Policy update by Marine Corps extends parental leave to 3 months

The U.S. Marine Corps updated its parental leave policy Monday, bringing the service into compliance with a Department of Defense directive issued earlier this month.

Among the changes is a leave extension from three weeks to three months for all Marines and the inclusion of those who adopt or foster.

“This action strikes the right balance of allowing our Marines more time at home after the arrival of a child and improved resources to care for their families, while at the same time providing our commanders the flexibility required to maintain readiness and accomplish the mission,” Yvonne Carlock, the service’s deputy communication strategy and operations officer, wrote Tuesday in an email to The Virginian-Pilot.

Marines who give birth are authorized 12 weeks of parental leave following a period of convalescent leave, while the non-birth parent is eligible for 12 weeks of parental leave. The program also expanded to include

Marines welcoming adopted or long-term foster children, authorizing them to take 12 weeks of leave.

The leave must be taken all at once or incrementally within a year period following the birth, adoption or placement. Leave taken incrementally must be taken in periods of at least seven days for a maximum of 12 increments.

Similar to the Navy’s policy, deployed Marines will be required to defer parental leave until the deployment is complete. But Marines who do so may be eligible to extend the one-year expiration date of the 12-week leave.

The Marine Corps is the latest service to release its policy changes following the Jan. 4 memo. A day after the Pentagon issued the longawaited policy, the Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard implemented it. The Navy released its policy Jan. 19, two weeks later.

The Army has not yet released its new parental leave policy, but is expected to do so soon.