CLEVELAND -- A Marine officer based at Camp Pendleton said she was forced to make a difficult decision: serve her country or care for her baby.

NewsChannel5's Jodi Brooks investigated the options for military families.

Many military men and women have left children and loved ones behind for war. Cpl. Jennifer Washington (pictured, left) appeared on "Good Morning America" Wednesday to tell her story.

"My commander advised me to give up my child for adoption or to find somebody to take care of him," she said.

Putting children up for adoption seems a bit severe, considering more than half of the enlisted troops are married.

The average military family has two children, and 77 percent of the children are younger than 6.

Washington's husband (pictured, below) is also in the Marines serving in Iraq, and she said there's no one to care for their son, Dakota.

"The only people we have -- my brother has a broken back (and) my aunt just broke her back also," she said. "Everyone in our family is too old or has something (wrong) and just can't take care of him."

Washington said that, after three years of service, she will now take a general discharge and leave the military so she can care for her son.

Brooks contacted Department of Defense officials.

"Military members have to have somebody designated to care for their children," spokeswoman Maj. Sandy Troeber said.

The guardian doesn't have to be a relative; in fact, military members are offered a family care plan.

"(There is) a plan for appropriate, logistical, financial, medical, and the legal documentation necessary to ensure (the) continuity of care and support for family members," Troeber said.

Camp Pendleton said the adoption option is not military policy. The marine base plans to release a formal statement to ensure Americans that the military cares about families.

Since the story aired on "Good Morning America," Marine recruiting centers across the country have received calls of complaints about the adoption issue.