My son is Active Duty Army. I was wondering does the ARMY shut down for Christmas holiday? If so, usually what are the dates? I was reading on here and saw posts from 2007 that talked about it but wasn't sure if it's the same.

Just trying to figure out if my son would be able to come home during that time.

What stage of his enlistment is he at? If he is in BCT/AIT then there is a good possibility of him coming home for Exodus. if he is beyond AIT then it is entirely up to him whether he wants to put in for leave. It also depends on how many people have put in for leave at the same time.

The Army doesn't shut down (same with all the branches) and there is always somebody on duty. My son, along with some 50,000 others, will spend Christmas protecting a bunch of non-Christian people in a land far away from home.

no. the only thing that shuts down are Schools.. and not always even then. if he has reached his duty station he wil be required to take leave if he wants any time off.. and that is subjetc to approval, and there still needs to be people at the command at all times.

Okay, I understand. He's at a duty station. Was just curious how that worked. He won't have much leave left so doubtful he'll be home.

Thanks.

At his duty station then they can go to skeleton crew but they do need people there. He would have to put in a request for leave and it be granted. They do have programs on base for Single Sailors/Soldiers/Marines/Airmen who don't go home for the holidays to be "adopted" by a family. He can look into that.

Thank you. He's too shy to look into anything. He says he still has a few days leave and will try to get leave to come home.

Depending on how much time he has left on his enlistment (and I'm guessing it's quite a bit) then he can possibly go in the hole on leave. That happens quite often during the first 12-15 months. It's not a good habit to get into and he can't go more in the hole than what he will earn during his enlistment but it is a possibility.

One thing to keep in mind for him is whether his unit might be deploying any time soon. There will be leave involved with that also and there is not much choice given as to whether that leave is taken. This could drive him further in the whole but, even with 18 days for R&R taken out, he would earn 12 more days during the deployment to make that up (assuming a 12-month deployment).

Mturnb, yes he's in his first year (actually jan 2010 is 1 year) of enlistment. Think he said that he had 18.5 on his last LES for November 1st. He just used 15 days when he was home on emergency leave. SO he has 3.5 left and then 2.5 for December so he'll have 6 days.

He's unit isn't deploying until 2XXX he said. They are to be moving to XXXX , however, he is in Ft Hood on that XXX and even though he's separated from the wife (nice name lol)he seems to think they'll keep him in Ft. Hood. Do you know if they will if they have filed for Divorce and it's just not final? They can't file until December but won't be final until 60 days after that or longer. Way off topic here...sorry.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sgtmom,

I realize you are new to all of this. But there is a security matter here with posting so much information on dates, where he is, where he is going and so forth. As a matter of PERSEC (PERsonal SECurity) and OPSEC (OPerational SECurity) please be careful how much information you post to these open, public forums.

As for the divorce we have no way of knowing if he has filed or not. I would suggest you ask your son.


Sgt Mom

quote:

he seems to think they'll keep him in Ft. Hood. Do you know if they will if they have filed for Divorce and it's just not final?

I so wish you had registered a real name instead of a number. I don't remember all the numbers that are at there but I tend to remember the screen names. This is the lady whose son did a quickie marriage to someone that he met in AIT and now they are getting divorced after he found out that she is deeply in debt and really just wants his money.

Yes, the odds are that he will stay at Ft. Hood. They won't care that he is getting divorced other than dropping the colocation that got him there. His bigger problem will be avoiding her once the divorce goes through (and, of course, getting the BAH settled that he is having problems with now).

Especially since he just went on emergency leave, his best option is probably to stay at Ft. Hood over Christmas. He's already had people picking up the load for him and he can make beau coup points with everyone if he is the one that is picking up duty assignments over Christmas. He can probably get a long weekend for either Christmas or New Year to visit you and not cost himself any leave.

Sgtmom I'm so sorry after I hit reply I knew I shouldn't have posted what I did...Glad you were on top of it as always. Also, i wasn't asking if they were divorced lol I was just asking if they would send him to the other station if they would keep him where he is since he is married now.

Mturnb, yes you have it all correct. I did talk with my son and he had already decided he was just going to stay on post for the holiday.

And how do I get the numbers and become a real person? I have no idea how to do that..lol thanks again...

quote:

Originally posted by 18974576:
Sgtmom I'm so sorry after I hit reply I knew I shouldn't have posted what I did

Just so you know, you can always edit your own post. Click on the little pencil under the posting and it will bring up your post and allow you to make the necessary changes.

Oh thank you never even saw that!

quote:

And how do I get the numbers and become a real person?

Unfortunately there is no way to change your screen name once it is created. The only way to become a "real" person is to delete your old ID and create a new one with a screen name that you want.

quote:

Originally posted by mturnb:

quote:

And how do I get the numbers and become a real person?

Unfortunately there is no way to change your screen name once it is created. The only way to become a "real" person is to delete your old ID and create a new one with a screen name that you want.

Not true, you can change the numbers one in your profile. It's a one-time shot though.

So, can I change it to a name and not numbers one time? If so, how?

I think I have it changed...

Yay!!! I think it's now changed. I hope so anyway...nice to meet everyone I'm Paula!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ArmymominDE:
Yay!!! I think it's now changed. I hope so anyway...nice to meet everyone I'm Paula!!!

Yay!

Sorry I couldnt reply before you figured it out. I pop on and off of here on class breaks if I have no homework to do (or if I'm trying to avoid homework LOL!)

We are here at Ft. Hood...like others have said the army don't shut down for christmas vacations. i believe the dates he can leave if he has leave times is Dec 17 thru Jan 3rd. My husband was deployed last christmas so he is taking time off to be here with us He will deploy again next year so i will enjoy my time with him during this holiday season.