The use-or-lose leave deadline is approaching, and officials from the 1st Infantry Division’s personnel office want to remind Soldiers if their leave balances exceed 60 days on Sept. 30, the excess days for most will be lost.

Effective Oct. 1, service members will no longer be permitted to carry up to 75 days of ordinary leave days into the next fiscal year. Soldiers can check their use-or-lose numbers by looking at their Leave and Earning Statements for the most recent month.

“Not only will the Soldiers lose their hard earned leave, but they lose the opportunity to relax, recharge, and reconnect with their family, friends, and things they love to do,” said Lt. Col. Trina Rice of the “Big Red One’s” personnel office.

The only exception is Special Leave Accrual. SLA is leave days a Soldiers accrue while serving in an area where they are eligible for hazardous duty pay or imminent danger pay for a period of at least 120 days, or four months. These Soldiers are authorized to accumulate and retain a maximum of 120 days of leave. These days are broken down as follows: 60 days of ordinary leave or 60 days of SLA.

The leave a Soldier earns before deployment, including leave days earned while deployed, is SLA protected. If a Soldier has SLA, it and an expiration date will be listed in the remarks section of the LES next to “Combat Zone LV Carryover Bal.” SLA protection ends either on the expiration date or when the Soldier’s current leave balance, listed as “Cr Bal,” drops lower than 60 days. SLA days cannot be sold and must be used before their expiration date.

To view the most recent LES and check balances, sign in to the online myPay account at mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx. To read more on use-or-lose leave, refer to All Army Activities, or ALARACT, 022/1213 or contact the unit’s human resources office.