The Holiday Break, aka EXODUS I get a lot of people who ask if they'll be allowed to go home for the holidays if their basic or AIT dates go thru December. The answer is "yes". There are some things to keep in mind though. EXODUS which is just Army-speak for the mass exodus of soldiers from their training posts back home, and then back again, is a major operation. Companies plan this logistical nightmare months beforehand. It runs from 20 December til 2 Jan. If a recruit celebrates "Three Kings Day" (6 January) they may work out a deal with their commander where they can stay home til 7 January. Since recruits are brand new soldiers, they do not have a lot of leave time saved up. Leave is just vacation time. You accrue (or collect) 2.5 vacation days a month for every month you are in the Army. This does not mean that you can use it whenever you choose. Once you get to your regular Army unit, you'll still have to ask permission for when you want to go, and it has to not interfere with mission and training requirements. During BT, if you decide to take leave, you will have a negative amount of leave or "be in the hole" as they call it when you come back. So you will have to work your way back up to zero and beyond for the future when you want to take leave (let's say when you are at your first duty station). Once you get to your regular unit, commanders will not let you go "in the hole" with leave time, so this is just something to remember. Also, since you are first starting out in your career, most recruits don't have alot of money to spend on plane tickets, etc. You can receive an advance pay for this, but just remember that the money's not free! The Army does not pay for your transportation to and from your home. This has to be paid by you. So, again, it's your own choice if you want to do this. Most recruits do decide to go home, but every cycle I had anywhere from 10-15 soldiers who chose to stay at their BT post and not lose the money or the leavetime. It's up to you! Now you're probably asking, "well, if I don't go home, what will I do in BT Land?". I can telll you how I personally ran things in my company and how things worked in my battalion. I kept the work details to a minimum for the soldiers who stayed behind. Drill sergeants were still required to keep an eye on them though. I arranged little parties, some outings and rented tons of movies for them. They did work on PT, but they had fun doing it and the atmosphere was a bit more relaxed, and that also made them that much ahead of their buddies who didn't stay:-)) They were allowed to wear civilian clothes at some of these outings (if they were off post). They were always supervised though. They would get little passes for a few hours to go to the "real" PX, and they spent time at the bowling alley and movie theater. The Chaplain and his crew always make a HUGE effort to provide fun things for recruits who stayed, and not all were religious based either. Of course when EXODUS was over and folks came trickling back in...it was like a 180 deg turn-around. The drill sergeants would have to go back into "Week 1 of BT" mode to get everyone back in line. It's amazing how much people forget, and also how they react to getting started up again...it's like the beginning all over again for like a week, while the DSs establish control again. The drills always hate EXODUS cause of this:-)) Another point I would like to touch upon. You're probably thinking, great, I can come home til January 7th if I say I celebrate Three Kings Day. Here are some things to think about. You'll be more "days in the hole" with leave than anyone else. Even if your commander allows you to go, you could still come back after missing too much critical training. It all depends on how well you've been doing up to this point, which classes you can make-up, etc. There is always the risk there that you won't be able to "catch up" and then have to be recycled into another company that is behind you in training. Of course you would stay with that company permanently and graduate with them at a later date. Again, you have to weigh the risks and benefits. I would typically not have more than 1-2 recruits choose to stay gone until the 7th. If anyone would like to share their EXODUS experiences, please email me or post on the message board. |
