European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page to the stars and stripes Friday. January 17, 1986 air Force s emergency leave policy explained �._.,. In Wing Thuv were never raised by both recently my husband received a Dis Tressing Call from the slates. His grand Mother had died that morning and his presence at Home was needed lie immediately requested that his parents notify the american red Cross so that notification could be sent to the commanding my husband telephoned his unit s first sergeant at which time we were in formed that according to air Force regulations the death of a grandparent do snot constitute grounds for emergency leave therefore there was nothing the first sergeant could do except give my husband names and numbers of people who could authorize my husband to take regular leave. Fortunately my husband had same what would he have done otherwise after quite a few Telephone Calls on saturday night my husband finally located one who gave him the go ahead to take leave. The air Force policy of not granting emergency leave for a grandparent s death can be deemed cold at the very least. We assumed until it happened to us. Thill this was one of the situation that fall under the category of emergency leave authorizations. What makes this even More ludicrous is the fact that we have been told by several people that our Squadron had authorized emergency leave for people to go stateside for divorce finalization other squadrons had Given emergency leave for people to go Home for the ill Nesses and operations of their grandpa rents. Is it up to each individual Squadron s first sergeant commander to authorize emergency leave As they Sec fit can the policy be read and interpreted Dif Ferent ways according to who is Reading it would the fact that our base had Abig exercise coining up that monday have anything to do with emergency leave being refused in our situation since we received the news on a weekend we weren t Able Togo to the Bank and get Money for my husband s ticket Home. When we Tele phoned the red Cross and were told no funds were available to us because my husband could t Lake emergency leave we had to phone Home. Luckily my Hus band s parents were Able to wire a ticket to the Frankfurt Airport so that problem was about other families who arc not so fortunate and the people at Home cannot afford to Send a ticket How arc the grieving relatives supposed to gel Home to be Wilh their family until it happened to us we assume that the red Cross would be there for us in any situation we deemed an emergency. I had no idea that their criteria for giving Loans hinged on a piece of paper that said emergency finally one last thought we we retold that the Only Way my husband would be granted emergency leave to go Home would be if his grandmother had cared for him for one year prior to his18th birthday. What docs this have to do with anything How could anyone pos Sibly prove it anyway what s to Stop people from lying and saying yes that their grandmother had cared for them. Lauren i. Stepaniuk a Germany editor s note col. James r. Miller Liq Safe director of personnel programs replies the air Force has always been sensitive to the welfare of us family single an married especially in limes of distress. Unfortunately All policies Are not broaden ugh to cover every person s situation during limes of emergencies. Our re Idelles however do enable the majority of cases to be approved while allowing for a certain degree of , your husband s situation fell into the commander s area of discretion which can be a Gray area. Even though we cannot speak directly with his commander we will attempt to answer Why this decision was made As Well As clarify the Overall emergency leave policy. Air Force s Basic policy is to allow emergency leave to the sponsor or spouse in the event of death in the member s or spouse s immediate family. Immediate family includes Mother father Brothers Sisters children sole surviving blood rela Tives or the persons who legally raised the member or spouse in Loco Parent is. This definition constitutes most family nuclei who meet the support needs although not necessarily every moral obligation of our your situation the definition you provided As Loco Parent is if his her grand Mother has cared for him her for one year prior to his Isth birthday is Correct Andis a restriction imposed to assist command ers. Agreeably a person can say yes Knowin they r raise Bot or either grandparent. However we for a degree of personal integrity. If there is any doubt the commander can use the individual s personal history form court decrees or other documents to determine i Loco Parentis relationship. In the cases you reference of other personnel having emergency leave approved for illness of grandparents we can Only surmise the commanders had enough information in these situations to make an appropriate determination. Additionally american red Cross poli cies Wilh regard to Loans for emergency leave Are mandated by Congress in arcs charter. However the local air fore Ai society could have possibly been Able to assist from the stateside port of arrival to the funeral and Back. This Falls under the provision of Ordinary leave under emergency conditions. With reference to another concern there is a provision allowing commanders to Grant emergency leave for finalizing a divorce but this area is strictly defined. To have this Type of leave approved divorce suit must have been filed a court Date Mustbe established and custody of children must be an Issue. In conclusion All commanders will nuke every attempt to accommodate the Emer gency needs of their people if they Are Able without regard to exercises and mis Sion. They Are Given wide latitude to make these decisions and do so to the Best inter est of each individual and the entire air Force family. Show me someone cares is Soldier s request i am writing this i cur to All readers of the stars Ana stripes. This is my Anonymous plea far understanding of the military private consensus of soldiers is that no one we have jobs we perform every Day some easy and others Complex. But every Day some of us have the stress of getting a counselling statement or a Chow my Oul added to our jobs. This is condition ing for stressful conditions we arc told and we learn How to handle it or leave the individual is perfect. 1 am As far re moved from perfection As the next Guy. I do work each Day to handle whatever Job i m Given to Complete it As if my sergeant major was watching Over my shoulder and to perfect the s still not what my Peers or my supervisors want. Some have told me i have to learn to lie to be in the army that getting out of trouble is a lying action. You know the Deal gel along with your Boss an Don t make Waves no matter what even when to do so would be contrary to orders. My Job is important to me. I perform i proudly. I am not a politician and 1 do not spit Shine my boots As Well As i d like uniform gels dirty during the Day be cause i work sometimes in the motor Pool. Isec other chair borne soldiers who receive less duty because their uniforms arc always Good to i am asking every Soldier to think about the one Soldier in his life who gives him a hard time and the other Soldier he , to think about his unit outcast and ask himself How he has helped this Soldier turn his situation around. Is this Guy slowly being pushed out the door if so can it be prevented is there anything he can do or that you can do to give slim support and help in his Job performance peer group pressure is a terrible thing to happen to anyone. Hale can be mishandled and each Soldier docs contrib Ute something to his unit even on guard duty. This eight Ball probably has More than his , each of us joined the army Wilh different goals. It s hard to remember sometimes that besides being soldiers we arc All human beings with Good and bad aspects to our a Soldier cannot ask a question without reprisal How can they possibly do Well within your unit if you Nave not stopped and looked Al that troubled Soldier lately Don t feel bad. At this time of the year miracles can happen. Give me Hope that you care what Ever your military station is. You Don t have to Point a Finger at Rne or your superiors. The military system has been a Large one since its inception. It s easy for All of us to feel like a number and our inner thoughts get buried when we re work ing to carry out our daily missions. Responsibility for myself is All important to me and taking responsibility for my actions is too. Show me that besides giving to outside charities this year you be shared your knowledge of your jobs with positive reinforcement As Well As dogging out the Newby of the unit. My record is clean today. I be gotten help from Many soldiers but it s hard to gel to without help. Help someone else and Youl be helping me. Show me someone cares. Name withheld Butzbach Germany no reduced rate for unsealed mail officials say i went to the local Apo to mail my yearly crop of Christmas cards. I remembered that at one time 1 could Mai Christmas cards Al a reduced posing a Rale if i did not Seal them. All that was necessary was to tuck in the Flap in the inquired of the clerk at the mailing window about this reduced rate proce Dure. She said she never heard of it and it turned out thai no employee there Milf Lary or civilian had heard of it. One Mili Lary employee replied Hal it might Beok in the Stales bul not overseas. That seemed is the Cotrell answer name withheld Ansbach German editor s note Sec. Bradley Silzel mail services Branch he postal group Europe 1st personnel come he Usa eur replies there is no reduced postage Rale for mailing greeting cards sealed or in types of printed Mailer to include most greeting card that Donot contain personal correspondence May be sent As third class mail however for mall weight from one to four ounces the postage Rale for first class and third class mail is the same. If your cards weigh Over four ounces third class postage would be cheaper but third class mail travels by slower Mode of transportation. The military postal service follow the same postal regulations and proce dures As those of the . Postal sen ice. We will publish a notice in our monthly technical bulletin reminding Al postal clerks of the proper procedures for accepting third class you have any further questions concerning this or any other postal matter i encourage you to Contact your local postal officer or Call Sec. Silzel at 379- 6364/7643. 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