Pregnancy Separation
Why I Decided to Separate
Getting pregnant was not something I had planned (at least for a while). In tech school, I had met someone and we started dating. One thing led to another and two months into seeing each other, I became pregnant. We made the decision to get married because with us both being in the military, we wanted to make sure we’d be able to be together or at the very least stationed in the same state. My husband and I have been through hell and back the past year and a half but we love each other and now have a beautiful baby girl. My husband decided shortly after I left tech school that he was going to transfer in to the Army. He had been trying to retrain but due to policy changes he missed his chance, so after almost five years in the Air Force, he felt the Army was his only chance to pursue his dream job. At the time, I was stationed in Florida and he was in Texas so the long distance thing really sucked (especially being pregnant and hormonal LOL). When he separated from the Air Force he went on terminal leave and moved to FL with me until he left for Army Basic Training (LAME). The Army let him go on leave so he could be with me for the birth of our daughter in December. Fortunately, I was being induced due to my high blood pressure so we had a set date. I had a lot of health issues and scares throughout my pregnancy due to preeclampsia. It was a terrible feeling to not have my husband or family close by and I was constantly worried what if something happens and I have nobody. After having the baby, life was a struggle. Adjusting to a baby is no joke. I struggled so much that I decided to head back home to Massachusetts for 2 of the 3 months of my maternity leave so I could be with my family, as my husband had to return to training. During this time of change, I decided that I needed to research my options. I knew that being stationed with my husband was going to be difficult and I didn’t want to be apart, I needed our family together. I knew that the Air Force had changed their policy so that you could separate either before you have your baby or after (you have 12 months after the baby is born to decide). I really did not want to leave the Air Force. I worked so hard to join and I couldn’t just give it all up. So as many military members do, I went to Reddit for advice. I found out that I could separate and then Palace Front to the Reserves. Palace Front is a little bit different than Palace Chase- Palace Front adds a Guard/Reserves service commitment after you have separated to prevent a break in service. Palace Chase is when you leave your contract early to go to the Guard/Reserves- you are eligible to apply after you have served half of your contract. This ultimately gave me the best of both world; more time to be a mommy and be together with my family, and also still being able to serve part time.