| 100% | RESERVED | 8 | __ occupation, job that exempts from the military |
| 43% | SALVO | 5 | Discharge from the military |
| 42% | AWOL | 4 | Missing from the military: Abbr. |
| 42% | RIF | 3 | Discharge from the military, informally |
| 42% | FURLOUGH | 8 | Leave of absence from the military |
| 42% | AWOL | 4 | Missing from the military base (Abbr.) |
| 41% | EVERSINCE | 9 | From the time that |
| 41% | AWOL | 4 | Illegally away from the military base: Abbr. |
| 41% | DRUMOUT | 7 | "Musically" expel from the military: 2 wds. |
| 41% | DIASPORA | 8 | Those far from the motherland |
| 39% | GOATHERD | 8 | Job that might involve watching the kids? |
| 39% | LEAVESOFABSENCE | 15 | Periods away from the job |
| 38% | PAST | 4 | Blast from the ___ (something that evokes nostalgia) |
| 37% | ITAL | 4 | From the nation that gave us pizza and Parmesan: Abbr. |
| 37% | AWOL | 4 | Missing from the base, in the military: Abbr. |
| 37% | PSYOP | 5 | Mental warfare from the U.S. military, briefly |
| 37% | HEARTBEAT | 9 | Regular thump from the organ that pumps blood |
| 37% | ERA | 3 | Period from the past that's worth remembering |
| 37% | DOCENT | 6 | Job from the Latin for ''teach'' |
| 37% | PEON | 4 | Job from the Latin for ''walker'' |
| 37% | NAVY | 4 | Military branch that sails the seas |
| 37% | NORAD | 5 | Military org. that monitors the skies |
| 37% | RAINFALL | 8 | Water that comes from the sky |
| 37% | KRYPTON | 7 | The planet that Superman comes from |
| 37% | DEVIANT | 7 | Something that veers from the norm |
| 37% | LIGHTNING | 9 | Electricity that descends from the sky |
| 37% | ARM | 3 | Limb that extends from the shoulder |
| 37% | PHOENIX | 7 | Bird that rises from the ashes |
| 37% | SALT | 4 | Seasoning that comes from the sea |
| 37% | SCYTHE | 6 | Tool that evolved from the sickle |