Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Military Department concerned may authorize administrative absence for separating members in special circumstances. Usually it is only available for retirees or those being involuntarily separated.
The administrative absence is known as Permissive Temporary Duty (PTDY) and is often called "house-hunting leave" or "job-hunting leave".
The military has the authority to grant members being discharged or involuntarily separated from active duty PTDY as follows:
- Up to 20 days transition PTDY for members stationed inside the Continental United States (CONUS).
- Up to 30 days transition PTDY for members stationed outside CONUS (OUTCONUS)
The regulations vary by service, for example some services authorize PTDY for members separating due to high-year tenure, some do not. Also, the granting of PTDY is up to the local commander, and depends on OPTEMPO and manning levels.
PTDY may be taken in conjunction with terminal leave immediately upon completion of all separation processing.
Members are authorized use of space available military travel. OUTCONUS command sponsored dependents may travel on space available government air for one round trip between the overseas port of embarkation and the first CONUS port of entry. Command sponsored dependents may elect to take the one-time round trip either with the sponsor or in an unaccompanied status. PTDY space-available travel is not authorized for dependents in CONUS.
