<p>My family has been presented with a very unique opportunity in July 2010 to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau, in addition to touring Germany and Italy with our bishop for 2 weeks.</p>
<p>Is there any ANY way of knowing if I would have that time off? I’d pretty much dismissed it as impossible, but I’m pretty religious and this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. We’d have to book our tickets by next month.</p>
<p>So yes, I realize it’s highly unlikely, but I guess I’m looking to you guys for some closure. :)</p>
<p>there's definitely no way to tell until you get to the academy, cause i'd say you can easily send up paperwork, but that would be like a year or semester away from the event</p>
<p>Generally if it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it will get approved. However, that's up to your commander to decide. Luckily, since it is a religious event, I could see it getting approved strictly to avoid intolerance.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would see no problem with getting it approved, especially if it has been planned this far in advance. Just get the paperwork in like 1st semester of the 2010 academic year and give it plenty of time to get through and get approved, and time to fight it if it doesn't get approved.</p>
<p>Conversely, I could see it getting denied strictly to avoid the appearance of favoritism or approval of one religion over another. </p>
<p>I wonder what will happen when a Muslim cadet asks time off to attend the Hajj, and then tour Saudi Arabia and Yemen with their Imam for 2 weeks?</p>
<p>Since it won't be in your BCT year, as long as your grades are good (class rank is everything), and it fits within a three week leave window, you should be fine. They will not apply any religious test to your request.</p>
<p>The summer is divided into three, three week periods. You will have Leave during one of those periods. Just look at the first week of June and count it out.</p>
<p>Send up the paperwork for it sometime during Fall next year (wow that's a ways away). You are offered an opportunity to request leave a certain period if you want to. Once-in-a-life-time things usually have a better chance of getting approved.</p>
<p>Favoritism or not, there is little opposition when religion is involved. Yom Kippur for instance. Any Jewish cadets are immediately excused from all events during that day per request. Also, anyone who wishes to go on a 1-2 yr hiatus for religious reasons has the ability to do so with almost no questions asked. You joke about Muslim cadets asking to take time off but I see it as being entirely possible.</p>