Ordering to burn leave days?

I fought this battle for a couple of E4s my last deployment. HHC CO tried to make a policy that all E4 and below had to take 2 weeks R&R leave during the deployment. there were 3-4 E4s who wanted to save their leave. The answer I got from JAG was: Leave is like pay, they can't tell you when to spend it. They can deny a leave request but they cannot force you to take it unless they have a letter from a doctor/mental health provider stating you need to take leave.

Most states have a specific leave policy for long-term ADOS/GDOS that says the Soldier cannot accrue more than 7 days leave at a time, i.e must take leave periodically throughout the year to avoid having the Soldier out on leave for the whole final 30 days of that order, as well as to avoid remaining leave on the books.

And right now, there are more than a few states that are in the position of having thousands of ADOS soldiers on COVID/CARES ACT orders that need to burn their accrued leave at staggered intervals and/or the end of orders to ensure that all remaining requirements at skilled nursing facilities, food banks and other supported entities are met through the end of mission.

And yes, a commander can designate specific periods for leave (block leave), and deny a leave request.
And yes, a commander can deny a mileage pass in lieu of leave, that doesn't just happen on ADOS, that happens on active duty and with AGRs.

That can be a 2 sided blade. Can they make him take leave, not really. What the command does have control over is how many days of terminal leave they authorize. So if they are saying they are only authorizing # of days, even if its bullshit to ease their workload, that they can do. And in that case it is always better to take leave rather than sell it or loose it. But leave at least for us can only be denied by the CO, so that may be a battle he wants to fight.