Much has changed since I took off the uniform, but I remain in touch through friends, family, and work associations.
Ordinary leave is generally granted if requested on a timely basis, does not impinge on the unit mission, and the soldier requesting it has sufficient days accrued. During the Cold War that meant that only so many of a unit were allowed to be on leave at any given time and that leaves were restricted during certain key training or deployment events. Some junior NCO’s tried to use leave as a reward, but if a soldier pushed it through the chain of command, that usually didn’t fly.
Things are a little different now. With the current training and deployment cycles, much of the ordinary leave program is tied to block leaves. The whole unit goes on leave together tied to their spot in the cycle. Exceptions are granted, but not often. These block leave dates are well known in advance and soldiers can plan vacations, visits to family, and personal business.
Emergency leave is the big exception, and while not required, a Red Cross message usually greases the skids. I cannot recall ever denying an emergency leave backed by a Red Cross message, even in combat.
I suspect that Lopez was requesting leave out of cycle, he may not have had leave accrued, and since he was newly assigned he may have had more of his share compared to others in the unit and probably had taken leave in conjunction with his PCS (Permanent Change of Station) from Ft. Bliss. Sounds like his platoon sergeant said no, and rather than going up the chain, he went postal. As a seasoned soldier, he would have known that the platoon sergeant did not have the final say.
This guy was trouble spelled with a capital T and he slipped through the cracks. An unfortunate characteristic of an Army in the middle of fighting a war. Certainly was true in my day.
I think your analysis is right on the money.
Add to it 11 years National Guard, 5 active duty, and still on an E-4, and you know something is missing.
Like you say, an emergency leave is not likely to be denied. I’m guessing that’s not it. It’s probably leave during a training cycle. It is possible that the leave in question in the article is the leave from a few months back when his mother died. He felt that leave had been mishandled.
Like greyfriar has said, the company commander is the final say on his leave, but the CO won’t go against his NCO chain without a substantial reason.
I keep coming back to the E-4 rank after all that time national guard and active duty. They could mean there’d been a demotion somewhere along the line or there was a straight-up failure to qualify for promotion.
I’m wondering about only a 4 month tour in Iraq mentioned as his combat record. He’s been active duty the last 5 years at Bliss and Hood. It seems like he’d have seen more time overseas than that....especially with 11 national guard years during 1999-2010.