Fort Lewis oldier receives leave extension to stay with sick

Fort Lewis oldier receives leave extension to stay with sick

CROWN POINT, Ind. -- A Fort Lewis, Wash., soldier worried about his sick newborn baby will have more time to spend with his family after first being told to report back to duty.

Army Sgt. Chris Williams, 24, of Crown Point, now has until Friday to report for duty in the United States, after which he will be returned to his unit in Iraq. Williams has five months to go in his second tour there.

Williams' son, Gabriel Douglas, was born Dec. 18 and seemed healthy until he developed a lung infection that put him in the intensive care unit at Munster Community Hospital.

The soldier originally was due to return Dec. 22, just after his newborn's illness appeared. Military officials at Fort Lewis initially told Williams his leave had been extended until Jan. 3.

But the extension appeared to be rescinded, and it was unclear whether the Army considered him absent without leave, Williams' family said. The only official word they had was a message on Williams' home answering machine from a platoon leader in Iraq, urging him to return quickly.

Williams had booked a flight to return to Fort Lewis on Friday. He said it was the soonest he could find an open seat.

Some of the confusion about the extension arose because Williams' commanding officer was out on combat operations, said 4th Stryker Brigade spokesman Maj. Shawn Garcia. When he returned, he extended the soldier's leave.

"That's definitely good to hear," Williams said Monday. "It has its good points. I have a baby now, and I was able to spend it with him, even though he was in the hospital."

Garcia said Williams' return date had been moved to Dec. 28 all along.

"We take the welfare of our soldiers and their families very seriously," Garcia said. "The medical condition of Sgt. Williams' newborn son and the emotional well-being of his family were definite factors in the chain of command's decision to extend Sgt. Williams' leave."