Marcella had finally arrived, two weeks late and after 30 hours of labor. And not just relieved because the baby — perfectly healthy, 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches long — seemed a relatively good sleeper right out of the gate.

Mariette was relieved because the military's new parental leave policies, instituted last year, mean new parents who are active-duty military or members of the National Guard will have significantly more flexibility.

Mariette, of Maplewood, compared her maternity leave benefits to friends' in the civilian sector who've recently had babies. Two friends got six weeks of paid leave; that was the top end of her friend group's benefits. One friend got two weeks paid, another had to take vacation and unpaid leave, while another quit her job.

Meanwhile, Mariette gets 12 weeks paid leave. After that, she'll have six weeks of floating leave during Marcella's first year. She won't have to spend overnights away from her baby the first year, so during her first Camp Ripley drill weekend after she returns from leave in September, Mariette will do the first day in person and the remainder remote. There are other new benefits too: 12 weeks paid leave for fathers, improved lactation policies, and paid leave for traditional members' Guard weekends the first three months after having a child.

"Recruiting is suffering right now, and the military is realizing retention is really important," said Mariette, who joined in 2013 and has worked full-time for the Guard since 2016. "People who join right out of high school or early college, they hit 10 years and they're in their 30s, when people are starting families, and they ask, 'Is it worth it?' A lot of people wonder if it's a good time to quit when you have kids, so the military is trying to make it easier on parents."

Policy changes for new parents, both in the Minnesota National Guard and the military writ large, are part of a bigger strategy of ensuring military readiness in an increasingly competitive workforce.

"As society goes, we go," said Lt. Col. Ross Niebur, who oversees human resources for the Minnesota Army National Guard. "Our goal is always to recruit to reflect our population, and from a recruiting standpoint, we've largely accomplished that. Where we lose traction has been at the reenlistment point. That's where lots of female soldiers were at a crossroads: 'Do I pursue having a family, or do I continue to serve?' … We're really seeing these new policies help."

Even seemingly minor policy changes, such as soldiers not being required to wear service uniforms while pregnant or within a year of giving birth, can make a difference.

Army Maj. Jodine Eells of Rosemount, a reservist in the Minnesota National Guard, gave birth to her first child, Harrison, on March 20. Her day job as a county sheriff's deputy allows 12 weeks of paid leave.

Now she'll also get paid leave for three drill weekends, and she won't have to take the military physical training test until a year after giving birth. There are other postpartum benefits as well: being able to transfer her GI Bill to her son, and having a mini-fridge and privacy tent for pumping and storing breast milk in the field during drill.

"I get to just focus on my child instead of needing to start working out because I have a PT test coming up," Eells said. "That would be so stressful knowing that within six months of having a baby, I have to lose X amount of weight."

Her military contract runs through 2025, but she'd love to serve 20 years, until 2033 — and these new policies make that more achievable.