Russian Adoption & DH taking leave?

Jennifer, It's pretty much up to the Command's discretion whether he can take leave on short notice or not. I suggest he talk with the XO or CO about his situation. You might also consider engaging the command chaplain's aid. In our case, we adopted through domestic parental placement. DH met with the CMC, DO and the XO and told them of our plans. He got permission to carry a personal cell phone with him at all times, ran an open leave chit (didn't know when he was leaving and coming back) 'in advance' only needing his DO's signature and date. We had one false labor and he was on leave within an hour so we could travel, then had 1 day notice when Ryan finally arrived (his bmom had to be induced in the end). As you may be aware, DOL employment laws don't apply to military servicemembers as a rule. In some areas they 'mirror' but basically when it comes to needs, theirs always come first. We were lucky in that DH's command was so flexible. Their only condition is that when we came home we had to bring Ryan by for his first seat in a jet - which we did with joy. HTH, best of luck, Regina, AMom to Ryan Joshua Thomas

Hi Jennifier - My Navy husband and I are also in the process of adopting from either Russia or Belarus (using IAG - we couldn't decide, so they will give us referrals from both countries). We were planning on traveling this Spring, however, my husband is getting deployed for 6 months. So, once again we are delayed until the Fall. Luckily, my husband's command is very supportive of our adoption. In regards to your husband's command, I agree with what Regina said regarding getting the XO or CO or even the command chaplain involved. I definitely wouldn't go by one officer's opinion. He obviously doesn't understand the adoption process. What branch of service is your husband? In the Navy each command has an Ombudsman, who assists families in issues such as these. I think most branches have this type of person.....just with different names. I am the Ombudsman for my husband's command, and I have helped families with all types of issues they couldn't get resolved otherwise. If all else fails, go to your Fleet and Family Support Center (or the equivelant for your branch). I am sure everything will work out just fine for you and your husband. Best of Luck, Sara

I agree totally with the other posts. It depends on the command. My husband is an officer in the Air Force and we are trying to adopt. We had a match and was just waiting for the expectant mother to go into labor. My husband's command had been notified well in advance of our adoption efforts and the approval was given for him to kind of be on stand by for lack of a better term. The plan was that as soon as we got notice then my husband would call his CO who would give verbal permission for us to head out. Well our plan never came to fruition because the expectant mother went into labor and all but changed her mind about adoption the same day. Our experience so far with the AF has been good...they are supportive and DH's CO is just as excited as we are I think! :) T

Sometimes the military is worse than the socialworkers. I can't tell you how many arguments my husband and I have had about his chain of command not releasing him for staffing meetings and foster/adopt placements, and we still haven't adopted yet. The Army sure doesn't get it. I always thought he wasn't explaining to them the details of adotion and the time we needed him. I finally realized they understood, they just didn't care. I wish they would realize that we wives (and some husbands) have civilian problems that the military can't fix, like not be able to get pregnant at the drop of a hat. It is truly exaspearting.

Hi, We adopted 2 from Russia in Dec. We had 4 weeks notice for trip 1 and 3 weeks for trip 2. This might be different depending on your region and agency. We adopted from Samara Region through Amrex. I also suggest your DH talk with his XO or CO. Our CO was very adoption friendly and literally bent over backwards to help us. We were scheduled to PCS to a 6 mo school (no traveling), but the CO arranged for DH to switch jobs and stay at the same duty station within the battalion. Once our adoption was completed, we put in our paperwork and PCSed.