Military Leave

Military Leave Program

I’m sure you all have heard that the military gets 30 days of leave per year, but how does it actually work?  I figured this out years ago so I take this knowledge for granted, but I recently realized that you all could benefit from this as well.  The purpose of this post is to provide you all with a general awareness of the Military Leave Program, i.e., vacation and sick days.  All of the priors will know this already, but hopefully this post will be beneficial to the non-priors.

The governing AFI for the military leave program is AFI 36-3003, Military Leave Program.  The current version is dated 26 Jul 17.  Types of Leave can be referenced in paragraph 4.1, Chargeable Leave.

Leave Accrual

AFI 36-3003 states members accrue 2.5 days leave for each month of active duty service.  This means at the end of each month 2.5 days of leave will be added to my leave balance.  If you do the math 2.5 days per month equals 30 days, so that is how we get the 30 days per year number.

The AFI continues to explain that members can accumulate a maximum of 60 days by the end of the Fiscal Year (FY) (1 Oct – 30 Sep).  If at the end of the FY you will have more then 60 days of leave accumulated, you will lose it.  They call the amount you will lose “use or lose leave” and commanders get in a lot of trouble if members lose their leave, so leadership watches this closely.  It is in your best interest to self-manage your leave before it gets to this point.  Personally, I have probably never had more than 45 days of leave accumulated.  AFI 36-3003, para:

3.4. Leave Accrual. Title 10, U.S.C., section 701, governs leave accrual and accumulation.

3.4.1. Accrual. Members accrue 2.5 days leave for each month of active duty. See Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2 below.

3.4.2. Accumulation. Members who are unable to use leave due to military necessity may accumulate a maximum of 60 days by the end of a FY.

Chargeable Leave

The AFI defines all of the different types of leave as chargeable and non-chargeable.  If you take a chargeable type of leave the days will be deducted from your leave balance.  Non-chargeable are “free” days off where you don’t have to work but they are not counted against your leave balance.

There are tons of different types of leave in the AFI, but I will just outline the main ones here.

• Annual or Ordinary Leave – Mostly used for vacation days or other short periods of rest from duty.  This category also encompasses if you have to take care of parental family needs such as illnesses, family emergencies, or extra days taken in conjunction with a TDY or PCS.  This is the most common type of leave you will hear about.
• Advance Leave – This type of leave is used when members have urgent needs they need to take care of but don’t have the leave balance to support the request.  For example, right after you graduate OTS you will have 5 days of leave accrued, but let’s say you need would like to take 10 days because your grandmother is ill.  As long as there is a “reasonable expectation” that you will accrue the necessary leave before you separate, your commander will probably approve it.  AFI 36-3003, para:

4.1.2. Advance Leave.  Advance leave is leave granted based on a reasonable expectation that a member will accrue leave during the remaining period of active military service.

4.1.2.1. Purpose of Advance Leave.  The purpose of advance leave is to enable members to resolve emergencies or urgent personal situations when they have limited or no accrued leave.  Members may not depart on leave before the unit commander approves the advance leave.

• Emergency Leave – This is chargeable leave granted for personnel or family emergencies involving the immediate family.  The AFI defines the immediate family as parents, children, brothers or sisters, sole surviving blood relative, or in-loco-parentis (i.e., a person stood in place of one of your parents; someone who raised you).  This type of leave can be approved very quickly if someone makes an “American Red Cross Notification.”  If your brother passes away, your parents can notify the American Red Cross and they will very quickly notify your chain of command, which will allow you to very quickly take Emergency Leave.  This can be used if your chain of command is giving you a hard time, but most of the time it isn’t necessary.

Non-Chargeable Leave

• Permissive TDY – PTDY is an authorized absence for any reason listed in Table 4.5 of the AFI.  The most common uses are to find a house in conjunction with a PCS, commonly referred to as “house hunting.”  It can also be used for pre-separation activities, certain professional development opportunities, etc.  Here is the reference from the AFI for “house hunting.”  You can use this when you arrive at your first duty station.

AFI 36-3003, Table 4.5, Rule 1

If a member requests PTDY:  for traveling to or in the vicinity of a new permanent duty station to secure off-base housing, with a TDY en route, or when authorized to relocate family members to a designated place en route to or returning from an overseas unaccompanied tour. This includes separatees under Air Force ROTC commissioning programs to secure housing in the vicinity of the institution they will attend

Then:  Losing or gaining unit commander may approve up to 10 days.

Comments: (1) Member must have formal assignment notification. (T-3) (2) Advise member to report to the base Housing Office before entering into any rental, lease, or purchase agreement for off-base housing. (3) PTDY ends once member secures housing (signs a lease or has a bid offer accepted by the seller) before the authorized 10 days. (4) Member must take PTDY days consecutively. (5) Member is authorized PTDY under this rule to procure housing prior to PCSing or upon arrival to new duty station, but not both.

• Convalescent Leave – Convalescent leave is leave given if you have medical needs which require recuperation.  A few examples:
  • If you have a surgery, the doctor will put you on convalescent leave so you can recover.  This is non-chargeable which is great.
  • Another example is after childbirth the current maternity leave period is 84 days.  I think there are additional days given after that but they fall in a different category.  Either way, the details are in the AFI.
  • Slightly different but similar is what we call it when a doctor puts you on “quarters.”  if you are really sick and can’t come to work, you go to the doctor in the morning for “sick call.”  If they agree you are too sick to work they will put you on “quarters” for a day or two until you recover.  This is slightly different than convalescent leave and it falls under AFI 41-210, Tricare Operations and Patient Administration Functions.

AFI 36-3003, para:

4.2.1. Convalescent Leave. Convalescent leave is an authorized absence normally for the minimal time essential to meet the medical needs for recuperation. The Air Force Surgeon General oversees the convalescent leave program.

4.2.1.1. Convalescent Leave Approval. The unit commander normally approves convalescent leave, to include any associated and cleared travel, up to 30 days based on the recommendations by either the MTF authority or the attending physician most familiar with the member’s medical condition. The commander must not approve more than 30 days initial convalescent leave. (T-3) Extending convalescent leave beyond 30 days requires additional medical review and consent. Exception: Convalescent leave due to pregnancy or childbirth. Note: During short absences of the unit commander, the commander’s designated representative may approve convalescent leave.

LeaveWeb

Most of the above leave you request must be submitted to an Air Force-wide site called LeaveWeb.  To get to LeaveWeb log in to Air Force Portal and search “LeaveWeb” under “Quick Links.”  It is very intuitive, the only major problem with it is finding a computer with working Java.  Once you get to your unit just ask around, pretty much everyone is familiar with how it works.

Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)

Here is a blank LES.  You can track your leave balance by referencing this section on the LES.  This is THE spot to track your leave so it is in your best interest to watch it monthly and make sure it is accruing correctly.