How does a U.S. Soldier Apply for Leave?

Have you met a U.S. Army soldier online who now wants to visit you and is planning to apply for leave? If so, be cautious, as this could be a scam.

Let’s break it down step by step and first look at how a U.S. soldier applies for leave and how much leave they are entitled to.

Leave Entitlement for U.S. Soldiers

Every U.S. soldier earns their leave through their service time. A U.S. soldier earns:

• 2.5 days of leave per month of service.
• By the end of the year, this amounts to 30 days of annual leave.

Typically, soldiers can carry over their unused leave into the next year, with a maximum of 60 days that can be transferred. However, this only applies unless there are special exceptions. This would be considered special leave accrual. Otherwise, the soldier risks losing any unused leave.

An example of such an exception occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to these circumstances, a directive was issued allowing soldiers to accumulate and retain up to 120 days. Special overseas assignments can also trigger such an exception.

When can a U.S. Soldier Take Leave?

U.S. soldiers can technically apply for leave at any time. Whether it is approved or not depends on several factors. Leave approval is always at the discretion of the respective command. In fact, many factors, including circumstances and operational needs, are considered.

Some commands schedule block leave, where many or even all soldiers must take leave at the same time. This typically happens during holiday seasons, such as summer or Christmas.

To apply for leave, the soldier must submit their leave request to their command (not to another organization). Each command has its own process for submitting leave requests, which may be either in paper form or electronically. The respective command then decides whether to approve the request or not.

Different Types of Leave

There are several types of leave available to U.S. soldiers. These include:

• Regular leave (military leave)
• Maternity leave
• Parental leave
• Emergency leave
• Convalescent leave
• Terminal leave (taken at the end of their service)

Each type of leave has specific conditions attached. For instance, emergency leave is only granted in cases of serious family or personal emergencies. This emergency leave is then deducted from the soldier’s regular leave entitlement.

Does a Soldier have to Pay for Leave during Deployment?

No branch of the U.S. military asks soldiers to pay for the privilege of taking leave.

However, there are scammers online who pose as U.S. soldiers. These scammers often form relationships with women from countries like Canada, England, the United States, and other nations, pretending to be in love. These individuals are referred to as scammers or romance scammers.

Eventually, these fake soldiers claim that they need to take leave to visit the woman, but they say there is a fee for this. Since they are deployed and cannot access their bank accounts, they ask the woman to cover the cost for them, promising to repay her later.

They might send the woman a leave form that she must fill out, pretending to be his wife or fiancée. She is often asked to submit a copy of her identification. The form is then supposedly sent to a general or directly to the United Nations. After this, the woman will receive a payment request, with amounts increasing depending on how long the man plans to visit her — the longer, the more expensive.

If the woman pays, she is trapped in the scam.

In reality, there are no fees for a U.S. soldier’s leave. No branch of the U.S. military asks its members to pay for permission to take leave.

What happens next?

After the initial payment, the scammer might then ask for money to cover the cost of a flight. This cycle continues as long as the woman is financially able to keep paying.

These military scams often involve fabricated stories, fake documents, and nonexistent individuals, all revolving around romance fraud. The scammers take advantage of their victims, often in an elaborate and cruel way.

Is a Soldier asking You for Money for Leave?

If you are in contact with a U.S. soldier you met online, and he is now claiming he needs your help to apply for leave, be extremely cautious.

Never pay any amount requested, whether it’s to him, the United Nations, or the U.S. Army.

If you’re in doubt, contact us for help. Our private investigators can quickly and affordably determine whether the soldier is real or not, and provide answers to your questions. This way, you can have peace of mind and assurance.

More related articles:

• Inheritance Scams in the Ivory Coast
• How to Verify If a Soldier is Real