Special Leave Accrual (SLA) allows Soldiers who serve in hostile fire/imminent danger area for a continuous period of 120 days or greater to retain and accumulate up to 120 days leave. The intent of SLA is to provide relief to Soldiers who are not allowed leave when undergoing lengthy deployment or during periods of hostility.
The return home from combat can often leave servicemembers feeling out of place with the most important people in their lives - their families.
"In deployment, Soldiers grow accustomed to a new lifestyle and a new 'family' - those buddies that bond together to defend each other," said Maj. Ken Williams, 14th Military Police Brigade chaplain. "This lifestyle change is prolonged and becomes familiar, i.e., the new normal."
The families also change while the Soldier is deployed.
"The family is a system," Williams said. "When one family member is absent, the whole system changes. All members of the family adapt to a new 'normal' way of life."
When the servicemember returns, the family may feel uncomfortable with each other, and the servicemember may withdraw from the family.
