SecNav Triples Maternity Leave for Naval Services. Your Thoughts?

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 18:44:45 -0400

Statement more than question. Hon. Mabus is not joking around.

SECNAV announces new maternity leave policy

Secretary Ray Mabus triples maternity leave: 18 weeks for women in the Navy and Marine Corps.July 2, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that effective immediately, women who serve in the Navy

Response by SSgt Scott Schwerman made Jul 2 at 2015 6:49 PM

SSgt Scott Schwerman — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 18:49:09 -0400

I don't know if I agree with this, especially since the maternity leave in civilian sector is 6 weeks as well.

Response by CAPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 7:19 PM

CAPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:19:30 -0400

Once again, the military is leading society kicking and screaming into the future. Way to go, SECNAV. Women deserve this.

Response by CAPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 7:20 PM

CAPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:20:41 -0400

No, it varies greatly. It is generally more than 6 weeks IME. Usually 12 or 16.

Response by PO3 Jody Wangen made Jul 2 at 2015 7:23 PM

PO3 Jody Wangen — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:23:32 -0400

idk. they gave me 4 days medical while in hospital and 8 weeks maternity in 1986 when I had my first. was ready to go back to work. this might be a concession to the difficulty of finding daycare. many daycares do not want to take the kid til they are 3 months and have had first shots. civilian when I had my second in 2000. I only took 5 weeks maternity.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2015 7:46 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:46:29 -0400

What about more PTAD for new fathers? 10 days isn't near enough to help new mothers adjust to having a newborn. It's even worse if the have a C-Section

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jul 2 at 2015 10:49 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 22:49:22 -0400

Great! Concur with Sgt Morgan. Currently on Paternity PTAD and 10 days does feel short. It ain't free time, it reminds me of field ops with all of the work and broken sleep.

Response by PO1 Shahida Marmol made Jul 3 at 2015 5:06 AM

PO1 Shahida Marmol — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 05:06:16 -0400

Honestly, as a mother of two kids in the Navy, I think this is a bit excessive. My first child I had to go back to sea after 4 months. My son I was able to go back after a year. 18 weeks, that is 4 months. There is no reason to be away from work for 4 months.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 6:18 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 06:18:53 -0400

I think that if the military can afford to give people 18 weeks off, then good for them and us. I cannot wait for my 18 weeks off.

That said, I disagree with pay and benefits that are life situation dependent. For my following example, all of these E5s have the same time in service and are living in the same location (not the same house....that's just weird). Pay differences for different lengths of service make sense. Pay differences for living in different locations directed by the military make sense.

Single E5 = base pay x1 + standard benefits
Married to civilian E5 = pay x1 + standard benefits
Married to military E5 = pay x1 + standard benefits (and spouse also gets pay x1 + standard benefits)
E5 with 1 child = pay x1 + standard benefits
E5 with 3 children = pay x1 + standard benefits

The point is... They are all E5s with 6 years time in service living in the same location....they all make the same amount of money per month and get the same amount of time off per year (paid and unpaid). Period.

edited to add:

If anything, to use this particular article's subject as an example, the people who are not "taking advantage" of this should be getting a pay raise. The military doesn't recruit new members to specifically cover down for these missing workers. The people who did not have a child have to cover down on the mission without supplemental support. And the mission is why we, and the military as a whole, are here.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Jul 3 at 2015 6:30 AM

SFC Joseph Weber — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 06:30:12 -0400

Fantastic!

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Jul 3 at 2015 6:41 AM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 06:41:38 -0400

It is admirable but I believe the SECNAV might be putting the new mothers in a situation wherein they will chose to come back early to prove they are "part of the team".

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 3 at 2015 9:03 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 09:03:39 -0400

PO1 Shahida Marmol Part of me thinks this is a good thing for mother and child to get rested up, acquainted and bonding, and sends a message to women that you count. The other part of me is asking why 18 weeks? That puts a burden on the service members that have to pick up the duties of that individual. I think that 2 months or 8 weeks would suffice! Just an opinion.

Response by MSgt Brian Welch made Jul 3 at 2015 10:50 PM

MSgt Brian Welch — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 22:50:38 -0400

The policy will die out after the demographics shift. In the meantime there will be a lot of "what about me" going on.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 10:57 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 22:57:55 -0400

I saw this on another site earlier. This is very interesting. I agree with the extension. I wonder if the Army will also look to extend. As for paternity leave, a cool month would be great.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2015 10:59 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 22:59:50 -0400

The big difference between the military and the "real" world in this instance is that convalescent leave is both paid and non-chargeable. It'll be interesting to see if the other services and the private sector follow suit.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 5 at 2015 3:46 PM

PO1 John Miller — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 15:46:33 -0400

Bravo Zulu SECNAV! I have had plenty of women Shipmates who were some of the best Sailors I ever served with decide to get out because of maternity leave policies (or lack thereof). Namely, what the DON could give just wasn't enough time for Mom and baby to bond properly and not to mention let Mom heal/recuperate from giving birth!

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jul 5 at 2015 6:35 PM

SN Greg Wright — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 18:35:02 -0400

Good. More power to moms. They need it.

Response by SGT Rick Ash made Jul 6 at 2015 9:42 PM

SGT Rick Ash — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 21:42:04 -0400

I think it's fair to the Mother and her unit. 4 months and 2 weeks gives mother & child time to bond before Mom heads back to work and turns baby over to a sitter. Even if Mom was deemed essential to her unit they had at least 7-8 months to prepare for her absence.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2015 10:17 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 22:17:05 -0400

I think it is great. After all, if the new mom doesn't want to take it all I am sure she could come back to work, but if she and the baby need it they have it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 23 at 2015 7:04 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 19:04:04 -0400

Nothing wrong with leave for new parents but Soldiers should get at least 14 days or more of free leave after 9-12 month deployments.