I went to MEPS in October got a contract for CCT and leave march 15. Shortly after MEPS I found out that my wife was pregnant. My wife fully supports the decisions i've made, and I\we realized that there would be many sacrifices that we would have to make when I signed up for this. But you only get to have your first child once. My question is will I be able to take an emergency leave when she has the baby? She is Due august 22nd which i think would put me at Keesler for ATC. My recruiter said yes, but she's fairly new, and i thought the team had to stay together. If I did take leave wouldn't that put me behind my class. Any info would be appreciated

The Team doesn't have to stay together and rarely does so that isn't a factor. Guys get injured, get rececycled to another class for failure of something or other, etc. quite often. The question is what is the Emergency Leave Policy of the USAF regarding childbirth, and how is it interpreted at the school you are attending at the time. I don't know the answer. I do know the Air Force has gone to great lengths to get men home for the birth of a child but that doesn't mean it is guaranteed. My hunch, and it is only a hunch, is that you will be able to finish a phase of ATC, take Emergency Leave, and then be rescheduled for the follow on phase.
Any Instructors out there want to weigh in here?

Not sure if it'll qualify as emergency leave.
Curious though, why not have your wife move to Biloxi and deliver the baby at the Keesler Hospital?

I was told that she couldn't move with me until AST or atleast shouldn't becuase I'd be to busy, and she might be a distraction. Not to mention that my wife is pretty needy. I guess that would be a last resort, but how would housing work for that?

The Air Force wouldn't pay...it would be at your own expense since it is not a permanent assignment.

You would normally be in the barracks so the Instructors would have to decide whether to let you go off base or not as an exception to the rule. Not likely.
just curious, you are three hours from Louisville. Why didn't you give us a shout? Just curious if you ever heard of us or just never considered the ANG as an option, etc. You can PM me the answer.

I had never heard of you guys. I'm still not sure what it is exactly. From reading this site I'm assuming its like the reserves, if thats the case I was looking for something more permanent. I'm pretty sure I'll love this job minus the being away from home part. Please tell me more about ANG incase it something I might look to in the future.

Guard and Reserves is pretty much the same, different funding from state and federal governments. The best part about the guard and reserves is you can do as little or as much as you like, provided you have some leisurely form of civilian employment (or a wife who makes good money).. There are also many opportunities for government postitions or even just go active as an AGR, and stay at that unit.. Your options and freedom is far greater in the Guard and Reserve.. And no i'm not a recruiter nor did I get paid to say that.. I am actually stuck in Iraq right now with my reserve unit instead of in the pipeline, so it's not always the greatest..

steveo,
I think the best source of information on Guard and Reserve units is to read the 123rd STS Recruiting Document on the ST Related Documents Forum (second from the top of the Forum Page). Give it a read. It is particular to the 123rd STS but is relavent to the other Guard and Reserve units, except in a couple of unit specific aspects. When 123rd STS policy differs from say Portland or Alaska, I've generally explained why we differ. Give it a read and PM me if you have further questions.
Also go to youtube and google 123rd STS or look at some of the videos on this site's home page. We have some pretty good training on D.V.D and it is put to good music. Its about 4 or 5 years old now, but still pretty cool.