§ 701. Entitlement and accumulation

(a) A member of an armed force is entitled to leave at the rate of 21/2 calendar days for each month of active service, excluding periods of—

(1) absence from duty without leave;

(2) absence over leave;

(3) confinement as the result of a sentence of a court-martial; and

(4) leave required to be taken under section 876a of this title.

Full-time training, or other full-time duty for a period of more than 29 days, performed under section 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 of title 32 by a member of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States in his status as a member of the National Guard, and for which he is entitled to pay, is active service for the purposes of this section.

(b) Except as provided in subsections (d), (f), and (g), a member may not accumulate more than 60 days’ leave. However, leave taken during a fiscal year may be charged to leave accumulated during that fiscal year without regard to this limitation.

(c) A member who retired after August 9, 1946, who is continued on, or is recalled to active duty, may have his leave which accumulated during his service before retirement carried over to his period of service after retirement.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b), during the period beginning on October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2013, a member may accumulate up to 75 days of leave.

(e) Leave taken before discharge is considered to be active service.

(f)

(1)

(A) The Secretary concerned, under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, may authorize a member described in subparagraph (B) who, except for this paragraph, would lose at the end of the fiscal year any accumulated leave in excess of the number of days of leave authorized to be accumulated under subsection (b) or (d), to retain an accumulated total of 120 days leave.

(B) This subsection applies to a member who—

(i) serves on active duty for a continuous period of at least 120 days in an area in which the member is entitled to special pay under section 310 (a) of title 37;

(ii) is assigned to a deployable ship or mobile unit or to other duty designated for the purpose of this section; or

(iii) on or after August 29, 2005, performs duty designated by the Secretary of Defense as qualifying duty for purposes of this subsection.

(C) Except as provided in paragraph (2), leave in excess of the days of leave authorized to be accumulated under subsection (b) or (d) that are accumulated under this paragraph is lost unless it is used by the member before the end of the third fiscal year (or fourth fiscal year, if accumulated while subsection (d) is in effect) after the fiscal year in which the continuous period of service referred to in subparagraph (B) terminated.

(2) Under the uniform regulations referred to in paragraph (1), a member of an armed force who serves on active duty in a duty assignment in support of a contingency operation during a fiscal year and who, except for this paragraph, would lose at the end of that fiscal year any accumulated leave in excess of the number of days of leave authorized to be accumulated under subsection (b) or (d), shall be permitted to retain such leave until the end of the second fiscal year after the fiscal year in which such service on active duty is terminated.

(g) A member who is in a missing status, as defined in section 551 (2) of title 37, accumulates leave without regard to the limitations in subsections (b), (d), and (f). Notwithstanding the death of a member while in a missing status, he continues to earn leave through the date—

(1) the Secretary concerned receives evidence that the member is dead; or

(2) that his death is prescribed or determined under section 555 of title 37.

Leave accumulated while in missing status shall be accounted for separately. It may not be taken, but shall be paid for under section 501 (h) of title 37. However, a member whose death is prescribed or determined under section 555 or 556 of title 37 may, in addition to leave accrued before entering a missing status, accrue not more than 150 days’ leave during the period he is in a missing status, unless his actual death occurs on a date when, had he lived, he would have accrued leave in excess of 150 days, in which event settlement will be made for the number of days accrued to the actual date of death. Leave so accrued in a missing status shall be accounted for separately and paid for under the provisions of section 501 of title 37.

(h) A member who has taken leave in excess of that authorized by this section and who is being discharged or released from active duty for the purpose of accepting an appointment or a warrant in an armed force, or of entering into an enlistment or an extension of an enlistment in an armed force, may elect to have excess leave of up to 30 days or the maximum number of days of leave that could be earned in the new term of service, whichever is less, carried over to that new term of service to count against leave that will accrue on the new term of service. A member shall be required, at the time of his discharge or release from active duty, to pay for excess leave not carried over under this subsection.

(i)

(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, a member of the armed forces adopting a child in a qualifying child adoption is allowed up to 21 days of leave in a calendar year to be used in connection with the adoption.

(2) For the purpose of this subsection, an adoption of a child by a member is a qualifying child adoption if the member is eligible for reimbursement of qualified adoption expenses for such adoption under section 1052 of this title.

(3) In the event that two members of the armed forces who are married to each other adopt a child in a qualifying child adoption, only one such member shall be allowed leave under this subsection.

(4) Leave under paragraph (1) is in addition to other leave provided under other provisions of this section.

(j)

(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, a married member of the armed forces on active duty whose wife gives birth to a child shall receive 10 days of leave to be used in connection with the birth of the child.

(2) Leave under paragraph (1) is in addition to other leave authorized under this section.

(k) A member of a reserve component who accumulates leave during a period of active service may carry over any leave so accumulated to the member’s next period of active service, subject to the accumulation limits in subsections (b), (d), and (f), without regard to separation or release from active service if the separation or release is under honorable conditions. The taking of leave carried over under this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of this section.

U.S. Code

§ 701. Entitlement and accumulation