I just had my eyes ripped open on a grave injustice in the most personal way. My son is SR Osborne David P. He is currently in the way to long process of Military Separations.
When my son was 6 he told his father and I that he knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. He wanted to join the military and serve his country, then transition into law enforcement, and finish up in politics. All this from a six year old boy that just wanted to spend his life serving for the greater good and make a difference in this world.
Well, my son is now 19 years old and was ecstatic about going to Great Lakes Naval Station on February 16th. The 2 week quarantine process was not kind to him and on March 3rd (my birthday) he was sent to Ship 5 for separations filed under 711. There is where he sits; homesick, depressed, and feeling like a failure. The worst part is not knowing. Neither him or I have been able to get any information about his case. I have called several numbers and left multiple messages, I have emailed and still no word.
I found a Facebook community for ship 5 mom's and found out that this is quite common. If a recruit says they are homesick they get labeled as depressed, if the mention being nervous about passing their test, they have anxiety. It can take up to 6 months to complete the separations process.
My son is not fighting the separation process, he just wants to come home. I feel that considering the Navy has deemed him to have mental health issues, that their first concern should be to get the recruit back to his family and friends where they can benefit from their support system. I'm sure they are working towards this but I would just feel more at ease if I was involved, or at least informed as to the progress.
Please help me get my son back to me. I hope that I hear something soon, and thank you for your time.
