Seriously considering the Navy. 22 single parent

[melody]

Im 22 yrs old and i have a 3 yr old daughter. i am a single parent but i have lots of help. would i be able to join and if so how long will i be away from my baby?

[Achseh]

It is my understanding that you will not be allowed to join the Navy as a single parent. You cannot 'give' your child to your parents to care for while you are in bootcamp with the expectation to take her back after school just in order to enlist as you would be fraudulently enlisting. Some recruiters suggest this. It's against the rules and if found out, you will be the one in trouble, not the recruiter.

That said, I'm a mom, not a recruiter, so you should call your local recruiter to be sure.

[Melissa (Tucson)]

I was just reading about this situation not long ago and what I read was you CAN join the Navy, but you must give custody someone else (whoever would be taking care of your baby). We have had Moms on here with children who are in boot camp and have a young child themselves (I hope this makes sense).

[Melissa (Tucson)]

PS I love your name!!! I have a Melody Rose! Good luck in whatever you decide to so.

[melody]

Thank you, my baby's name is Harmony! get it...lol thanx again

[Melissa (Tucson)]

I love it! I have a another, Tracy. She named her daughter (my granddaugher) Lacey. Lacey had a baby a year ago and I told her I disown the whole bunch if she named the baby Stacy. She named her Amaya!

[melody]

lol.....funny. i used to say if i had a boy ide name him Lyric. or a girl i guess. but that might be too much! there's many more. musical name i could go on and on.

[Melissa (Tucson)]

I couldn't decide between Memory or Melody. Between me and hubby there isn't a "musical" bone in our bodies. My daughter Melody is a recording engineer in the music business in Burbank, CA. She loves music!

[melody]

well i cant sing, nor write, but i do love music. Harmony is only 3 but by the sound of her lil voice it doesnt seem like she'll be a singer either...lol, but she loves dancing and she loves to listen to music...memory is lovely but Melody is a much better choice.

[Carlotta]

Melody, I was going to enlist(Air Force) some years ago and at that time I was told I would have to give custody over to my mother but it wasn't a permanent thing. After giving it some thought I decided not to. But there are some single moms on the site so you may want to talk with them and get some information about the process.

[KYmom]

Well before you go any further, Ask yourself if you can stand to be away from your child
for 6-7 months without seeing them.

[Achseh]

Or a year.

I did some research and found that you cannot join the Navy (giving your child to your parents temporarily is fraud, btw)

"If you are a single parent, you cannot enlist in the Navy. If you have joint custody of a child by court order, and you do not have a spouse (who is not considered a spouse for enlistment standards), you are considered a single parent. In the event your former spouse takes full custody of your child/children, you can qualify for enlistment."

Read about enlistment standards here http://www.navy.com/about/before/enlistmentstandards/#singleparent

[Melissa (Tucson)]

You can transfer "custody" (and this is a legal term) to your parents/parent before you enlist. It is a legal process and requires you to file a lawsuit in Superior Court.

I'll call the CO of NRC here in AZ in the morning and get a direct answer.

But your first question has to be wheather you can be away from your baby for extended periods of time. What about some of the other branches of the military?