The question pertains to leave/vacation for active duty military. Would I be able to take most of the leave during Christmas season?

Kevin Smith — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:54:29 -0500

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 17 at 2018 5:58 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:58:33 -0500

As long as you have the proper amount of leave days and the mission dictates you can.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Jan 17 at 2018 6:03 PM

SPC Erich Guenther — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 18:03:14 -0500

As in the civilian workplace, it depends on your Commander or Boss. If your in an Infantry unit....generally they shutdown or go in idle mode after Thanksgiving to about 1-2 weeks after January 1st. So in that case probably, OK to take 20-25 days.....maybe even 30. If your in a support unit that does a critical support mission during that period they have to hang onto enough soldiers to provide coverage for whatever their mission is so in that case being the lowest ranking soldier in the unit will bite you and you will be selected at least to work your first holiday. Though for the most part Army wide pretty much follows the Infantry schedule of slowdown from Thanksgiving until about 1 week after January 1st.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 17 at 2018 6:38 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 18:38:17 -0500

Kevin Smith There is no way to know. It depends on your command and the needs of the service. Some years this may be possible, and some years not.

https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/leave-and-vacation-after-basic-training.html

Leave and Vacation After Basic Training

Everyone in the military earns 2.5 days of leave (vacation time) for every month of active duty service.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jan 17 at 2018 8:28 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 20:28:39 -0500

My first Christmas with my wife was 4 years after we got married due to deployments. I'll add that the Services in CONUS tend to support a liberal leave policy as it enhances morale. That said, if something needs to get done, they'll pull the needed people to do it. In my day, if you were single, you were the last to be authorized leave. That isn't the official policy, but you'll likely see some of that going on. I was hoping on spending more time off around Christmas with my wife, but since she was a medical worker, she and others get long hours around Christmas as families tend to stash their old relatives in hospitals during the season.

Response by SSgt Dan Montague made Jan 17 at 2018 11:25 PM

SSgt Dan Montague — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 23:25:11 -0500

A lot of variables with this. Every unit I was in always did port and starboard for Christmas/ New Years. It was rare for someone to be able to take more that 10-15 days at that point.
Leave is a right. However, unit op tempo and a few other factors determine the amount you can take at one time.