When Christmas Leave Becomes a Crime: How Holiday Absences Turn Into AWOL and Desertion

Christmas Leave Is a Privilege, Not a Legal Shield

Every December, tens of thousands of servicemembers take authorized holiday leave. The authority for that leave comes from Department of Defense Instruction 1327.06, which governs military leave and liberty and makes clear that leave is conditional on return at the approved time and place, not suspended by personal circumstances or travel delays.

The moment a servicemember fails to return from authorized leave at the prescribed time, they become Absent Without Leave under Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. § 886. The statute contains no holiday exception. Christmas morning carries the same legal weight as any other duty day.

If the absence continues and the government can prove an intent to remain away permanently, evade hazardous duty, or shirk important service, the charge can escalate to desertion under Article 85, 10 U.S.C. § 885. That escalation dramatically changes a servicemember’s criminal exposure.

When AWOL Becomes Desertion

The law draws a sharp line between temporary absence and permanent abandonment. Under Article 86, AWOL can be punished by confinement of up to one year and a bad conduct discharge, depending on the length and circumstances of the absence. Under Article 85, desertion in wartime can carry a sentence of life imprisonment or death, while peacetime desertion still exposes a service member to years of confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

Military courts consistently hold that desertion does not require a formal declaration of intent. Intent may be inferred from conduct such as disposing of uniforms, leaving the country, assuming a false identity, or making statements about never returning. Intent is often proven circumstantially, not by confession.

That distinction becomes legally dangerous during long holiday absences that start as AWOL but slowly accumulate facts prosecutors later use to infer permanent intent.

The Government Does Not Publish “Christmas AWOL” Statistics

The Department of Defense does not publish AWOL data broken out by holidays. The most recent comprehensive public accounting of AWOL and desertion appears in GAO and DoD manpower reports that track annual totals, not holiday-specific spikes.

There is no authoritative government dataset showing how many AWOL cases begin on Christmas. What exists instead are individual cases where the servicemember’s last authorized duty status was holiday leave. Those cases show how quickly a seasonal absence can become a career-ending charge.

Modern Holiday AWOL Cases Rarely Go Public Unless They Escalate

In the all-volunteer force era, most short-term AWOL cases are resolved administratively and never appear in public court records. What makes the news are the holiday-adjacent absences or those that spiral into larger crimes.

Once a servicemember is dropped from the active rolls, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service terminates pay and allowances. The legal system assumes permanent intent unless rebutted.

What Actually Happens the Day After You Don’t Come Back

When a servicemember fails to report from leave, the unit initiates a duty status change to AWOL under the appropriate service regulation. After 30 consecutive days of absence, the servicemember is administratively classified as a deserter and entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system for apprehension by civilian law enforcement. 

This process is mechanical. It runs regardless of weather, airline cancellations, family emergencies, or holiday confusion unless the command affirmatively excuses the absence in writing.

Why Christmas Is Psychologically Dangerous but Legally Indifferent

Christmas is one of the most emotionally volatile periods for junior enlisted servicemembers. Family pressure to stay home, unresolved marriages, financial strain, and travel chaos all converge at the exact moment the law demands strict compliance with return-to-duty orders.

From a legal standpoint, none of that matters unless it rises to the level of a recognized legal defense. Missing movement or failing to return from leave because someone “couldn’t face going back” does not excuse criminal liability under Articles 85 or 86.

This is why many installations issue command briefings in early December, warning service members explicitly that holiday leave does not protect against AWOL or desertion charges. 

The Career Consequences Are Permanent

Even a relatively short AWOL can permanently alter a military career. Commanders may impose nonjudicial punishment, revoke security clearances, bar reenlistment, and initiate administrative separation. Desertion convictions carry lifelong federal felony consequences that follow veterans into civilian life.

Unlike many civilian offenses, military AWOL and desertion convictions remain visible in federal security background checks long after discharge.

Why the Christmas Myth Persists

There is a persistent belief that commands are more forgiving during the holidays. The law does not support that belief. While commanders may exercise discretion, Articles 85 and 86 contain no seasonal flexibility. Any leniency is personal, not legal.

Some commands quietly resolve short holiday AWOLs through informal counseling. Others do not. From the servicemember’s perspective, the risk is absolute and the mercy unpredictable.

What Christmas Leave Actually Tests

Christmas leave tests military discipline itself. It measures how the force balances humanity with law, and how quickly sentiment yields to statute.

Many long-term deserters began as short-term absentees who thought one more day would not matter. Christmas is simply the moment when that miscalculation becomes most tempting.

The Law After the Decorations Come Down

When January arrives, holiday AWOL cases reenter the system under full procedural force. Dropped-from-rolls cases accelerate. Apprehension warrants trigger. Courts martial that stalled in December restart.

The calendar resets. The record does not.

Christmas may feel like time off. Under military law, it is only leave with a deadline. Miss it, and the holiday can become the most expensive day of a service member’s life.