Leave ( military ) - Wikipedia Leave ( military ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) Soldiers boarding a leave boat during World War I Do n't Risk Spoiling Your Leave by Bottle Fatigue In military forces, leave is a permission to be away from one 's unit, either for a specified or unspecified period of time. The term AWOL, standing for absent without leave, is a term for desertion used in armed forces of many English speaking countries. Various militaries have specific rules that regulate leaves. British troops in World War I received leave for `` Blighty '' every 15 months. `` Block leave '' is the time allotted to be spent with families independently of their units and where they must not report to their units while on rotation from their tours. A furlough is an extended period of leave from front line service in order to return home. For example, during World War II New Zealand soldiers who had served overseas for long periods ( usually three or more years ) were granted a `` furlough '' for a visit home. These soldiers on leave were called `` furlough men '' See also Leave ( U.S. military ) References Jump up ^ Littledale, Harold A. ( December 1918 ). `` With the Tanks -- I. Anatomy and Habitat ''. The Atlantic. pp. 836 -- 848. Jump up ^ `` Furlough Scheme NZETC ''. Nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 10. This military - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leave_(military)&oldid=819430196 '' Categories : Military life Leave Military stubs Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from September 2014 All articles needing additional references All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Français Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 9 January 2018, at 09 : 38. About Wikipedia

Question: what is it called when a soldier is sent home
Answer: A furlough