10.2 Leave and Authorized Absences (AFH-1 Section 11B)
Key Takeaways
- Members accrue 2.5 days of leave for each month of Regular Air Force status and may accumulate a maximum of 60 days by the end of a fiscal year unless a higher carryover is specifically authorized.
- Leave must begin and end in the local area; nonduty days and holidays that fall inside an authorized leave period are chargeable leave days.
- Emergency leave is chargeable; Emergency Leave of Absence is up to 14 days of non-chargeable leave, granted once in a career, and used only to prevent advanced or excess leave.
- Bereavement leave is up to 14 non-chargeable days for the death of a spouse or child when the member has fewer than 30 days of accrued ordinary leave on the date of death; Military Parental Leave is 12 weeks of non-chargeable leave.
- Special passes are three or four days and stop at the beginning of normal work hours on the fourth day for a three-day pass or the fifth day for a four-day pass.
ADTC B and why leave is a military requirement
Section 11B is B (Understanding) for SSgt and TSgt. DAFI 36-3003 governs leave; AFH 1 is what the PFE samples.
Commanders encourage leave for the maximum benefit of the member. Lengthy respites help psychological and physical status, so an effective leave program is an essential military requirement.
LeaveWeb
LeaveWeb is the automated method. The member requests leave (e-mail to the approval authority). Commanders have final approval and may delegate, normally no lower than the first-line supervisor. Approved requests go to the unit leave monitor, then electronically to finance. The member hand-carries a printed approved form. On return, the member updates LeaveWeb and forwards the e-mail for endorsement. If LeaveWeb is down, use DAF Form 988.
Beginning, ending, extending, and recalling leave
Leave must begin and end in the local area, defined as the place of residence from which the member commutes to the duty station on a daily basis. En route to PCS or TDY: old PDS begins leave; new PDS ends it. Finance uses the travel voucher to split travel from chargeable leave.
Three charging rules close the weekend loophole:
- Nonduty days and holidays are chargeable leave days if they occur during an authorized period of leave.
- If leave includes a weekend, a member cannot end leave on a Friday and begin leave again on Monday.
- Unit commanders will not approve successive Monday-through-Friday leaves (or leave surrounding other nonduty days) except under emergency or unusual circumstances.
Request extensions orally or in writing early enough to return on time if disapproved. Recall is for military necessity or the best interest of the USAF; resuming leave needs a new DAF Form 988 or orders.
Accrual
| Rule | AFH 1 value |
|---|---|
| Accrual | 2.5 days for each month of RegAF status |
| Fiscal-year carryover | Maximum 60 days, unless a higher balance is specifically authorized |
| Career sell-back | 60 days at reenlistment, retirement, honorable separation, or death |
Members do not earn leave when they are absent without official leave, in an unauthorized leave status, in confinement as a result of a court-martial sentence, in an excess leave status, or on appellate leave. DoD policy: use leave to relax, not as compensation.
Types of leave AFH 1 actually names
| Type | Chargeable? | Handbook facts |
|---|---|---|
| Annual (ordinary) | Chargeable | Vacations, holidays, family needs, or terminal leave |
| Advance | Chargeable | Reasonable expectation the member will still accrue that amount; emergencies with little/no balance; then commanders shift advance to excess |
| Bereavement | Non-chargeable | Up to 14 days; death of spouse or child; need <30 days accrued ordinary leave on the date of death |
| Excess | No-pay status | Pay, allowances, and accrual stop day 1; no disability pay; does not count toward a service commitment; each day plus a half day per 6 days of negative leave |
| Convalescent | Non-chargeable | Minimal recuperation time; provider says not yet fit for duty; may follow stillbirth or miscarriage; AF/SG; AFMAN 41-210 |
| Emergency | Chargeable | Immediate family; commander, or first sergeant for enlisted; usually ≤30 days plus a 30-day extension; beyond 60 days, advise humanitarian or EFMP reassignment or hardship discharge |
| Emergency Leave of Absence | Non-chargeable | Up to 14 days; once per career; only to prevent advanced or excess leave |
| Enroute | Chargeable (ordinary) | Losing CC normally up to 30 days. After BMT/tech: 10 days CONUS, 14 days overseas |
| Terminal | Chargeable | Retirement or separation; last day of leave = last day of RegAF; cannot exceed the balance |
| Environmental and morale | Charged as ordinary | Overseas. Funded: military transportation; travel time not leave. Unfunded: space-A; travel time is leave |
| Military Parental Leave Program | Non-chargeable | 12 weeks after a qualifying birth event, adoption of a minor child, or placement for adoption or long-term foster care |
Name traps: emergency leave is chargeable; Emergency Leave of Absence is not. Bereavement is 14 days for spouse or child with under 30 days accrued, not a once-per-career benefit. Parental leave is 12 weeks.
Permissive TDY and passes
Permissive TDY is an administrative absence for which funded TDY is not appropriate. Commanders may not authorize permissive TDY in place of leave or a special pass, or in conjunction with special passes. AFH 1 examples: housing near a new PDS, accompanying a patient to an MTF not in the local area, a DoD TAP seminar, and national conventions of service-connected organizations (11B does not name those organizations).
A pass is a short authorized absence with no mileage restrictions, subject to recall, unit alert, or unit emergency.
A regular pass normally begins at the end of work hours on Friday and runs until the beginning of normal work hours on Monday when Saturday and Sunday are nonduty days. On compressed/alternate schedules a regular pass may not exceed the four-day special-pass limit, and nonduty days plus a public holiday may not exceed that limit. Three nonduty days plus a holiday on a compressed schedule is a regular pass. A Tuesday/Thursday holiday with a comp day may combine weekend + comp + holiday.
Special passes are three- or four-day awards for special occasions, circumstances, special recognition, or compensatory time off. Approval is delegable no lower than squadron section commander, deputies, or equivalents. They start after normal work hours and stop at the beginning of normal work hours on the fourth day for a three-day pass, or the fifth day for a four-day pass.
What leave accrual rate and fiscal-year accumulation cap does AFH 1 Section 11B set for Regular Air Force members?
Which absence does AFH 1 describe as up to 14 days of non-chargeable leave, granted only once during an entire career, and used only to keep a member from entering advanced or excess leave?
When does a three-day or four-day special pass stop, according to AFH 1 Section 11B?