Ok, have I lost my mind or have things changed a lot. I just watched a news story where all of the next of kin of a minor child of 5 years of age are being deployed to Afghanistan in the same unit.

The Mother, Father, Uncle and Grand Father are all being deployed together with the same reserve unit.

Somewhere in the back of my feeble old mind I seem to remember there being a regulation against this. They could be deployed at different times or to different areas as long as one was not a war zone. But all of the family of this child going to the same war zone at the same time?

This just does not seem right.

yeah....it seems like that is a regulation,or i know it used to be.i'm an army brat,and i remember my dad discussing this with me.who is keeping the baby???i guess things have really changed in the last 18 years.if this can happen then i bet they can take what ever children they want in case of a draft.ya know the whole thing about being the last son,or the only son...i bet thats gone now too..i feel for the baby..the family to but i can't stop thinking about the baby.

This tells me that there is something wrong with this family when the father and mother both go overseas and leave their child for someone else to take care of. They had the kid and they are responsible for raising the child. I get a little fed up with this crap of well, they are serving their country. When are they going to serve their child? If you are going to serve your country then don't have a child unless you or your spouse are going to be there to raise that child.

quote:

Originally posted by Vanir97:
This tells me that there is something wrong with this family when the father and mother both go overseas and leave their child for someone else to take care of. They had the kid and they are responsible for raising the child. I get a little fed up with this crap of well, they are serving their country. When are they going to serve their child? If you are going to serve your country then don't have a child unless you or your spouse are going to be there to raise that child.

is there something you can do to keep one parent home with the child if you're both deployed concurrently? i never had any kids when i served so i never knew about this.

yeah,you are exactly right !!

In my family we have had both Mom and Dad deployed. They have a boy that goes to his brothers for that time.

It is hard on a family but it works out if someone is not deployded. Not as uncommon as you think.

Urban Legend. No such regulation exists.

It's one of those things that has been repeated so often and for so long, that has taken on a life of its own. Sorry, not true...

The all volunteer military and mandatory Family Care Plan. There has to be a family member designated in their Family Care Plan to take custody of the child while deployed.

i thought that there was a regulaton like that.i was an army brat and i remember daddy talking about that kind of thing.that was 18 years ago though.i'm learning thru my son who is an airman,alot has changed since my daddy retired,and there is a little difference between the af,and the army.

It's the command that will have the Reg for deployment. And yes the Air Foece May be different. As said before..... this is not a draft Military and all know why they joined.

In WW2 there were 5 brothers, name Sullivan that were on the same ship. All of them were killed at the same time. Thats when they made that law. My brother was in the marines and I was in the AF. He went to the Nam, and I was to go when He got back. We were on leave the month that he return and I was to deploy......

There is no Army regulation about siblings or family members serving together (other than husbands/wives cannot be in each other's chain of command), nor about "only sons" not being allowed to serve.

A couple of years ago, three sisters - from the upper Midwest, Michigan or Wisconsin, I think - were all in Iraq at the same time, but in different units. One was killed. After her funeral, the others were given the option of (a) returning to Iraq (b) staying in CONUS or (c) being discharged. Both chose to stay in CONUS, after their family convinced them to do so.

As has been said, this is a volunteer military and rules are very different for that reason.

Thought this might give you a little more insight...

http://www.sss.gov/FSsurviv.htm

http://www.snopes.com/military/onlyson.asp

The regulation doesn't exist.... I know we've all heard it since time im memorium and in countless movies, but it isn't true.

Wow, what a narrow minded post. I am dual military. I TAKE care of my children. If I deploy, I do so serving my country. Who do you think you are trying to imply that dual military couples don't take care of their children? My children are well rounded and have been around the world. I just don't get where you are coming from.

quote:

Originally posted by Vanir97:
This tells me that there is something wrong with this family when the father and mother both go overseas and leave their child for someone else to take care of. They had the kid and they are responsible for raising the child. I get a little fed up with this crap of well, they are serving their country. When are they going to serve their child? If you are going to serve your country then don't have a child unless you or your spouse are going to be there to raise that child.

If a couple is dual military, there is ALWAYS a chance that you may deploy at the same time. You have to maintain a family care plan. This will ensure that the child or children will be taken care of in your absence.

quote:

Originally posted by NYvet469:

quote:

Originally posted by Vanir97:
This tells me that there is something wrong with this family when the father and mother both go overseas and leave their child for someone else to take care of. They had the kid and they are responsible for raising the child. I get a little fed up with this crap of well, they are serving their country. When are they going to serve their child? If you are going to serve your country then don't have a child unless you or your spouse are going to be there to raise that child.

is there something you can do to keep one parent home with the child if you're both deployed concurrently? i never had any kids when i served so i never knew about this.