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My husband and I are both in the Army and we are due to adopt our first child in April. So far, the adoption is perfect and life is grand, but we just encountered a huge snag in our plans. My chain of command says that they can't let me have more than 14 days of leave for the birth of our baby. I don't understand why. If I were actually pregnant and delivering a baby, they would have to give me 6 weeks of leave for free. Is there some kind of regulation to help me in this situation? I can't even take the baby to a sitter on Post until they're 6 weeks old. Please help if you know the answers. Thank you.
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I understand what you are saying. I am in the Coast Guard and my wife and I are expecting the birth of our daughter any day now. I know in the CG, I only get five working days of leave as a male. I just doesn't seem enough. I have enough leave built up to take several weeks off, but it's just not feasilbe. Good luck and God bless!
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JAG finally came up with an answer for us today. The Army's official ruling on adoption is, "commanders are encouraged to give soldiers ordinary leave for the adoption of a child," and, "maternity leave is for pregnant mothers". How discouraging. Does anybody have any good ideas besides asking Congress to change our laws? Maybe there's a law that the lawyers have overlooked. Anyone?
Maternity leave (military or civilian) is to provide time for the mother to physically heal from the process of birth, not time to bond with their child. That's the difference between pregnant leave and adoption leave.
Do you only have 14 days leave on the books? If you have more unused leave, negotiate for that. If you don't have more leave.... you are in the Army. The rules are different for us than civilians. The unfortunate aspect of being a military family right now is that we are at war and things will only get worse in the coming days.
Do you have another means to provide care between the time your child is 2 weeks and 6 weeks? Is this an issue you can negotiate with your C.O. on? Perhaps you could remind him the president is pro-adoption. A good working relationship with your superiors at a time like this is invaluable.
There will be an answer for you - it might not be what you'd prefer but the bottom line is you will soon have a beautiful child in your family. Congratulations. And thank you for your service to our country. Your daily sacrifices are much more obvious in times like these than ever before. May God watch over you all and keep you safe.
USN (ret)