FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Jan. 8, 2015) -- Eight Basic Combat Training Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, got face time with their newborn children, thanks to Chaplain (Capt.) Colt Randles, the battalion chaplain.
"Three cycles ago, I started to actively seek out Soldiers who were having children born to them while in Basic Combat Training. I worked with our unit ministry teams and it was implemented in our new Soldier in-briefs," said Randles. "During those in-briefs I asked who was having a child and if they would like any assistance on making contact as the child's birthday came closer, and across the battalion we had about a dozen or more raise their hands."
Randles said many of the Soldiers families were excited about the opportunity of connecting with their Soldiers although they could not physically be present.
"Most of the time I would have a phone call with the spouse and we would check our communication link. We typically would find an app like FaceTime or Skype that we could use for any type of phone," Randles said. "I would have (the family) give me about a two-hour notice and then a one-hour notice, and that's when I would make contact with the Soldier and allow him to go to a private, quiet place to watch the birth."
He said his chain of command and the unit's drill sergeants supported the mission as well.
"One time, it was a drill sergeant of the Soldier that got to the Soldier before I did and helped the Soldier in the same way that I was intending to by using FaceTime to allow the Soldier to see his child being born," Randles said. "That particular Soldier was on a (field training exercise) and the water broke at two o' clock in the morning, so it was not quite possible to get to that Soldier but that's when the drill sergeant stepped in to help."
He said six Soldiers connected with their families shortly after the birth and two during the moment of birth.
"With child birth it's always been something that is kind of hit or miss. The times can change at any moment," he said. "We did the best we could by finding a time that was feasible for both the families and the Soldiers' training schedules."
Randles said he got the idea to connect Soldiers and their loved ones because he has been away from his family for extended periods of time and knows the feelings BCT Soldiers may struggle with.
"I have been deployed before. I've been away from my daughter, and I've taken advantage of other media opportunities to connect with her such as the 'United through Reading' program … seeing a moving picture helps when you're not able to be physically present," he said.
Randles said the ability for Soldiers to witness their children's birth sometimes resonates through generations. One of the Soldier's grandmother told him that her husband was in Vietnam when their daughter was born and it took months for the husband to see a photo of his child.
"To have a previous generation show gratitude for something that was not possible years ago was historic feedback on how it impacted that family and me," Randles said. "(Doing this) shows that the Army cares about families. A win for the family is a win for the Army and those groups and individuals who have seen this on Facebook have been impacted as well."
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