Base Pay Year Count

[pleber16]

For base pay charts, how are the years defined? If you look at the chart it's "2 years or less" and then shifts to "over 2", "over 3", etc. So, for example, when the 2016 year group promotes at the end of May, do we fall under the "2 years or less" or the "over 2" category?

 

[Capt MJ]

Over 2. You’ll start seeing your O-2 pay and longevity pay bump after you pass your comm date.
In 2020, it should be your O-3 pay raise and longevity bump.
After that, they start to stagger, since the 0-4 and higher rank promotions are the result of selection boards, and the actual promotion dates, hence pay raises, are usually staggered throughout the FY.
But every two years in June, you should see the longevity bump.
Most years, you’ll also see the pay tables get a little percent of cost of living raise.
Your BAH rate is also tied to your pay grade.
I have fond memories of my O-3 promotion, longevity bump and BAH raise all the same month.

The Services have the right to mess around with things if money is tight - so the above notes are generally true. Actual promotion dates can get delayed, etc.

And, in the Marine Corps, down the career road, sometimes you will see Marine classmates promote a year later than Navy classmates, because of high retention and much smaller service.

 

[UHBlackhawk]

Over 2. You’ll start seeing your O-2 pay and longevity pay bump after you pass your comm date.
In 2020, it should be your O-3 pay raise and longevity bump.
After that, they start to stagger, since the 0-4 and higher rank promotions are the result of selection boards, and the actual promotion dates, hence pay raises, are usually staggered throughout the FY.
But every two years in June, you should see the longevity bump.
Most years, you’ll also see the pay tables get a little percent of cost of living raise.
Your BAH rate is also tied to your pay grade.
I have fond memories of my O-3 promotion, longevity bump and BAH raise all the same month.

The Services have the right to mess around with things if money is tight - so the above notes are generally true. Actual promotion dates can get delayed, etc.

And, in the Marine Corps, down the career road, sometimes you will see Marine classmates promote a year later than Navy classmates, because of high retention and much smaller service.

When I was initially commissioned it was 18 months to 1LT/O-2. Due to budget constraints I couldn’t come on active duty until October, the next fiscal year.
To save money the Army decided to change this promotion to 24 months beginning that October. However, they decided to grandfather the LTs who came on active duty in October at a staggered rate depending on when you came on active duty. Well, the date you come on active duty is based not on the day you report, but the day you have to leave your house to report.
For this reason, people in my flight class had weird promotion dates to 1LT. Three of us went to the same unit. One had a HOR (home of record), in Washington State. Since he had to drive so far he was promoted at 18 months.
I came from NY, so I was promoted at 19 months.
Another classmate came from GA, so he was promoted at 20 months.

 

[Capt MJ]

Good points above - funding games and manpower management policies have varied the promo gates from O-1 to O-2, and often varying by Service at the same time.

 

[Jcleppe]

Just to add to the confusion.

My younger son commissioned May 2015, he did not go Active to start his trip from WA to Ft. Rucker until Dec. 21, 2015. While it would have normally been 18 months from the time he went active to promotion to 1LT which would have been June 21, 2017, he was promoted May 15, 2017 because that was 2 years from his date of commission. For the Army at that time it was 18 Mo. after going active or 24 Mo. after commissioning, whichever came first. His TIS is from his activation date.

 

[UHBlackhawk]

Just to add to the confusion.

My younger son commissioned May 2015, he did not go Active to start his trip from WA to Ft. Rucker until Dec. 21, 2015. While it would have normally been 18 months from the time he went active to promotion to 1LT which would have been June 21, 2017, he was promoted May 15, 2017 because that was 2 years from his date of commission. For the Army at that time it was 18 Mo. after going active or 24 Mo. after commissioning, whichever came first. His TIS is from his activation date.

Exactly the same. Even started at the same place- Ft Rucker: but probably... a few years prior to your DS.

 

[SpadGuy]

another way is to look at the BAH rates
https://media.defense.gov/2017/Dec/15/2001857082/-1/-1/1/2018BasicAllowanceHousingRates.PDF

For base pay charts, how are the years defined? If you look at the chart it's "2 years or less" and then shifts to "over 2", "over 3", etc. So, for example, when the 2016 year group promotes at the end of May, do we fall under the "2 years or less" or the "over 2" category?

 

[raimius]

I'm not sure if it is the date of commission or entry into active service, but one of those is probably the date they base it off of.
For academy grads, it is commissioning day that starts the clock. ROTC can do some weird things with official dates though.

 

[Capt MJ]

I'm not sure if it is the date of commission or entry into active service, but one of those is probably the date they base it off of.
For academy grads, it is commissioning day that starts the clock. ROTC can do some weird things with official dates though.

At OCS, the PEBD (Pay Entry Base Date), or the day AD started as an OC, is the starting point for longevity. The commissioning date is the counter for promotion.

The SA start date does not count for longevity pay raises but does count for Federal retirement after separation if the member goes into Federal civil service.

The onion gersoeeled many ways.

 

[afrotc16]

For AFROTC it’s halfway between your date of commissioning and EAD date unless you went on active duty in May or June and then it’s the academy’s graduation date. This is per AFI 36-2604 paragraph 2.1.8.