Who Can Restore Lost Leave

For many Marines, Oct. 1 is the day unused leave above 60 days disappears.

This year, qualifying Marines may get up to 30 of those days back. The Marine Corps has officially resumed special leave accrual approvals, according to MARADMIN 545/26, signed Nov. 4.

The message implements designations the Secretary of the Navy published in ALNAV 056/26 in September.

It is not a new bank of leave for the whole force. Only qualifying Marines can apply to restore leave they already earned and then lost at the fiscal-year rollover.

With a general officer’s approval, they can keep as many as 30 of those days above the usual 60-day leave cap, for a maximum balance of 90 days.

The 60-day Cap Did Not Go Away

Under the standard rules, service members earn 30 days of leave a year, and any balance above 60 days is forfeited when the fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.

Special leave accrual has long been the exception when operations kept Marines from taking time off. After troops were allowed to bank up to 120 days during COVID, the department limited the exception to 30 days above the regular cap.

The Navy announced that tighter limit in 2023, and the Marine Corps is using the same 90-day ceiling now.

In July, MARADMIN 341/26 suspended approvals for Marines on deployable ships, mobile units or other operational duties pending those formal designations. The new message lifts the suspension immediately.

Who Can Get Days Back

For fiscal 2026, the MARADMIN authorizes special leave accrual in three categories:

• Personnel deployed in support of Operation Epic Fury.
• Personnel assigned to designated ships and mobile units that were away from home port or their permanent duty station for more than 60 consecutive days on national security operations.
• Marines who served at least 120 consecutive days in locations designated for hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay.

Temporary additional duty attachments count if they were on formal deployment orders, but only for the period of verified attachment, the message says.

The official list of designated ships and mobile units is posted on the Manpower Military Policy section of the Manpower and Reserve Affairs website and can be updated.

A unit type is not enough: a Marine Expeditionary Unit, amphibious ship or task-organized force does not automatically qualify. Approval is not automatic even then.

A general officer may approve a request only if the Marine was prevented from taking accrued leave because of national security operations, a natural disaster or a catastrophe, according to the MARADMIN.

The authority “must not be used to salvage leave lost due to a Marine’s failure to properly manage their accrued leave balances,” the message says.

The Secretary of the Navy has not designated any “other qualifying duty,” and the message directs commands to return those requests without action.

The message applies to the Total Force, but only Marines in an authorized category who receive approval can recover the days.

What To Submit, and Who Signs

The first Marine general officer in the administrative chain of command must approve the request. That authority cannot be delegated, and “by direction” signatures are not authorized.

A package needs:

1. An Administrative Action Form.
2. Proof of assignment or attachment during the qualifying period.
3. A commanding officer’s endorsement.

The MARADMIN lists web orders, a deployment manifest or operational travel claims as acceptable verification. The message tells commands to review pending or previously returned packages against the designated units list and send qualified requests up the chain.

After approval, the paperwork goes to the unit S-1, and the commanding officer restores the days in Marine Online, noting which general officer signed and on what date.

When Those Days Expire

The MARADMIN includes this example. On Oct. 1, 2026, a Marine lost 27 days of leave and dropped to a 60-day balance. A later approved request restored the balance to 87 days on Oct. 30. Those fiscal 2026 days remain available until Oct. 1, 2028.

Special leave accrual expires at the conclusion of the second fiscal year for which it is approved, the message states. Leave is charged last in, first out, so current-year leave comes off first.

Marines can check a special leave accrual balance on their Leave and Earnings Statement or in Marine Online under the Leave/Liberty tab, in the SLA History portion of Leave Overview. The days do not come back on their own.

Marines who think they qualify should check the designated units list, look at the Leave and Earnings Statement for lost days, and talk to the unit S-1.