November 2022 — MHCE Newsletter

16 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us NOVEMBER 2022 EDITION
Hawaii Base Now Allows Pregnant Soldiers to Move
Out of Barracks Sooner
Junior soldiers at a base in Hawaii are now allowed
to move out of their barracks after 20 weeks of
pregnancy, a potentially huge step forward as the
Army doesn't have a service-wide norm and most
garrisons don't allow pregnant troops to move out
until much later.
The move, approved this month by Col. Steve
McGunegle, the Army Garrison Hawaii commander,
reduced how far along in a pregnancy a soldier must
be before potential permission to leave the barracks
from 28 weeks. That 28-week mark is the norm
for most Army installations, though some push the
requirement to as late as 32 weeks.
"[This] was updated to reduce risks to the mother
and baby, and provide ample time to find a residence,
furnish a home and be settled before delivery,"
Michael Donnelly, a spokesperson with U.S. Army
Garrison Hawaii, told Military.com in a statement.
There is no blanket Army rule that governs when
pregnant junior troops can earn the additional benefits
generally associated with married service members,
specifically being granted a housing allowance and
permitted to live off base. The move comes as senior
Army officials, most notably Sergeant Major of the
Army Michael Grinston, have urged commanders
and senior noncommissioned officers not to wait for
service-wide personnel policies to improve quality
of life for their soldiers.
One of the key factors in the new policy in Hawaii
is permitting women to move before a soldier enters
her third trimester of pregnancy to give room for
a possible premature baby and allow the soldier
to be more comfortable in the final months before
giving birth, one soldier familiar with how the new
rule was developed told Military.com. It also gives
those soldiers more wiggle room if there is a delay
in their housing allowance or there are issues finding
housing.
The Army as a whole has put parenthood issues at
the center of some of its policy revamps this year,
a signal that women have made significant gains in
boosting their foothold in the service. The service
has effectively revamped quality-of-life issues
pertaining to the 400,000 parents serving, including
better accommodations for women pumping breast
milk while on duty, and expanding leave options for
miscarriages.