New Parental Leave Policy Could Help Retention, Recruiting

All parents in uniform will get a dozen weeks of leave when they welcome a child under a new Pentagon policy. But only time will tell how the change, which standardizes leave policies that previously varied based on the parent’s role, will affect retention and recruitment.

The policy, announced Jan. 4 but backdated to Dec. 27, gives military parents up to 12 weeks of paid leave within the first year of the birth or adoption of a child. The change was mandated by the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.