I see every one is in the nitty gritty now, one other curve ball to throw...if the AD member uses TA for their Masters. TA is a great asset for the military member since they pay 75% of the tuition.
It is highly unlikely that they will start grad school before they have 1 yr under their belt, if it takes 18-24 months to push out their Masters, and they take TA, they will owe 3 yrs (concurrent with original), but that now places them at 6 yrs AD.
1 yr no TA + 2 yrs TA + 3 yrs owed equals 6.
As scout pointed out during this time they can PCS you, which is also concurrent with the TA, but the importance is to understand by taking TA you moved the commitment out voluntarily to 6 yrs. If they move you at 4 1/2 yrs to Germany for 3 yrs you are on the hook for the duration of that assignment, you can't bolt at 6.
That is incorrect. The ADSO is 2 years, per AR 350-100, Paragraph 2-8 Section D:
d.
Officers who accept tuition assistance (TA) under AR 621–5 incur an ADSO of 2 years on completion or termination of the education program.
This now becomes a bigger issue because it is hard to interview for jobs stateside from Germany, thus, you accept a stateside assignment, and now you are at 10 yrs. 10 you are married, have a baby, a mtg, 2 car payments, pre-school, and stationed at Ft. Bragg, also you are up for O4 and get it. You want to move back to Cali, do you not accept the promotion and take the chance of getting a job, or do you accept it?
Accept it, you accept another commitment.
Incorrect. There is no ADSO for accepting a promotion. Per 350-100...
2–5. Promotion
a.
A warrant officer who accepts a promotion to the grade of CW3, CW4, or CW5, incurs a 2-year ADSO. This ADSO begins on the date of promotion and must be served before voluntary retirement.
b.
A commissioned officer who accepts a promotion does not incur an ADSO. However, an officer in the grade of lieutenant colonel or colonel must serve in that grade for not less than 3 years from the date of promotion to voluntarily retire in that grade unless waived under some other provision of law. An officer promoted to the grade of lieutenant, captain, or major must serve in that grade for not less than 6 months from the date of promotion to voluntarily retire in that grade.
You accept it and they send you to CGSC, you owe more time. School is 1 yr, so you PCS and owe more time again. Now you are at 14 yrs. before you can bolt. You are also 1 yr BPZ for O5.
Possibly. CGSC is not a given, as captains are boarded for CGSC concurrent with their promotion board. An officer may not receive a CGSC slot, or may decline it if offered while still accepting the promotion.
14 yrs and retirement at 20, 50% pay for the rest of your life is right in front of you. Do you bolt, or do you 2-3 more tours, setting up the last tour to be your retirement tour (where you want to live after AD)? 50% of O5 pay is pretty sweet, along with healthcare and the other bennies you get as a retire compared to an O4 that separated, such as commissary, PX, space A, etc.
Theoretically true, but it's important to point out that the 50% is only of the base pay. For most, base pay is only about 60% of what they take home every month. The rest is BAH/BAS and incentive pays. So folks should realize that retirement pay is more like 1/3 of your usual paycheck at the end of your career. Also, it is not calculated on your base pay of your last rank. Rather, for all us young bucks who joined after 1980 (believe it or not, two guys I work with joined before 1980) we are on the "high 3" system which means they average your highest 36 months of base pay to compute your retiree final pay, then give you 50% of that.
As for the PX and commissary, they are technically retiree privileges. I find them both to be next to worthless and don't shop at them now. That is personal preference, though.
Scout,
Is there a pilot bonus for Army aviators? If so when is it offered? AF offers it at the 7 yr marker, and they must stay in until the 14 yr pt. There currently is a 2nd bonus offered at the 15 if they stay until 21-22 yrs.
Yes. Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP) begins when an aviator begins his time as a Non-rated Student Pilot, which is the first flight they take in flight school. As a young aviator it isn't much. For those with less than 2 years flying, it's $125 monthly, with meager increases until an aviator completes 6 years, at which point it jumps to $650 monthly. It tops out at $850 after the 14th year. It is not automatic, however, as the years are based on performing actual flying assignments. Simply being in aviation branch does not qualify one for continuing or increased ACIP.