Manpower Implications of Expanded Parental Leave for Active Duty U.S. Navy Servicemembers

Abstract

In the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. Congress significantly increased the parental leave allowance for all active-duty servicemembers. However, Congress conferred no additional funding or manpower resources to accommodate the benefit. Increasing parental leave without resourcing has a high potential to disrupt the manpower system and induce disparities at the operational level of execution. This study uses historical data and uptake patterns from the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System, the electronic leave tracking system, to model parental leave uptake under the new policy. The study’s findings show that, in general, sailors utilized a majority of new parental leave authorized. Post-policy, the model suggests parental leave usage will triple compared to the immediate pre-policy period, approximating the manpower equivalent of 3,000 servicemembers a year. The thesis offers suggestions for mitigation measures, further research, and policy recommendations to address the workforce gap generated by the new policy.