Vacations - Time and freedom

[danv29]

I'm curious how the Army handles the 30 days of vacation that is promised. I've seen that you are allowed to accumulate 90 days (which I doubt I'd ever do).

1. What is the process for requesting time off? Is it difficult to get your requested dates and plan in advance?

2. How soon after all your training is done are you allowed to put in for time?

3. Are there any restrictions on what you are allowed to do while on vacation? i.e. restrictions on travel to foreign countries?

[Armygirl4Ever]

I'm curious how the Army handles the 30 days of vacation that is promised. I've seen that you are allowed to accumulate 90 days (which I doubt I'd ever do).

1. What is the process for requesting time off? Is it difficult to get your requested dates and plan in advance?

2. How soon after all your training is done are you allowed to put in for time?

3. Are there any restrictions on what you are allowed to do while on vacation? i.e. restrictions on travel to foreign countries?

You earn 2.5 days each month. So you don't start off with 30 days right off the bat, you earn those days monthly. With deployment rotations as they are right now, most units use the block leave method. This means they designate a time when Soldiers can go on leave and at this time ALL Soldiers in the unit are given the opportunity to take time off. Soldiers can choose whether they want to go at this time or not but if they choose not to, they might not have a chance to go on leave for a while. Like anything else there is always room for exception and if time and mission allow it, you can request leave anytime and it's up to the Commanders to approve. They will take into consideration the reason you are requesting leave and what is on the training calendar for the unit.

Usually after completion of AIT, they allow Soldiers to take up to 10 days leave (mind you, most Soldiers haven't even earned this much leave so they advance you leave). And that advancement is up to the commander.

There are no real restrictions when you are on leave, it's your time to do what you want, just be smart about the choices you make.

[Airborne Z]

Where you are allowed to go on leave is ultimately up to your company commander. As long as it's not a country dangerous for Americans I doubt you'd be denied.

[MSG Glenn]

Many units are going to the blanket leave system where everybody except for a few go on leave at the same time. This is due to training/deployment tempos.