By Jeff Long and Sara Olkon, Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO
During his two tours in Iraq, Army Sgt. Chris Williams has been in many firefights, but he says a battle with military brass over a leave extension as his newborn son clings to life has been the scariest.
"It's a lot more stressful," he said Sunday afternoon during an interview at Munster Community Hospital in Indiana, where his son, Gabriel, is in intensive care.
"I'm an adult, I'm in the Army," said Williams, 24, of Crown Point, Ind. "If something happens to me, I can deal with it. But when it's your kid, it's a lot scarier than anything I've ever been in before."
The Army says Williams' country needs him more than his family does.
"They are fighting a war," said Catherine Caruso, a spokeswoman at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., where Williams' unit is based. "Even one person missing does have an impact. Sometimes, hard decisions get made."
Gabriel Douglas Williams was born healthy Tuesday, but he developed a lung infection that put him in intensive care.
One of his doctors, Kongiet Thaera, said the next few days could be critical - and that the first-time father should remain close.
Initially told by officials at Fort Lewis that he had been granted an extension to his leave until Jan. 3, Williams learned Sunday morning that final approval had been denied. Williams said his commander in Iraq left him a voice mail message saying that he would be "making it harder on himself" if he did not get on the first available plane.
Williams has booked a flight for Friday, the first he could find, but says he can't understand why the original extension was canceled. The Army says it was never officially approved.
"It's like they just write you off and you are a horrible soldier," Williams said. "I used to love what I was doing. I have a lot of military in my family. It was always a good experience. You come home, and people are thankful for what you are doing."
Now he's rethinking a career in the military.
His father, Douglas Williams, called it flabbergasting that the military can think it's a good idea for his son to lead troops overseas when his mind is obviously on his wife, LeeAnn, and their ailing son.
"He's leading people," Douglas Williams said. "His mind has to be on what he's doing."
He added, "I'm very proud of him," referring to his son's two tours in Iraq. "But I'm also proud of the fact that he's looking out for his family. The military should look at it like: 'This is a kid we want to keep.' "
"Sometimes it's up to the judgment of the commander," said Caruso, the Army spokeswoman.
She said soldiers often time their 18-day "rest and relaxation leave" around pending births, as Williams did. In order to extend a leave, a soldier would need a request for emergency leave approved by the commanding officer, Caruso said.
"The final decision is really up to his commanding officer," Caruso said. "At the end of the day, sometimes mission requirements come into play. It's really his unit's decision."
Caruso said she spoke to Capt. Bruce Wells, the rear detachment commander to the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry regiment, at Fort Lewis.
"When (Wells) talked to the soldier and found out his situation, he told him to put together a Red Cross message to process an emergency leave," Caruso said. "As the end of his R&R leave was approaching, Capt. Wells told him he would grant a 10-day extension, contingent on the CO's (commanding officer's) decision."
The final decision to deny the request was made by Williams' first sergeant, after consulting with the executive officer of the unit.
"The two decided (it) didn't rise to the level of emergency leave," Caruso said.
Caruso said it's unlikely Williams would be considered AWOL immediately.
"I don't think so. He wasn't listed that way to my knowledge," she said. "As long as he is making reasonable efforts to return to his unit in Iraq."
Williams is waiting to learn if he'll receive the Purple Heart for an incident in August when the Army truck he was in was hit by a roadside bomb. All five men inside suffered concussions in the blast, Williams said.
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Military = Dictatorship
I'm not surprized. I'm an Honorably Discharged Navy Veteran (7 yrs) and when I ran a leave request becuase my Grandfather passed away (Also a WWII Veteran, LTGJ Gunnery Officer) my command was going to DENY my leave request. I stated, "That's fine but I must remind you that the Navy is BIG on "History" and family generations of former Navy and if you won't approve my leave, you can explain this to my Congressman/Senator of "why" you feel it necessary to deny my necessary duties to attend my grandfather's funeral...retired LTJG, WWII Veteran and you can't say that denying my leave request because of "The Navy needs me more due to "manning issues" when I'm on SHORE DUTY is a crock." Within 5 hrs. my leave was APPROVED.
The Military is becomming more a "Hitler" regime ruled on "power" of "we need you" when you wonder WHY the enlistments are BELOW average. More 1st Term enlistments are getting out after their 1st tour because leaving their family over a YEAR for deployments is losing their family due to HIGH DIVORCE rates. Sacrificing your family is JUST NOT WORTH it anymore. Tell these CO's/XO's/DIVO's to WAKE UP...the battle is on the HOMEFRONT...not the FRONT LINES. Family
This in nothing but WRONG.
As a staunch supporter of our military I am very disappointed to read this story. It is wrong to treat this sailor this way and it is wrong to treat this wife this way. I think we discount the role of military wives too much, no I am not a military wife. Isn't family one of the core principles that our military does what they do for? I hope the upper eschelon will step in on this situation and correct it by keeping the sailor where he belongs, with his child and wife.
God Bless them and I will be saying a prayer for this child and the family.
This is nothing new for the military
In August 1943 my grandfather on my dad's side died. My father was in the pacific fighting the Japs. He was notified by not granted leave to attend the funeral as they said "it would not make any difference as he was already dead". In september I was born. Again no leave. He finally was able to come home and saw me for the first time in December 1945. So things are no different now except I would expect since we have an all volunteer military they should recognize that actions like this don't invite a rush to join up or re-inlist. My dad had no choice as he was a draftee but that is far from the case today.
This is a disgrace
The moron who made the final decision on this request for leave shoud be made public and this idiot drummed out of the Military!! this is being said by Robert Millwood 1972 to 1976 A02. United States Navy
The Military Disappoints on a Regular Basis
I work with families of children with special needs that are in the military, so reading your story didn't surprise me in the least. I know, that's sad to say.
I know of one mom that gave birth to twins and (since 9/11) they wouldn't allow the dad to come home. The twins died shortly thereafter. So, you had a dad that NEVER got to see his babies and you have a mother that had to go through their deaths all by herself because she didn't have family here.
This is one of the biggest reasons that I'm not a fan of the military. I know that what you guys do is (more special than words can say) but I think our government needs to get a heart (or at least some common sense.)
Somehow I hope you and your family get a chance to enjoy the holidays.
Leave Extention Denied
I'm not sure how it works in the Army, but in the Navy, all requests may be approved at the appropriate level but only the Commanding Officer can deny a request. The article says that the 1st Sgt and the XO denied the request. But beyond that, this is exactly the kind of treatment that makes Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen decide not to VOLUNTEER anymore. If I were Sgt Williams, I would be writing letters to EVERY member of my Chain of Command from my CO to the President and my Congressmen and Senators explaining my situation. All of them would be sent overnight express. A member of my family didn't receive half of his pay for the whole year he was stationed in Germany. While home on leave, he arranged a meeting with his Congressman who not only immediately got him a check for the missing pay but offered to get him stationed at a local Army base for the remaining year he had left in the Army if he wanted. My point, there are bad leaders but somewhere out there is a good leader willing to help. Sgt Williams has until Friday to find him. I wish him the best of luck and will be praying for him and his family.
Figuring Out The Military Angle...
Okay, so let me get this straight. Just within the last 2 weeks, the news had this really neat story about how the USS Ronald Reagan left its exercises in order to help a civilian cruiseship because a young female needed immediate medical assistance. I cried & was so proud of how our gov't made this grand decision to do that. It demonstrated intent to place a higher value on an individual's well-being for the minute that it was needed. B-U-T, on the other hand, a military member serves valiantly to the honor of himself, his family & his country yet while his son lies newborn stateside fighting for his life, the military man cannot be by his son's side until the threat to his brevity is over. That somehow makes me wonder if the situation with the civilian girl wasn't self-serving to the military so of course, why not do it? I say let Sgt. Chris Williams remain with his family until the crisis is over. Who knows? While he may be another body, mind & spirit serving America, his son could end up being a great hero-perhaps the infant just needs the comfort of "daddy" by his side.
No Surprise
This story breaks your heart, but should come as no surprise. After all, this is a rigid system where a good soldier is held in no better regard than the worst man in his company. Clearly, this soldier will be of little use to his outfit, and if I served under him, I'd be worried that the distraction of having a sick child would lead to him making errors that could adversely affect others. The implied threat by his commanding officer, to "catch the next plane out and not make it worse on himself", is an insult to a soldier who evidently has served with distinction. But when a man, in consideration for a Purple Heart, is threatened with court martial, and all he has done is act according to the best information he received from the military, it does tend to make him wonder why he enlisted in the first place!
My heart goes out to him and his family, and I hope he is able to safely return to his loved ones, and that his little son grows up to know his father. I seriously doubt the Army will be able to persuade him to re-enlist when his time is up. And in the meantime, I'll bet the Army wonders why they have problems with enlistment as well. This is a primary example of the need fo
Military Emergency leave
Once again the military shows that it puts the welfare of the troops ang their families second. If this soldier is back in a combat situation, he will not be concentrating 100% on the task at hand. And because of the both his and the troops he leads will be more in danger. And the troops that he leads will be wondering about his focus as well. Thus compounding the problem in the hot spot.
What a dissappointment!
As an active duty military officer I am deeply saddened to see things like this happen more and more frequently. As someone who thinks that I'm more "old school" than many of my contemporaries, I still understand that today's military is not the same as that of our parents and grandparents. Young people have more and more opportunities than ever before and don't "need" the military. Our volunteer service is that . . . one of VOLUNTEERS. Our leadership must quickly learn to recognize that volunteers dry up faster than they appear if you don't take care of them.
The quote in the story saying that the military needed him more than his child who is fighting for his life is ludicrous. As a leader of men and women, I realize that this soldier will likely put his soldiers in danger if he is unable to concentrate on the mission because his heart is with his child in ICU back home.
For some reason, I don't think his commanders will need to worry about that much longer in the future. Their lack of faith in him and lack of support for him to take care of his family will most likely result in him not VOLUNTEERING when it comes time to reenlist.