As part of this base's Juvenile Disciplinary Board's punishment, young offenders are required to take a tour of the local county jail.

My husband, being the NCOIC of confinement here, is the tour guide.

He spent all last week and part of the week prior contacting the offender's parents and letting them know what day the tour was on and reminding them that it was part of the offender's punishment that they attend.

Yesterday, right before the tour, he got a message from the parents of one of the kids saying that they'd be "out of town, so they'd have to reschedule" their kid for another day.

Ok, your child has screwed up enough to draw the attention of not only the police but the juvenile courts system, has been charged, tried, found guilty, and has been punished in various ways, INCLUDING this jail tour, but you think it's okay to miss it because you're going on vacation?

This isn't an optional thing.  This is MANDATORY, meaning that my husband and the judicial system says when and your child shows up AT THAT TIME.  Period.  If your child had been sentenced to jail time and had been told to show up at a cartain time on a certain day to begin their sentence, would you have called and said that you'd be out of town so he'd have to start another day? 

If this is the attitude that you display to the law and it's process, no wonder your child has such a disregard for it.  If this is how you punish your kid, no wonder they're breaking the law and getting busted. 

If this is the way you're going to parent a kid that's already got themselves into trouble...well, then I can forsee a long an illustrious career in the federal penitentiary system for your offspring.

Perhaps when your Commader's breathing down your neck because you failed to produce your child for this tour you'll take things a little more seriously.

I sure as hell hope so.