Quick Flight Home?

2018-05-10T21:56:06-04:00

On weekends off would it be acceptable for me to catch a quick flight home if I could make it back on base for my Monday morning PT? Of course this would only be available if I had no duties to do during the weekend in question. Would I have to put in a leave form or travel request to do this?

Sorry for the simple question, I'm straight from OSUT and no one there could give me a straight answer on this topic.

Response by SGT Joseph Gunderson made May 10 at 2018 10:01 PM

2018-05-10T22:01:47-04:00

Usually, there is a mile restriction on regular weekends. Check with your NCO leadership to see what that radius is.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 10 at 2018 10:19 PM

2018-05-10T22:19:50-04:00

Definitely check with your NCOs to include if you can't make it back to Morning formation.

Response by Maj John Bell made May 10 at 2018 10:22 PM

2018-05-10T22:22:35-04:00

It doesn't matter what anyone on RP tells you. The only correct answer to that question will come from your chain of command.

Response by SGT Jim Arnold made May 10 at 2018 10:23 PM

2018-05-10T22:23:31-04:00

Honestly that’s a bad idea. Airlines have been known to change schedules due to cost cutting not to forget unscheduled maintenance of planes. I would arrange leave time to cover yourself just in case.

Response by LT Brad McInnis made May 10 at 2018 11:16 PM

2018-05-10T23:16:12-04:00

I used to allow a sailor of mine travel 500 miles each weekend to see his family (Mom was undergoing chemo). He had a plan to get back on time, and a backup to that plan. That was a special case. The best thing would be to talk to your chain of command. Understand that as a newbie to the command, you will probably have to build up some credibility with them before they allow something out of the ordinary,

Response by TSgt Denise Moody made May 10 at 2018 11:42 PM

2018-05-10T23:42:15-04:00

Used to depend on base and squadron regulations for the AF. Our base had a 300 mile limit for none leave travel. Ask your 1st Sgt.

Response by SSgt Dan Montague made May 10 at 2018 11:48 PM

2018-05-10T23:48:36-04:00

Depends on your unit SOP. Also that can get very expensive.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made May 11 at 2018 1:29 AM

2018-05-11T01:29:53-04:00

You need to check on the unit leave and pass policy for the distance you need a pass or leave for. This is a local policy specific to your command. Consult your NCO support channel. Couple considerations:

If you are on a mileage pass and your flight doesn't go on time and you miss the next duty day, you call in. Your chain knew where you were and they can work with you. You'll eat a leave day, but you will be OK. Usually air travel=leave due to distance specific to the policy.

Your unit has an alert or recall and you do not report. If you are not on pass or leave, you are screwed. A muster recall, EDRE, Health and Welfare, or Urinalysis could be things happen on weekends or after duty hours.

AR 600-8-10 page 32 in section XIV covers Passes. The regulation covers leaves and passes. The local command will have a more stringent policy. You need to follow that.

Response by SGT Aaron Atwood made May 11 at 2018 7:25 AM

2018-05-11T07:25:48-04:00

What Major Bell said. Even if your chain gave you the OK you'd end up spending over your entire paycheck within the month. You're just an E2, and I'll wager you haven't been part of the gun club very long. You need to present a mighty good reason for going home on a weekend if it lies outside of any liberty boundaries. Your best friend inviting you to his wedding as his Best Man is a good one, for example. All in all though you need to earn your going home, and trust me if you were in my squad unless you gave me a solid reason with the five W's and H my immediate answer would be @#$% no! Don't like it? I have straws. Seriously though. I can count with one hand how many times I went home between two enslistments once I entered the fleet after MOS school. Christmas '07, Summer '09, terminal leave '10, and Christmas '17. Granted for my first enlistment I was never closer than 3000 miles away, and right now that mileage is a lot less. Save up your money for one maybe two flights each year, and get some salt.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 8:22 AM

2018-05-11T08:22:07-04:00

There is a radius that you must stay in on weekend passes. The shorter the weekend, the smaller the radius. If you have to fly to get home I would guess that it is outside the radius and you'd need to take leave in order to go.

Response by Sgt John Steinmeier made May 11 at 2018 9:02 AM

2018-05-11T09:02:01-04:00

Is there a specific reason for this? If it is "just to go home" I would ask why? You just spent at least 18 years there. Find out your non-leave travel boundaries draw a circle and go to places inside of it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 9:43 AM

2018-05-11T09:43:33-04:00

At any given moment we could see the SHTF and you could get a call at 2am saying "Be here in 2 hours. We're going to make the green grass grow."

Your unit should have a policy in place covering this type of thing. It's best to ask your COC when you get there. When I was on AD I think my unit had a limit of 100 miles without a pass.
Each unit is different though.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 9:47 AM

2018-05-11T09:47:19-04:00

Check Army regs. Even for authorized liberty there are boundaries. When Marines were going to "swoop" on a weekend they were expected to obtain an Out of Bounds chit from the Command. It's for accountability and recall, also for someone from the Command to make a judgement call on your request.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made May 11 at 2018 11:18 AM

2018-05-11T11:18:30-04:00

1. Check unit/local regs- often there is a distance factor involved between no duty weekend and needing a pass. 2. The 1st time you have a flight delay/problem and miss formation- they can and might hammer you with Art 15. You are responsible for being in formation, not the airline.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 11:21 AM

2018-05-11T11:21:09-04:00

Ask your leadership. Or look up the policy for travel for your unit. That should be posted somewhere - likely at the company training room. Or it should be somewhere where you work.

Once you get to your unit, they will tell you their travel policy. In any unit I've been in, the answer is going to be if you want to fly somewhere you have to take leave - and I'll assume it's outside the mileage radius if you have to fly.

Just because you request leave doesn't mean it will get approved. It depends on who else might be on leave, emergencies, training, etc.

Response by CPO Glenn Moss made May 11 at 2018 12:43 PM

2018-05-11T12:43:42-04:00

What's your command liberty radius?

The command liberty radius, essentially, is the distance that a command will say is within reasonable driving limits. If I recall correctly, it was 400 miles when I was in the Navy.

"Reasonable driving limits" is essentially one 8 hour day of driving at highway speeds. Longer distances put the servicemember at increased danger for several reasons...longer driving times lead to a more tired driver, which places the servicemember in danger; longer distances may encourage the servicemember to drive faster, which places the servicemember in increased danger (not to mention speeding tickets); etc.

So...if you're going on liberty over a weekend, anything more than the liberty radius pretty much means you're spending most of your liberty time driving. And that's just not safe.

In all my commands, they held to the liberty radius, regardless of the method of transportation.

So you the information you need to ask for is the liberty radius.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 5:16 PM

2018-05-11T17:16:36-04:00

Check you unit rules... that being said if you are able to travel you need to remember it's "your responsibility" to be standing tall at PT, there are no excuses allowed. Myself, I wouldn't.

Response by SGT Matthew Sesar made May 11 at 2018 5:59 PM

2018-05-11T17:59:00-04:00

Your chain of command will be the only one that could give you that answer.

Response by SGT Derick J. made Nov 19 at 2020 12:15 PM

2020-11-19T12:15:24-05:00

Best answer put in a milage pass for the time you're trying to go if you don't want to use leave. As long as you provide a reasonable reason, not on duty (CQ/SD) and aren't flagged you'll be good to go. Of course you can be bold and just go, but the chances of a recall are always high and unexpected. Leave with a set plan.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 25 at 2021 12:56 AM

2021-06-25T00:56:19-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member Don't start buying plane tickets just yet. You have to be on special pass or leave while away from the normal commuting area. Just because you are off for the weekend (regular pass) does not mean your unit won't have an alert or recall of personnel during the weekend. Unless you are on special pass or leave, you are subject to normal recall procedures. On Special Pass or Leave, the command knows where you are and makes an informed decision on whether or not you report and when. Your unit will have a pass and leave policy that will dictate when you must be on a DA31 Ordinary Leave and when you are authorized a type of pass. Your unit will have a maximum pass radius (350 miles as an example) that requires you to be on a special pass or on ordinary leave if outside it. Your first line leader will explain this to you and when you need to complete a DA Form 31. Special Pass and Ordinary leave are done on a DA31. If for unforeseen reasons you are delayed in your return (like a cancelled flight), when you call the unit and request an extension. What ever extension is approved, the whole thing is converted to ordinary leave.

Maj John Bell a "weekend" is actually a regular pass subject to AR 600-8-10 DTD June .

7–1. Regular pass
a. A short, non-chargeable, authorized absence from post or place of duty during normal off-duty hours is a regular
pass. For example—
(1) The weekend, for Soldiers normally working Monday thru Friday, is a regular pass period that extends from Friday after duty until the beginning of duty on the following Monday...
(the paragraph continues, edited for the subject of the question)
d. As required by unit recall policy, Soldiers must be readily available to return to duty, remaining in an available for-duty-status during normal non-duty hours unless absence is authorized.
e. A regular pass begins and ends on post, at duty location, or at the location from where Soldier normally commutes to duty. The Soldier must be physically at one of these locations when departing to or returning from a regular pass.

He needs to be in another absence status other than regular pass, which is subject to unit SOP and AR 600-8-10.

Response by SPC Lisa Hughes made Jul 16 at 2022 10:37 AM

2022-07-16T10:37:01-04:00

You have to read the regulation. I think it used to be a 300 miles radius.