Page 160 - DIDC SOPS and Guidelinesv as of April 2019

approval authority for Soldiers who serve at least 120 continuous days in an area in which the
Soldiers is entitled to hostile fire and imminent danger pay.
Commanders will not approve SLA until after the fiscal year (FY), when it becomes known how
much leave the Soldier will lose. SLA entitlements are discussed further in Title 10 USC para
701.
1) An additional one-time SLA sell back is authorized for enlisted Soldiers (does NOT
apply to officers). Under this provision an enlisted Soldier may elect a one-time leave sell back of
up to 30 days leave that is in excess of the 120 day SLA.
2) Limitation. Such leave sell back counts against the 60-day leave sell back limitation
during a Soldier's military career. SLA shall not be used as a means to authorize the
accumulation of leave in excess of 75 days which is the result of improper leave management, or
for reasons as described in AR 600-8-10.

g. Emergency Leave: Emergency leave is is normally granted to service members for family
emergencies involving members of their household, their immediate family, or a sole surviving relative
whenever the circumstances warrant and the military situation permits. The DA Form 31 will be used as
the emergency leave order as described in AR 600-8-10 and the JTR and must be approved by the unit
commander.
Although swift and sensitive action on emergency leave requests is essential, the military must confirm
that an emergency does exist and that the service member’s presence can resolve or alleviate the
situation. Emergency leave may be appropriate when:

1) A member of the household or immediate family has died.
2) The service member’s presence would contribute to the welfare of a dying member of the
household or the immediate family.
3) Serious illness of a member of the household or the immediate family imposes a demand on the
service member that must be met immediately and cannot be accomplished from the duty
station or by any other means.
4) The service member’s failure to return home places a severe or unusual hardship on the
spouse, his or her household, or the immediate family.
Service members will not be granted emergency leave for reasons such as the normal pregnancy of a
spouse, delivery of a baby, or resolution of marital or financial problems.

If emergency leave is verified and granted, commanders typically authorize up to thirty days of leave for
the service member (emergency leave is chargeable leave). If the service member needs an extension
while on emergency leave, he or she must contact the unit commander for approval. If granted
emergency leave, service members may also be able to receive emergency leave travel in government-
owned or controlled aircraft. If a service member has been granted emergency leave from his or her unit
commander, he or she may want to check the availability of funding for travel or space-available military
flights.

Red Cross personnel will notification and assistance to Soldiers as needed. Soldiers are authorized
government funded transportation only from TCS/deployment location to Home Station/PDS at
government expense. Any additional travel to the emergency leave destination is at the Soldier’s
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