The U.S. Department of Defense recently rolled out the implementation of extended paid parental leave to 12 weeks.
Parents who are in the military now have more time to spend with their families as soldiers can now utilize this new policy.
This change constitutes an extension of the Military Parental Leave Program and applies to service personnel who have been on active duty for at least a year.
This expanded leave will be available to adoptive parents, non-birth parents, and long-term foster parents, in addition to military members who have just given birth.
According to the policy, parents are entitled to take a leave of absence for 12 weeks within the first year after the birth of their child.
Parental leave in the Defense Department
According to the U.S. Defense Department, through Directive-type Memorandum 23-001, titled "Expansion of the Military Parental Leave Program," the public agency broadened the scope of the parental leave of service members.
This furthers the Department of Defense's commitment to assisting the military and their families by simplifying and improving the provision of parental leave benefits for service members.
According to their data, approximately 37 percent of those serving in the armed forces are parents.
The expanded leave can be used by both reserve and active military members who have been on duty for 12 months or more. This can be utilized by those members who have placed a child for adoption, long-term foster parents who adopted a child, and those members who have recently given birth.
After a brief period of recovery leave, birth parents will be given 12 weeks of parental leave, and non-birth parents will get the same amount of time after the birth of their child.
Additionally, 12 weeks of parental leave will be provided to adoptive parents and qualified foster parents.
Parental leave policy extended to 12 weeks
According to the Department of Defense, the policy's purpose is to give service members a chance to meet the needs of their unit while also taking care of their families.
American Military News reported that before, a member's eligibility for parental leave in the services depended on whether or not they were the primary or secondary caregiver for their child.
The primary caregiver was given six weeks of leave, while the secondary caregiver was given three weeks.
This new policy, however, is not only for the military services currently serving but also another incentive to entice more people to join the military.
Another hope is that the revised policy would assist the military in recruiting new troops and keeping the ones it already has.
As stated by Jennifer Goodale, as a result of the current crisis in recruitment for the armed forces, it is essential to look into all the causes that may be to blame, including problems with the quality of life for military families.
Previously, according to USA Today, the United States Navy increased the amount of paid maternity leave it provides to female sailors and marines who have recently given birth to a child to a maximum of 18 weeks in 2015.
Even though the change only extended leave for pregnant women, it made the Navy the first to give more than six weeks of vacation.
