OGDEN — A service-wide announcement on Monday nixed a policy that previously allowed service members to take pass days, called family days, sometimes extending federal holidays to four-day weekends.
In the past, family days have not counted against military members’ time-off allowances.
The memo, from Acting Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Gary Ashworth, was posted on social media Tuesday, and authenticated for KSL.com by an Air Force spokesperson.
In the memo, Ashworth said, “The Air Force and Space Force are focused on enhancing lethality and readiness. Providing blanket designations of pass days to align with all 11 federal holidays throughout the year does not support our ability to execute the mission.”
A statement by a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said the memo posted on social media is authentic and “the guidance rescinds the family days previously listed for the entire department to ensure we remain fully prepared to execute our mission and maintain our competitive advantage.”
“The memo also clarifies that commanders, directors and supervisors retain the authority to authorize passes to military members at their discretion when aligned with operational readiness and requirements,” the statement said.
A social media post from the same account that posted Ashworth’s memo, which could not immediately be authenticated by KSL.com, shows a notice issued Wednesday by Air Force General Thomas Bussiere, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command, appearing to flex that authority.
Bases under the strike command were given family days surrounding Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, the notice shows “in recognition of the enduring contributions you and your family have made.”
Hill Air Force Base falls under the Air Force Materiel Command, which had a family day scheduled for all 11 federal holidays, according to Hill Air Force Base spokesperson Kendahl Johnson.
Hill officials have not been notified if any of the planned days will still be granted.
All service members are still encouraged to use their 30 days of paid annual leave, the spokesperson writes, “as an important part of maintaining overall well-being, morale and readiness.”
The announcement was not entirely a surprise, as the Air Force released a memo on Feb. 11 saying it was evaluating family days, “to ensure they align with our ability to support warfighter readiness.”
That memo said leadership should treat family days as “liberal leave” days “to the maximum extent possible, for which use of leave, previously earned compensatory time, or previously approved time-off awards may be applied, as eligible,” but cautioned that federal law prohibited granting civilian contractors additional leave.
Service members with children at Hill had a rough March, after one out of two child development centers on base closed, affecting 31 families, first reported by Military.com.
Johnson told a Military.com reporter at the time that families were notified on March 12, attributing the closure to high turnover and a military-civilian hiring freeze that was announced Feb. 28 in response to a Department of Governmental Efficiency initiative.
On March 18, a memo released by the Department of Defense exempted “child and youth programs staff” from that freeze, but it may have been too late for the child care facility at Hill Air Force Base.
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