R&R (military)

R&R, military slang for rest and recuperation (or rest and relaxation or rest and recreation or "rock and roll"), is a term used for the free time of a soldier or international UN staff serving in unaccompanied (no family) duty stations. The term is used by a number of militaries such as the United States Armed Forces and British Armed Forces. The US Morale, Welfare and Recreation network provides leisure services for US military personnel. In the UK, the term applies to a type of leave granted to personnel during an overseas deployment which allows them to return home to the UK to visit their family.

Service members and US Defense Department civilians on 12-month tours in Iraq and Jordan supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom have a rest and recuperation leave program that allows them to take up to 15 days, excluding travel time, to visit family or friends in the United States or Europe.

Prostitution has long been part of what military men have participated in as part of their "R&R," and has been condoned by civilian populations in peacetime and wartime since early history, although some see it as a problem due to human trafficking concerns. Japan after the unconditional surrender to the United States at the end of the Second World War in 1945 and South Korea during the 1950s saw the effective institution of "camp towns" around the US bases, where brothels were allowed to operate unfettered. In 2006, the Department of Defense made it a crime for a servicemember to hire a prostitute anywhere in the world; the penalties can include up to a year in prison, forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorable discharge. This change was criticized by some in Europe, where prostitution is legal and regulated in some countries.

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