Narrative:

1. On 14 Oct 08, the President signed the FY2009 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This Act authorizes 10 days of permissive (non-chargeable) paternity leave to married members of the armed forces on active duty whose wife gives birth to a child on or after 14 Oct 08. AFPC released AF program instructions via Personnel Services Delivery Memorandum (PSDM) 08-63, 12 Dec 08:

a. By law, this applies to married Airmen only. Commanders may not approve paternity leave for single Airmen.

b. Airmen must submit a hardcopy AF IMT Form 988 to their unit commander to request approval. Upon approval, the absence will be taken over consecutive days and must be taken within 60 days following the birth.  For extraordinary circumstances, unit commanders may authorize paternity leave up to 90 days following the birth of a child. Paternity leave is not authorized for members who are deployed/TDY during this specified period.

c. Paternity leave is authorized in conjunction with ordinary leave. Ordinary leave used prior to the established policy will not be restored and waivers to this policy are not applicable.

d. The unit commander will approve or disapprove the request for paternity leave if the member’s absence has an adverse impact on the readiness or operational mission. If approved, the unit commander will return the completed AF IMT Form 988 to the Airman, who will hand carry it the MPF/S for processing.

e. The base-level OPR for paternity leave requests is the MPF/S Leave Monitor. They will validate requests, update LeaveWeb, and ensure Airman complete Section III of the AF IMT Form 988 upon their return from leave.

2. The A1 POC is ACC/A1KKM, Military Personnel Programs.