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Corps updates leave guidance for new fathers

Got baby? The Corps wants you to be with your family.

A new policy guarantees Marine dads 10 days of leave after the birth of their child and up to three weeks off for adoptions, according to Marine Administrative Message 0076/09, issued Feb. 6. It’s not immediately clear when the new guidelines take effect, though.

Currently, new Marine dads can get up to 10 days of permissive temporary additional duty at the discretion of their commanders. The old policy also constrains commanders to authorize only up to 10 days PTAD for Marines adopting a child.

However, under the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act, commanders must authorize 10 consecutive days of mandatory PTAD for married Marines after the birth of their child, though the timing will be at their discretion, depending on the unit’s mission and operational circumstances.

“Commanders will ensure, absent any immediate or future operational requirements, that PTAD is taken and completed within 25 days after the child’s birth,” the message states. And paternity leave must be taken before any other leave, such as combat leave, annual leave or post-deployment mobilization.

Commanders may postpone PTAD if the Marine is deployed or is scheduled to deploy before or immediately after the child’s birth. In these instances, Marines may take PTAD within 90 days of returning home. Commanders are allowed to authorize the leave outside of the 90-day window in cases of urgent post-deployment needs.

Unmarried male Marines may also receive PTAD in some cases — if, for example, he has sole custody of the baby.

For adoptions, 10 days of PTAD will be the minimum, according to the MarAdmin, but Marines — or one parent of a dual Marine couple — may receive up to 21 days.

“Due to the complex and rigorous process of adopting a child, commanders should allow Marines the greatest latitude possible,” the MarAdmin states.

Marines who adopt may use the PTAD intermittently to do things like finalize legal documents and bring the child home. The adoption process, which can be lengthy and in some cases require out-of-country travel, can quickly eat away a Marine’s annual leave, said Kathleen Moakler, the National Military Family Association’s director of government relations.

“You might have to take a couple days off for the home study. You might have to take a couple of days to go to court,” she said. “You’re burning up all the leave on the administrative work before you ever get the child home.”

The association does not keep track of the number of military families who adopt, but Moakler said her office receives four to five phone calls a week from families seeking information.