ADT - Can I leave vicinity?

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I am currently on ADT at my school. I would like to visit family this weekend (12 hr. drive) but I remember something about a 50 mile radius. I don't remember seeing that on my orders. Can I make the drive?

A quick answer would be great. I'm grounded until I figure out what is going on.
 
I am currently on ADT at my school. I would like to visit family this weekend (12 hr. drive) but I remember something about a 50 mile radius. I don't remember seeing that on my orders. Can I make the drive?

A quick answer would be great. I'm grounded until I figure out what is going on.

I'd guess no. While on active duty, taking off on a 12 hour drive generally isn't OK unless you're on leave.

The 50-mile thing is a general rule of thumb but each command can do things differently. Some bases out in the sticks expand the radius.

The idea is just that they don't want people driving many hours to get somewhere on a Friday night after work (when they're tired) and then driving the same distance back to the base early Monday morning (when they're tired +/- hungover) ... and getting in wrecks.

24 hours of driving on a weekend is exactly the sort of thing the rule is intended to prevent. 🙂
 
I am currently on ADT at my school. I would like to visit family this weekend (12 hr. drive) but I remember something about a 50 mile radius. I don't remember seeing that on my orders. Can I make the drive?

A quick answer would be great. I'm grounded until I figure out what is going on.

Just FYI you are allowed 3 days of leave while on ADT. Just talk to the GME coordinator and they will get you the paperwork to fill out and approve you.

Oh didnt see that THIS weekend part...well nvm then. Thats too soon to process the paperwork.
 
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Unless that's 12 hours by donkey, then the official answer is almost certainly 'no'. The rest is just about how much risk you're willing to accept and how closely people are paying attention to you (that is, it's sometimes easy for rotating students to disappear).
 
I am currently on ADT at my school. I would like to visit family this weekend (12 hr. drive) but I remember something about a 50 mile radius. I don't remember seeing that on my orders. Can I make the drive?

A quick answer would be great. I'm grounded until I figure out what is going on.


There are no set rules about what is considered a reasonable distance for leave. This is set by your command or your department. In residency, our deal was as long as we could return in 24 hours (means didn't really matter) we were fine, providing we didn't do anything stupid and/or miss work to go somewhere. This was probably more leinent then most other departments, although some really didn't give two s***s and others made you take leave to go to the bathroom. If you are at an away rotation, can't hurt to ask. If you are on school orders (which it sounded like) your school probably won't have an answer, nor care.

People violate this rule all the time about not leaving a certain area or telling their command they are going one place and actually go another. You can get in trouble if caught and not saying you should, but as long as you don't get arrested and/or killed its not a big deal. I had asked the same question when I was in HPSP because I wanted to go to California immediately after OIS (still on orders) and the head person for HPSP at the time personally gave me his blessing.
 
The technical answer is that one should be on leave if they are traveling outside of a certain mile radius. Generally it's 250 miles for active duty soldiers. A 12 hour drive would be at least 600 miles away going at a decent clip. I wouldn't tell you to break the rules, especially if something happens.

However, when I was in residency I flouted this rule on multiple occasions. It was a risk I was willing to take but it was just to visit family/friends. Trust me as a student you will not be missed on a weekend or even during the work day. A 12 hour drive each way seems like it would be pushing it for a weekend visit. You'll be on the road as much as you are there.
 
I am currently on ADT at my school. I would like to visit family this weekend (12 hr. drive) but I remember something about a 50 mile radius. I don't remember seeing that on my orders. Can I make the drive?

A quick answer would be great. I'm grounded until I figure out what is going on.

Are you on School Orders? Meaning you're at your home institution but getting AD pay?

If so, then go ahead and visit your family. Your duty station (your school) likely will not be activated for any sort of exercise while you're gone, so the likelihood that you will be needed is very low. Also, if you're on "duty" at your school, then your duty station leave policy would apply, no? So, if your school would let you visit your folks, then you should be ok.

If this were to come up, then you could claim ignorance of any misdoing, and that you were well within the travel guidelines of your home institution (aka duty station on your orders).
 
Way back in 2003, while in ADT I probably drove outside the radius on numerous occasions, nearly a 350 mile trip. I did on my time off. Nobody cared!!!

However, there is that whole technicality that you are on active duty??? If something happens, then you take the risk.

Honestly, I agree with those above. You can always claim ignorance, they really don't brief you on this whenever you come onto an rotation. I did one rotation at Fort Gordon. I took my COMLEX at Lewisburg, WV. Told them up front, so my attending/residents made sure I had that day off, but never had any orders, DA-31 etc.

Who knows???

If you take the risk, well then you take the risk.
 
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