MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- It's the bane of military spouses all over the base who've endured months of separation: Hearing once, twice or even three times that their loved one is coming home and letting the excitement build - only to hear each time that plans have changed.

Why?

Lots of reasons. Sometimes plane connections fall through. Or maybe the unit was held back by evolving mission requirements. Or maybe the spouse just had the wrong source.

Sometimes even the right source - the Key Volunteer Network - has to change its story based on new information. It's enough to try a waiting spouse's patience.

"It worries and frustrates me when half of my husband's unit is already home and he's not," said Isa Pela A. Martinez, 20, a resident of De Luz Housing. "I've received a few calls with different return dates: June, July, August and now September."

But Martinez felt better when she found out - directly from her husband - why the delays were necessary.

"My husband called the other day and said he had been held back as a humanitarian assistant. It's a good cause," said Martinez, whose husband is a member of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

Although the information its volunteers distribute isn't foolproof, the Key Volunteer Network in most cases is the best bet for reliable information on troop returns, officials say.

About 30 to 40 KVNs tackle the task of keeping spouses in the loop. Once a unit's KVN is notified about Marines returning, volunteers make phone calls to spouses or update Web sites with lists of troops returning, along with when and where they'll be landing.

Sometimes, the system works without a hitch.
"We knew about 72 hours in advance the exact time we would be redeploying," said Lt. Col. Stephen A. Ferrando, commanding officer of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. "I was able to access an Internet account, and from that account, I e-mailed the Key Volunteer coordinator for the battalion of our status."

At times, spouses know even before the KVN can tell them. They might get a phone call or an e-mail from the Marine himself.
Case in point, Ferrando's unit, which had access to iridium phones.

"We gave them a five-minute phone call. That was another way of passing information to the families," Ferrando said.

The phone calls helped to set the record straight, he said. "There were a lot rumors that we were leaving early, but it was all hearsay."

But even when the information is accurate, a change in plans can invalidate it.

Once service members board the plane for the journey back home, there's always the possibility of delays.

"The schedule always changes - families, wives, spouses, friends and loved ones need to understand the whole process of redeploying back. The schedule is tentative and an always-changing evolution," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Gary W. Connors, personnel officer for 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, who stayed behind as a family liaison.

Mechanical problems, weather or other snafus can delay flights for hours or even days. Sometimes, members of a unit may be bumped off a flight by their comrades, or one unit may bump another

"It's all based on operational needs," Connors said. 

When delays occur, the KVN is notified. The volunteer updates the Web site and begins calling spouses again.

Accordingly, spouses should look at the Web site periodically after notification of their husbands' return home.

Sometimes, the notice is short.

"There's been a time when six hours is all we had to inform the spouses of their husbands returning," Connors said.

Schedules are listed on the 1st Force Service Support Group Web site (WWW.1FSSGKVN.com).