Special Leave (Education), when is it possible, what can justify it?

[Brasidas]

I'd appreciate policy interpretation insights into the text of CFLPM 5.6 Special Leave (Education), how it is applied, and appropriate justifications when requesting approval.
What I am looking at: When can I be in "situations when members are not required to perform academic or service duties"?

5.6.01 Policy​

Special Leave (Education) may be granted under the following circumstances for members attending an educational institution at public expense:

(a) situations when members are not required to perform academic or service duties; or

(b) periods between the cessation of summer training and the date on which a member is required to return to a university or Canadian Military College to begin academic or service training.

How I think it gets routinely applied: Subsidized education student has a leave plan that includes all their annual, and there's time left over where it doesn't make sense to have them do OJE. Is this correct?

How should a request for it be justified?

What I'm doing:
I'm tracking blocks of time between academic courses where it seems to be applicable, and I'm drafting a leave plan, and I'd like to make sure it doesn't bounce.

The leave plan includes use of all annual and accumulated leave this FY. The simplest, clearest example block is the two weeks between my last summer course and labour day.
#. Special Leave (Education) is appropriate for the specified dates, as:
a. IAW Ref A and Ref D, I will be attending full-time, in-person academic courses during the periods of 10 May- 26 Jun and 6 Jul-21 Aug; and
b. IAW CFLPM 5.601, I am not required to perform academic or service duties, as I have completed all courses available to me at this time.
#+1. Unless otherwise approved by BTL, I will remain IVO Vancouver, BC during these leave periods.



#+2. Approval of the leave plan as an exception to the CFB Edmonton Leave Plan FY26/27 is in the interests of my family and I IOT:
a. Support family medical and emotional needs while my spouse is actively treated for X;
b. Conduct pers admin, appointments, and activities IAW medical advice to reduce my MELs; and
c. Defer annual leave to periods when the family may be healthier to enjoy it together.

#+3. This action is in the interests of the CAF for the following reasons:
a. Lessened aggravation of current medical concerns will promote a more rapid recovery to being fit full duties;
b. Distribution of leave throughout the remainder of the year will allow maximum readiness and efficacy;
c. Supervision for OJE during periods between academic courses would distract CAF personnel from higher-priority duties relative to the short and discontinuous time available for development; and
d. Under this plan, I will be able to complete all 25 days of annual and 1 day of accumulated leave in FY26/27.

#+4. In the event that there is a deviation from the plan for completion of my university degree outlined in Ref C, I understand that my leave will be adjusted, including retroactive adjustments, IOT ensure that no days of annual or accumulated leave remain at the end of FY26/27.


Circumstances:
CAFJODs done, no directly relevant DL courses, over 20 years prior service
Combination of short period of time, lack of local opportunities, and family obligations make OJE impractical
Spouse being actively treated for life-threatening illness, with significant support required
Children are getting the short end of the stick in terms of attention and are getting emotionally scarred.
While I can handle what's in front of me right now, I can easily see burnout on the horizon.

What I want:
Time to support my distressed kids and to take care of myself
Time that that my family can enjoy together when everyone is likely to be healthier

Any feedback on how this leave policy works or how I should present this is appreciated.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Any feedback on how this leave policy works or how I should present this is appreciated.

c. Supervision for OJE during periods between academic courses would distract CAF personnel from higher-priority duties relative to the short and discontinuous time available for development;


That might imply to the chain of command their priorities are inefficient.

Something like:

“Due to the short and discontinuous periods available between academic commitments, meaningful OJE opportunities are limited and would provide reduced developmental value relative to the supervisory and administrative resources required.”

might land easier?

Similarly:

emotionally scarred

I would avoid emotionally charged language unless it's by professional documentation.

Instead things like

-family stressors,
-significant emotional strain,
-support requirements; or
-family well-being,

might be safer administrative language.

Framing this as supporting readiness and sustainability is great (in terms of getting requests like this supported). The "we take care of our people" mantra usually dissolves quickly in my experience.


It seemed like you were presenting the Special Leave (Education) as an entitlement automatically replacing OJE (maybe I'm reading that wrong though).

Units still have discretion and some units strongly prefer taskings,local duties, (maybe) remote support work,
DLN courses, etc.. during gaps.

I would keep framing simple such as 'no required duties currently exist'



Hopefully your units first reaction isn't to start poking holes in everything, it sounds like you have quite the full plate.

 

[Brasidas]

Thanks for your feedback; I appreciate the suggested wording.

No draft has been sent in; I've had a brief conversation, and they definitely preferred the idea of Academic Advancement instead of Education for special leave. I'm trying to get clarity on the meaning of the Special (Education) policy stated in CFLPM, when it is appropriate, and how it may be justified.

WRT OJE, it is pretty impractical for it to even be tried. The two periods available are 29 Jun-3 Aug, which I expect will end up being 4 short (plus stat) and 24 Aug-4 Sep. The city that I'm in has reserve units, but between the instructor taskings, brigade exercise, and end of summer leave (during which overworked staff are likely to take 4 days of short), such a short period isn't going to be an easy sell for supervising me. Shipping me to Edmonton could see me supervised, but the last time that happened I was literally just given an empty seat in the div OR. When I pushed for something productive to do, I ended up replacing worn-off stickers on pers files.

Am I able to do some DL? Yes. All available CAFJODs, directly-MOSID relevant, and otherwise prescribed courses are done, and I've gone through a pretty exhaustive list both before and after going UTPNCM.

I'm on some significant MELs, with some existing physical and mental conditions getting aggravated. Dealing with my own needs has been difficult between my spouse's condition, my kids' needs, and academic workload.

Eg. my sleep's been awful since Impact, and I can't take my sleeping pills with the potential need to take the spouse to the ER again or dealing with the youngest.

Doing more than the minimum for myself and my family during the day, then staying up late enough to get a few DL courses done during the week is something that I can do, but I am not going to retain much and I am going to be in worse shape than the week before.

 

[Brasidas]

*The two periods available are 29 Jun-5 Jul, which I expect will end up being 4 short (plus stat) and 24 Aug-4 Sep.

Not seeing an edit button on the post. I guess edits are only allowed for a shorter time than I remember.

 

[Jarnhamar]

What I want:
Time to support my distressed kids and to take care of myself
Time that that my family can enjoy together when everyone is likely to be healthier

Just to be clear, is your end goal to complete specific schooling/courses or is the goal to find a way to spend more time with your family taking care of them?

 

[Brasidas]

My primary goal right now is to maximize the time that I have available:
-to help my kids who are struggling right now
-to be able to take care of stuff that isn't immediate (eg. follow up on support available to me for stuff that is broken, that I've had successful VAC claims for)
-to be able to have actual downtime with my family when they're healthier later in the year using annual, as opposed to doing triage
-to not burn out, which I will later in the year if I'm using up annual up front

In terms of completing specific school/courses:
-I already have approval for the academic courses I'm doing this summer, which are full-time for most of the summer.
-I have a plan for September-April that is supported at SEM and pending final approval; that will incorporate one academic course and Special Leave (Academic Advancement) one day per week.

 

[Jarnhamar]

If you don't mind me going off on a tagent (which I can remove) you might be a good candidate for a short posting to your local Transition Unit.

Much of that would balance on how severe your MELs are, your prognosis, and family situation, but if you're able to get a posting there that could give you much wider arcs to balance your own recovery with supporting your family. And with a medical team more presumably engaged, getting time and space for academic upgrading would be much easier.

You mentioned getting stuck doing non-meaningful work at a reserve unit. That happens but I bet there's a few reserve units around that would be quite happy to have a reg force guy with 20 years experience on their day staff and would be able to find meaningful work. A Transition Unit would be better equipped to sort something like that out.

Most people go to a TU to release but some just need a break to recover and then get posted bacl to their home unit. 2 good buddies of mine did short stints there and got posted back with no issues.


I know it's not what you asked about, and I pray I don't drag your thread off topic, but reading between the lines I think there might be better options than trying to use schooling for a break to better take care of yourself and family.

 

[Winds]

Special Leave (Education) is only possible when on a full-time paid education program, such as ROTP, UTPNCM, NCMSTEP, etc... are you currently going through UTPNCM? You stated that from Sep-Apr you'd be taking a single academic course one day per week, which is not full-time academic status.

Special leave (Education) is generally given to meet the needs of the institution, not the personal desires of the member. For example, if a student from RMC attends summer training but the course finishes at the start if August the school forces them on leave because the campus is used as a sea cadet training centre during the summer and doesn't have accommodation for the students to return early. Special(Education) is then automatically granted to cover things like reading week and Christmas after they were forced to expend their annual leave during the summer.

From your memo, it sounds like you are requesting compassionate leave.

One important thing to note is the you cannot be granted any Special (Education) leave until after you have expended all annual and accumulated leave (CFLPM para 5.6.04). As such, there is no "deferring" your annual to save it for later in the year, you need to use it first. Your CoC doesn't have authority to circumvent this policy.

Memos generally aren't required either when sending a leave request to your ULO that includes Special(Education) leave... as ling as you're on full-time academic status for the remainder of the FY and have already used up all annual and accumulated leave. Essentially you'd just burn through your annual (and accumulated leave, if applicable) in the summer then get granted Special(Education) while on full-time academic status, again to cover thing like travelling over reading week/Christmas break.