Some Vacation and Travel Help

Military Leave Resources

February 18th, 2009

Military leave is like your vacation time, you accumulate 2.5 days a month (30 days a year). Liberty is time off from work, it can be as long as 4 days and does not count against your leave balance. In the military you get time off and it is more than most employed civilians get. Each branch of the armed forces wants you to utilize the time off to unwind and relax and they have set up organizations to assist you to do just that.

One problem is that our Service members (active, reserve and even retired) rarely know what all their resources are. Nothing worse than spending your time on leave not going anywhere because you didn’t think you could afford to take a vacation anywhere special.

The Moral Welfare and Recreation (MWR) departments on our military bases have Information, Ticket and Travel (ITT) offices to assist you in planning, purchasing or helping you get the equipment for the vacation of your dreams. Matter of fact, the wife and I are looking at cruise options as we speak, not to mention the tickets we got for another Walt Disney World trip we have scheduled for April – yup, staying at the Shades of Green again!

MWR has tons of discounted vacation plans for cruises, cabins, skiing, white water rafting and even RV parks. They also have discounted tickets to a variety of theme parks, shows, ballet and much more all around the world.

In addition to everything MWR can offer there are in fact other options out there.

Space available (Space A) travel. If there is an empty seat on a military aircraft or charter flight you can sign up to jump aboard. Can be a hassle, bring aspirin and maybe a blanket to sleep in the airport. Space A takes a lot of prior planning and some luck but it is a heck of a good way to get to places you may not otherwise be able to afford to travel.

Then there is also the other potential migraine causing leave period. We have all had them call. The salesperson on the other end of the phone trying to get you to visit some luxurious vacation spot for a weekend. The only obligation is having to spend 90 minutes listening to a presentation about why its a real good idea to part with your hard earned cash on what they refer to as a holiday heaven.

Yea, I guess timeshares can be a good thing for the right people, but I haven’t met them. There is a way, however, to use the luxurious facilities timeshares have to offer without signing a bazzillion year contract and mortgaging your future.

Armed Forces Vacation Club offers any military member, active or reserve, the opportunity to use timeshares in any location worldwide without having to actually purchase the timeshare. What AFV Club does is work with a company called RCI (Resorts, Condominiums International) to find the location you desire on a space available basis. What you need to be aware of is that the resort will work extremely hard to get you to hear a timeshare presentation. Most often the sales rep will make you feel that you are under some obligation to do this. Wrong! You don’t have to and I suggest you don’t. I fell for the 90 minute thing once, longest 90 years of my life. You’re there to vacation and spend time with your family, not to listen to some high pressure timeshare presentation. I’ll admit it is an incredible opportunity to live like a king and queen for a week, so heck, use it but ignore the hype!

If by some chance you have purchased a timeshare and are not happy with the whole thing or you’re seriously thinking of taking that plunge I suggest getting in touch with some professional help – OK, beyond the psycho help get help from people in the business of helping those with timeshare questions and problems. They may just save you some time and money.

Trust me, there is something to be said for just sitting at home vegetating for a few days but, what ever you do during your time off, make it is enjoyable and relaxing as you can – you deserve it.