New maternity rules take effect for female troops

With the Army's rollout of their new rules, women in the U.S. military are now able to access a new maternity leave policy granting 12 weeks of non-chargeable leave after the birth of a child, according to Military.com.

The service on Wednesday detailed the rules as part of a memo that took effect in early February. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter had ordered the services to implement the new policy no later than Feb. 5.

Female sailors and Marines who were pregnant or were part of a “birth event” by Thursday will be permitted 18 weeks of leave per a policy announced by the Navy last summer that has since been rolled back.

Airman and soldiers currently on maternity leave will be able to extend their leave to 12 weeks, the memo states. Those who are using chargeable leave in connection with their maternity leave can convert up to 84 days to non-chargeable leave, it says.

This story originally appeared in the Belleville News-Democrat.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 8:59 AM with the headline "New maternity rules take effect for female troops."