Afghanistan Deployments versus Family Crisis
The military has personnel policies in place to deal with family emergencies from granting emergency leave, to identifying family and friends to care for dependents in your stead, to granting humanitarian permanent duty station moves. The military member’s unit commander makes these administrative decisions. Sometimes when the commander executes one of the administrative options available, it runs afoul because of lack of good communications between the command and the military member.
Family Emergency Leave
PFC Christopher Pfeiffer came home on a mid-tour rest and recuperation leave from Afghanistan for the care of his medically ill pregnant wife who was to deliver their first child. The mid-tour leave from a combat deployment is usually only 2 weeks long. PFC Pfeiffer requested additional leave for his wife’s medical emergency and at the time, his yet unborn child.
AWOL and Desertion
In the course of the long distance communication with the command, it appears the facts were blurred and misunderstandings resulted. PFC Pfeiffer returned to Kuwait and awaited military transport to rejoin his unit. His intent was exactly that, to rejoin his unit. Yet his command classified him as a deserter, and his pay was docked beginning 30 days after his official return date. He was arrested while awaiting military airlift at the theater aerial port of embarkation. He had no intention of desertion as the Army now asserts.
Rest and Recuperation Leave
Military members accrue 2.5 days of leave for every 30 days of duty with pay and allowances. Members are encouraged to take approximately 30 days of leave a year, and can carry over a maximum of 60 days of accrued leave between fiscal years. Any excess above that is time lost. Rest and Recuperation leave is designed for use when Soldiers are in a combat zone and administered by the unit commander. Only one 2-week period is authorized per 12-month deployment.
Administrative vs. Military Legal Case
Tracking individual military members in and out of the battlefield is difficult as is managing all the requests for emergency leave. Yet there are administrative means to deal with these family medical emergencies and in this case, the Army let an administrative process unnecessarily turn into a military legal issue.
Tags: Army, AWOL, combat, Emergency Leave, military law, Puckett Faraj, rest and recuperation leave
