Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 3/16/2010

Question
My son completed basic, during basic he had leave (exodus) for Christmas now he has been assigned to his unit 101st and their getting ready for deployment my qeustion is does my son get leave before he is deployed.they are deploying end of April first of may. he went straight to his unit right after graduation.He says he is being treated like a outsider and can't get a straight answer from anybody. I understand he is the newbbie but these kids are going threw enough without getting straight answers!Why can't they just tell him yes or no!

Answer
Usually prior to a deployment the commander gives a block leave period - a period of time where everyone who is scheduled in a unit to deploy can go on leave, usually two weeks or so. It would be up to your son to determine if that period has happened or not. There is a training calendar every unit is required to publish at least 6 weeks out that he can check to see when the period is. His team leader and squad leader should also be able to let him know about this information.