Parental Leave of Absence: Time for the Next Step

Changes are needed in the Armys family policy to help retain quality soldiers during these times of high OPTEMPO and constrained training budgets. The option of a one-year, unpaid leave of absence would benefit the Army, its soldiers and their families. First, the Army would benefit because it would retain more trained, experienced, career soldiers who might otherwise leave the service. Better retention would ease the requirement to recruit and train additional soldiers. A one-year leave of absence would help maintain unit readiness because a deployable replacement could be programmed from the USAR to fill the unit vacancy. Filling the unit vacancy from the Army Reserve would assist in the cultural integration of the Active and Reserve Components while at the same time providing additional training for a Reserve Component soldier-a step toward Secretary of Defense Cohens goal of a seamless Total Force. Giving parents the option to stay home with their newborns for the first year would help soldiers balance career and family responsibilities, resulting in increased job satisfaction and, therefore, increased retention.