Question About Deployment Date

[storzo]

My stepson called and said he will be going to Iraq in August for a year. I would like to be sure we or at the very least his father gets in a visit before he goes.

August just seems so far off to me, although I know it's really not.

My question is are the dates the army gives pretty accurate? I am new to this and am just wondering if we have till then to visit or if we should go sooner rather than later?

Thanks.

 

[rparmfamily]

Honestly, anything can change. My husband is Navy and is surface, so his deployment timeframe only moved by a month or so, but I'm not sure how Army works.

I'd do it sooner than later but maybe some Army families will have better advice. Also, does he have to go to training prior to his deployment, like NTC? That is several months long and is right before they leave for the deployment usually.

 

[storzo]

I have no idea about the training part. I guess I will have to call and ask. If he does have to go to this training, can he have visitors at that time or should I definately plan for before that?

Thanks!!

 

[Goofyzgurl]

I would definitely do it sooner. While he's in training, they might not have much time to visit plus their work hours might not be as regular. So I'd see when he can take leave and go then.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I would absoultely be prepared for the dates to change. My husband's dates started changing the day after he came home last year and still changing. More than likely, if he is in an active duty unit, he will go to JRTC or even other training like the NTC or others. Also, he should, more than likely, receive some vacation(leave time) time before the actual deployment.

Now all units do the actual sending out differently but here we usually have a couple days of family time for all members of the unit about 3 days before they are due to fly out. All family members are encouraged to attend especially single soldiers to ensure that anything the soldier wants in safe keeping is with their family member or close friend. This includes papers like wills, life insurance, power of attorney, and things like tv's, video game consoles and cars.

If you have more questions feel free to keep asking. We have great lists for goody boxes and things you can expect during the deployment. I also have booklets for parents of soldiers that are deploying and can answer some questions.

 

[storzo]

Thank you so much. I guess we'd better get planning then. We are in NJ and he is in Washington State, active duty. He is not single, he was a wife and two kids (1 year and 1 week).

I guess I should be asking him for more details, but I know he's got other things to think of right now. So I'm trying to lighten the load.

This is a ways off, but curious, will he get an Iraq "address" or does the army forward the mail if I use the current address. And how long does it take for packages to arrive overseas?

Thanks again. My DH was Air Force but that was during peace time, this is all so new to me.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Thank you so much. I guess we'd better get planning then. We are in NJ and he is in Washington State, active duty. He is not single, he was a wife and two kids (1 year and 1 week).

I guess I should be asking him for more details, but I know he's got other things to think of right now. So I'm trying to lighten the load.

This is a ways off, but curious, will he get an Iraq "address" or does the army forward the mail if I use the current address. And how long does it take for packages to arrive overseas?

Thanks again. My DH was Air Force but that was during peace time, this is all so new to me.

He will get an address before he leaves for the deployment and more than likely it will change once or twice after he gets to where he is going. I would wait at least 2 weeks to a month before sending anything to make sure the APO that he is given is correct. It takes anywhere from 10 days to 4 weeks to get a package there depending on the time of year(holidays always busy) and where they are located and it takes longer sometimes when they are just starting out over there.

To be supportive of your stepson, I would just ask him when the best time for a visit would be after the start of the new year. He should have a tentative schedule of what his upcoming year will be.Also, if you have a good relationship with his wife and children make sure they have everything they need especially support and somewhere to go when feels like all hell is breaking loose. Good luck to your family.

 

[storzo]

Thanks for the advice. I will let the holidays pass and then ask when he will be up for a visit. His wife is from that area (they met there) so she has family and friends close by which is a good thing because we're in NJ and his mom is in Texas. I will be sure to let her know that she can call on us anytime day or night. Should I also take time to send her care packages? Any ideas?

His father is okay with it or at least seems to be and I have no idea how his mom is dealing, but I guess I am just nervous, proud, scared, worried.......all kinds of emotions because I just got the news. My defense is to keep busy so that is why I'm trying to learn everything I can now. I'm sure I will calm down and then get "crazy" again as the date nears.

 

[jsmith]

theres not much i can add to what tina has said-but since the soldiers i work with are at a different installation and different division and the procedures are a bit different here maybe i can provide some additional procedural insites. I have a very close friend leaving sometime before 10 dec so im living this pretty closely.
If the time frame to deploy is August the NTC/JRTC rotation will be in an april or may time frame most likely-here they get 30 days of "block leave" between NTC and deployment usually broken into two two week blocks-one right after they return from training and the other about a month before deployment-so that they return too work about two or three weeks before the flights out start. For the units leaving soon they also got an additional kind of gimme week-they had to show up for whats called accountability two mornings this week and the rest of the week they are on a pass-not charged as leave but allows them to not be "on call" to work so if they have family within driving distance they can travel-this is taking the place of the family days Tina mentioned-Monday they go back to work so that everyone and every last minute thing can be accounted for -they wont all leave at the same time-its a rather large number of people so they leave over a period of days.
Good Luck to all your family

 

[storzo]

Thank you.

I have been away from a computer for a while.

I guess my best strategy is just to wait and ask my DSS when is best for him.