Expert: Rod Powers - 11/7/2007

Question
QUESTION: My father has not been in my life for 15 years.  I am 17 ready to turn 18.  I enlisted in the Navy and am currently in DEP.  My mom signed deserter paperwork for my dad.  My dad has resurfaced and does not want me to join the military.  Will this affect my DEP status?  If it does, I turn 18 in a couple of weeks, do I have to sign up all over again from the beginning?

ANSWER: Hi Bill,

From reviewing the Navy recruiting regulation (COMNAVCRUITCOMINST 1130.8G – VOLUME I), I don't think you have a problem.

Section 3 of the regulation states: "(j) If one parent has deserted or disappeared, the custodial parent must complete NAVCRUIT 1133/97 (Note: This is the form certifying "deserter" status that your Mom signed). Consent of the deserting parent is not required once NAVCRUIT 1133/97 is properly executed. Note that this form must be used only in genuine cases of desertion or disappearance. The custodial parent and the applicant must exhaust all reasonable efforts to locate the other parent before executing NAVCRUIT 1133/97.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Unfortunately, this was not done and the recruiters just took my mom's word for it.  I'm in the process of a name change and I needed to get a hold of my father, which we did with no problem and he signed the court paperwork.  We didn't know it would be that easy since I hadn't seen him since I was 3.  Turns out he was living in the same house he lived in 15 years ago (he parents' house). He lives in a different city, but nonetheless the same house.  We never tried and the recruiters didn't ask us to since he had been gone for 15 years.  Another thing, unfortunately, there is court paperwork on file with the court stating he has visiting rights (which he didn't take advantage of).  Of course that was from when I was 3.  I'm confused now.  Is there something he can do?  Even if he did, I will be turning 18 soon, but do I need to start all over with my paperwork and MEPS?  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Bill,

If you haven't seen him since you were 3, it would be pretty crappy if he tried to interfere with your life now, but, "legally," he could do so, if he went to your recruiter, showed proof of who he was, and signed a statement saying he did not give permission for you to join the Military.

You need to tell your recruiter about this. Don't worry. Your recruiter *will not* be mad at you. Instead, he/she will be happy that you have him/her a "heads up" on a potential problem.

Legally, if your recruiter receives an official request from your Father that he does not give permission for you to enlist, the recruiter would have to initiate discharge action from the DEP for you. That process takes about two or three weeks. That would result in your job reservation being cancelled, and then you would have to reapply for the job slot, once you turned 18. By that time, your job slot may have already been given to someone else by another recruiter.

If, on the other hand, you bring your recruiter into the loop, he/she can probabnly find dozens of ways to "delay" the DEP discharge process (paperwork sometimes gets lost), thereby delaying it until you turn 18, in which case your reserved job is saved.

Remember, your recruiter *wants* you to enlist (he/she gets "credit" for every enlistment). They're going to help you out as much as possible.

For more information about the United State Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com