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Suggest a Feature →Leave: Your 30 Days
General information, not legal advice. For legal issues, contact Trial Defense Service (TDS) or your Legal Assistance Office.
“Leave is a privilege, not a right. The first sergeant can deny your leave for any reason.”
You earn 2.5 days of leave per month (30 days per year). Leave is an entitlement you earn, not a gift. While commanders have approval authority and can deny leave for mission requirements, they cannot create blanket "shadow policies" that prevent all leave.
The Accrual System
You earn 2.5 days per month of active duty service. You can carry over up to 60 days from one fiscal year to the next (use-or-lose kicks in on October 1). In special circumstances (combat zone, certain deployments), you can accumulate up to 120 days of special leave accrual.
Who Approves Leave?
Your commander approves or denies leave — not your first sergeant, not your squad leader. They may make recommendations, but the approval authority is the commander. Leave can be denied for legitimate mission requirements, but the denial should be specific and temporary, not a standing policy.
What "Mission Requirements" Actually Means
Your command can deny leave when there's a genuine mission conflict — upcoming deployment, field exercise, critical duty requirement. What they cannot do is create permanent "no leave" policies, deny leave as informal punishment, or require you to "earn" leave through extra tasks not in the regulation.
Types of Leave
Ordinary leave: Your regular 30 days per year. Chargeable against your leave balance.
Emergency leave: Granted for genuine emergencies (death in family, serious illness of dependent). Chargeable, but the commander should approve it quickly.
Permissive TDY: Not chargeable against your leave balance. Used for house hunting (up to 10 days during PCS), job hunting (during separation), and other authorized purposes.
Terminal leave: Leave taken at the end of your service, before your ETS/separation date. You are still on active duty and still getting paid. More on this in a separate topic.
Convalescent leave: Non-chargeable leave for medical recovery. Authorized by a medical provider.
What To Do If Leave Is Denied Improperly
1. Ask for the denial in writing with the specific reason 2. Use your chain of command — request to speak with the commander directly 3. If that fails, contact your IG (Inspector General). You have the right to file an IG complaint about improper leave denial. 4. Keep records of all leave requests and denials
Sell-Back
When you separate or retire, you can sell back up to 60 days of unused leave. You can only do this once in your career. The payment is your base pay divided by 30, times the number of days sold back. No allowances are included.
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Contact your installation's Trial Defense Service (TDS) for UCMJ matters, or Legal Assistance Office for general legal issues. These services are free for active duty service members.