Posted on Feb 24, 2016
Should Soldiers receive Convalescent Leave to take care of spouses?
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The provider can generate a note requesting for the spouse to be present to assist in care. I have seen this for cancer patients and such. The commander can than allow the Soldier to utilize PTDY for a 10 day stint and throw in some 4 day passes and such. This is only for severe illnesses though as 30 days of regular leave and allowances for passes is pretty nice.
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CPT Mark Gonzalez
Also as add on. Commanders have great flexibility in setting duty days and work schedules. They can have you work one hour in a week or a hundred.
If a guys wife has a serious illness or is dying I'm going to help him out and I can get my work out of him in the weeks to come, but if the situation is borderline that is what he has regular leave for and the ability to request passes.
If a guys wife has a serious illness or is dying I'm going to help him out and I can get my work out of him in the weeks to come, but if the situation is borderline that is what he has regular leave for and the ability to request passes.
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SSG (Join to see)
Agreed, however what is the recourse Whe the Battalion denies this leave quotin mg the leaves and passes reg based off of con lv section not stating anything reference spouse surgeries. BDE CSM, BDE CDR Open door policy, IG.
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CPT Mark Gonzalez
The doctor can generate a request for you to be present as an attending. This would fall under a PTDY category and would be capped at 10 days. If the illness was very serious the commander could work with the soldier and have them come back to work for a day and out on PTDY again, but this is going to have to be an extreme illness and I would make my Soldier use up some but not all of his own leave if this is prolonged. If the family member is that sick the Soldier won't be value added at work anyways as they will be too distracted.
Another way is to have the Soldier report as usual, but give them a lot of flexibility with their schedules to attend appointments or care for their spouse. I'm sure there are unit policies, but no Army regulation defines the required length of a duty day, because the only thing that matters is mission accomplishment and not the time spent. The mission comes first, but commanders are also responsible for a Soldiers well-being and have a lot of flexibility in taking care of people.
Another way is to have the Soldier report as usual, but give them a lot of flexibility with their schedules to attend appointments or care for their spouse. I'm sure there are unit policies, but no Army regulation defines the required length of a duty day, because the only thing that matters is mission accomplishment and not the time spent. The mission comes first, but commanders are also responsible for a Soldiers well-being and have a lot of flexibility in taking care of people.
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We used to call it "Basket Leave".
As long as you stayed in the general area, checked in every morning, and we could get hold of you if the balloon went up……. then we just counted you as present and knew you were taking care of more pressing business. Thus the age old response at formation, “All present or accounted for”.
But that was a time long ago in a place far, far away from today’s military.
As long as you stayed in the general area, checked in every morning, and we could get hold of you if the balloon went up……. then we just counted you as present and knew you were taking care of more pressing business. Thus the age old response at formation, “All present or accounted for”.
But that was a time long ago in a place far, far away from today’s military.
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If my spouse is in dire need as in a life threatening condition I wouldn't need leave, I'd be there regardless... My family comes first, I'd deal with the consequences later
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So all of you that said no !! Why then 10 business days for fraternal leave ?
You have one you should have the other
I think you should definetly get con leave for it as long as you have a doctors note
You have one you should have the other
I think you should definetly get con leave for it as long as you have a doctors note
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I would say in a dire emergency ie cancer, heart attacks or other life endanger situations.
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SSG (Join to see) I personally think that it would be fair to offer convalescent leave to SMs that have to take care of their spouses. I came into the Army where it was instilled that family is first. To say that our leave packages are more generous, I'm sure that is true but at the same time -- to say that we should budget for leave days is a bit ridiculous in my opinion as how are to know that our spouse may have cancer or some other illness. We're not mind readers! I think it would be fair to be helpful and supportive to the SM and their families not the total opposite. You don't take care of the SM; they're not going to want to stay in as nobody wants to stay in a place where they feel that they or their families are not important. Just my thoughts.
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In the "regular Army a lot of options are available and CPT Gonzalez speaks truths!! However, in USAREC or in Recruiting, a spouse with 7 major surgeries, 4 of which emergency surgery, due to a strong form of brain cancer where chemo and radiation treatment has failed, they can care less. Especially when it take them over a year and half to submit stabilization paperwork. But hey, that's recruiting, SoCal Recruting Battlion, Riverside Company, to be exact. Follow CPT Gonzalez's advice and direction. Good luck for you or a Soldier under you.
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SFC (Join to see)
That's really shitty..I have seen the same thing in the same Company. However I was allowed to take 2 weeks when my daughter broke her leg and was in the hospital for 3 weeks, but that was my c.c.
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Yes they should. I have read many of the comments and most read from a perspective of those that have not had to personally go through a situation which being home to care for spouse/children was necessary. Soldiers and Spouses are normally stationed far from home and thus far from family support. Therefore when medical emergencies occur to a spouse or child in that SM's (Service Member) home provisions should be made so that the SM can focus on taking care of the dependent in need. Exempting the Soldier from Duty rosters, not requiring SM to come in for PAI (personal asset inventory), Fitness Test, Ranges etc. are all things that can occur within a unit based on the circumstance. All leave is not the same, SM going on leave for a vacation and a SM going on emergency leave to bury a family member or take care of a medically diagnosed ill wife/husband/child should not be treated the same. SMs receive non-chargeable leave for a few reasons. Caring for a dependent that has been medically diagnosed with a illness/disorder severe enough to warrant the SM being granted leave should be in my opinion non-chargeable. Taking into consideration the stress the SM, spouse, and possible children have on them as surgeries and appointments build. Charging a SM for taking care of his/her family seems unnecessary and somewhat insensitive.
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Sure. I've had it happen with some of my Soldiers. I think the term the medical folks use is Non-medical Attendee. Don't quote me on that though. The BN CDR can approve permissive TDY instead of leave.
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