Can hubby leave army basic training to see birth of son?

Question

My husband just recently joined the army, and is now in army basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky. He's been there for about 11 days now... but the problem is, I'm pregnant and less than a month away from my due date, and he'll still be in basic training by the time I have my son. The recruiters told me that if I called the Red Cross, they could send a message and could get my husband out of basic for a couple of days to come home and see his son, but the Red Cross said they'll only send a labor announcement if he was overseas. Has anyone had a situation like this or know anyone who was able to come home from bootcamp to see the birth of their child?

Answer 1

If you send a Red Cross Message, he will get it and it depends on their Command.  I am pretty sure they will let him go, BUT if he does go, he will return and might have to be recycled and start up with training in another company.  Ask him to ask his Drill.  You guys are apart and trust me they send Red Cross messages within the states.

Answer 2

It's possible that they would let him go but a soldier in training cannot miss any significant training time without be recycled, meaning forced to start over.  That's the last thing he will want to do.

Answer 3

absolutely NOT.  the ONLY way he'd be able to leave is if you or the baby were in severe distress..as in in danger of dying.

Answer 4

A situation did come up like this when I was attending basic training for another one of the trainees. He was informed that he "could" leave if he wanted but by leaving he would be forced to restart the course upon his return. (Basic training is jam-packed with critical tasks that must be completed before he graduates, if he misses out on them, it's likely he will be required to make them up someway, somehow). In this particular case, the soldier was going to be re-united with his family after basic training, so he decided to prolong seeing his newborn so that he wouldn't have to separate from them for a second time.  

Another way to see it also is that if your husband knew that the baby's due date would fall in the middle of his training, he probably should've waited and went to training later (or much earlier). Births are not seen as being quite so unpredictable as, say, a death in the family.

Yes, you may be able to get a Red-Cross message through, but if your husband does decide to leave, it will make his return difficult all around then if he just graduated the first time.

Answer 5

No he will probably not be there, just prepare yourself for that now. You can send a red cross message, but they will give him the choice that if he leaves he will have to start all over again. Call your mom, or best friend have them prepared to help you through the labor and the first couple weeks. That way you won't have to go through the separation all over again. Set up a video for him. Sorry it sucks, a lot of us spouses have babies while the hubby is gone, it's part of what we do, it's why we are a stronger breed of woman.

Answer 6

sadly he may not. depending on the unit he is w and his job. but try to send the red cross message and even call there from the hospital. its worth a try though. and he may not even make it in enough time to be there w u when u have the baby. it all depends. good luck :)

Answer 7

No he will not be able to come home.  I have given birth alone too so I feel your pain but this is just the first of all the things to come that you will have to do alone.  Be happy that he will be out of basic faster than if you had the baby during a deployment and still had 6 months or so to go.  As for the Red Cross message, I would still do that because they should at least let him give you a call.  Good luck.

Answer 8

Welcome to the service.  Like life in general, it is what *you* make of it.

Recruiters are not the experts on what can be done.  Unfortunately, there are a number of recruiters that will say anything to get someone to sign up.

Here is what you do.  Go to the base's website.  The address shoudl end in .mil.  So it shodl be something like www.Fortwhatever.army.mil.  K?

Look around that site for things like family info, conact us or best bet, the Ombudsman.  Call any of those numbers and they'll put you on the right track.

You need to get smart on being an Army wife.  There are a lot of benefits that you and he are entitled to but if he's in Basic, he won't have a lot of time to find out about them.  As an example, my children were both born on bases at Navy hospitals and I didn't even receive a bill from the hospital.  Find out about the Army Relief Society, get smart on the pay scales and how he gets paid, find out about the post exchange (the base's store).  SOMEWHERE, probably on that website, there is a"Welcome to the Army" class for new spouses.  Take it.

Finally, remember this.  SPouses of those that serve are in a class by themselves.  Arm WIves, just like Navy wives, Marines wives and Air Force wives, can do anything.  They're as tough as nails!