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Navy revises liberty policy, giving more authority to command leaders

Posted at 10:52 AM, Mar 03, 2015
and last updated 2015-03-03 10:52:17-05

Washington, DC – Revisions to the Navy’s policy on liberty were announced Monday. The revised policy gives commanding officers more clarification and authority to manage people and meet mission requirements.

In an effort to provide more authority back to command leaders, expansions have been made on descriptions of when special liberty may be appropriate, including for compassionate reasons.

This includes granting liberty after extended deployments, to reward exceptional performance, to allow Sailors to attend the funeral of a family member or assist one in dealing with serious injury or illness, or any other special occasion determined by the CO.

Leaders can also now establish their own “out of bounds” for liberty and special liberty and modify it as operational requirements dictate.

No changes have been made to the rule that special liberty may not exceed four days or be combined with normal liberty or special holidays. Sailors combining regular leave with special liberty must still start and finish their leave at their home station or port.

The entire revision is outlined in MILPERSMAN 1050-290.