General Medical Officer (GMO) Manual: Administrative Section
Leave and Liberty
Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Introduction
While in the Navy, the time you are authorized to spend away from your job will fall into one of two categories: leave or liberty. It is important to understand that each of these are separate entities.
Liberty
- Liberty is an approved absence from your place of duty for short periods of time. An example of this would be the time from the end of one workday to the beginning of the next. Liberty could also be over a weekend or holiday. This type of liberty is referred to as regular liberty.
- A second type of liberty is special liberty. This may be granted for atypical reasons such as compensation time, emergencies, or special achievements.
- A 3 day liberty is the usual limit for regular or special liberty except in the case of public holiday weekends and weekends that may be lengthened by the President.
- The commanding officer (CO) also has the authority to grant liberty beyond 3 days under certain circumstances. The CO can allow up to 4 days, (96 hours), that must include at least 2 non-work days.
Leave
Leave is an authorized absence from your place of employment that is similar to vacation in civilian jobs. There are various types of leave and these are addressed below.
- Earned Leave. Service members earn 30 days of leave per year or 2.5 days per month. While in the brig or on an unauthorized absence (UA) no leave time is accrued .
- Advance Leave. Leave granted prior to being earned. The service member must have enough obligated active service remaining to accrue the amount of leave granted. The CO can authorize 45 days for certain circumstances.
- Excess Leave. Leave granted in excess of earned and advanced leave. This means that the member will have a negative leave balance when the service obligation is complete. In this situation, the member is not entitled to any pay or allowances and the disbursing officer should subtract the money owed from any payment due the member.
- Convalescent Leave. Leave granted in order for recuperation or convalescence. If you have a medical problem that requires a period of recovery but doesn't require hospitalization, the physician may prescribe convalescent leave. This type of leave is not charged against the leave account.
Questions concerning emergency leave, leave in route in conjunction with orders, and leave in conjunction with temporary active duty (TAD) are addressed in the Military Personnel Manual.
References
Student Guide for Officer Indoctrination Basic Course P 00 4302 Basic Military Requirements, NAVEDTRA 1 0054 F. Military Personnel Manual Reviewed by HMCS(FMF) Johnny West, MED-911, BUMED, Washington, D.C. (1999).