![]() ![]() The shore-hugging seas of this part of the world, from the southern tip of the Korean peninsula to the Indonesian archipelago, have always served as a kind of open freeway for culture, trade, and ceaseless migration. The signs on the small shops and restaurants that line them are almost as likely to be in Korean, Vietnamese, or Chinese as in the Filipino language Tagalog. Just inland from the shore, narrow, crowded streets thrum with the put-put of motorized rickshaws. From nearby berths, fishermen set out to sea for days at a time aboard their bancas, the simple, low-slung catamarans they have favored for generations. On Sundays, they fill with people dressed up for church. Typically, all active-duty service members earn 30 days of leave per year and, while some of that time is allowed to roll over year-to-year, any unused leave over 60 days is normally lost every year.In the tranquil harbors that dot the coastline of Palawan, a sword-shaped island in the western Philippines, the ferry boats are crowded with commuters traveling back and forth between sleepy townships, and with vendors bearing fresh produce. The message stressed that it is intended as a heads-up to give sailors time to use the leave they have earned and that "unit commanders should continue to minimize the loss of leave within the constraints of operational requirements." One change the message previews is being able to hold on to special leave for two years instead of three, and that the first flag officer in a sailor's chain of command will need to approve special leave being given out in most cases going forward. The message noted that the revision in how many days sailors may bank is "the most impactful of the upcoming changes," but the Navy is planning on making other alterations to the special leave policy in the future. Niles added that the changes "were mandated by law and are in line with DoD policy updates." ![]()
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