Eligible for conditional release?

[Kmike]

Not sure if this is the right place for my question, but Please let me know if you might know the answer. I was an SMP cadet a couple years ago and commissioned in the Army Reserves. I still have about 5 years obligation on my current contract. I am currently doing pharmacy school and my plan is to try to go active duty when I graduate in 2 years. So, my question is, will i be able to do conditional release in order to switch to active duty before I finish my remaining obligatory 5 years? If yes, am I only limited to stay in the army or I might have options to go in other military branches? My big worry is since I used ROTC scholarship during college, I would be required to serve my current contract before I could be eligible for conditional release.
I would like an expert opinion in this matter. Thanks!!

 

[USNA_STEM_Prof]

Not sure if this is the right place for my question, but Please let me know if you might know the answer. I was an SMP cadet a couple years ago and commissioned in the Army Reserves. I still have about 5 years obligation on my current contract. I am currently doing pharmacy school and my plan is to try to go active duty when I graduate in 2 years. So, my question is, will i be able to do conditional release in order to switch to active duty before I finish my remaining obligatory 5 years? If yes, am I only limited to stay in the army or I might have options to go in other military branches? My big worry is since I used ROTC scholarship during college, I would be required to serve my current contract before I could be eligible for conditional release.
I would like an expert opinion in this matter. Thanks!!

I have a lot of experience with this from the Navy side of things, so please know all that follows is purely from that perspective.

A conditional release is entirely dependent on two things: your command's endorsement and the community managers (the individuals that are responsible for the manpower management of the various enlisted communities).

The DD 368 supports inter and intra-service transfers. So going to a different branch or component, all of that is predicated on your competitiveness to join that branch / component. The question is will you be released? I can't answer that but if you're in an MOS that is undermanned / hard to fill or even if manned >= 100%, your specific year grouping is undermanned, the 368 might not be approved (needs of the army). However, in my experience good people are approved for release when the command genuinely endorses it. No offense but you're just one person and likely not going to make a meaningful dent in aggregate numbers for your MOS.

I'll add that I know many people (Navy) who released from the community they joined out of NROTC, so current contracts can be changed if approved. In the end -- submit that 368! Good luck.

 

[Anonymous121]

You will also check to see available slots for 67E on active duty. The last few years have shown very few available for both active duty and USAR.

 

[Herman_Snerd]

Recommend you confirm directly in your existing contract and with your chain of command what your options are, and then post what you find out so it may help others. Please also search this forum as your question has been asked and answered a number of times in the past 2 years. Simply, you are not pioneering into uncharted l
ands here by being a reserve unit member who wants to switch to active duty. Nor are you the first person who took a SMP/ ROTC scholarship but wants to perhaps substitute that obligation by one type of service for another, or even serve in another branch entirely.

I will say though for you and others that you really need to understand what you are signing up for before you sign for either early decision college applications or any ROTC/ SMP or enlisted/OCS/ ANY service contract. It appears here you signed up for a US Army SMP/ reserve contract, took the education courtesy of the US Army Reserves, and now are asking if you can "repay" the reserves by possibly serving in another branch altogether or active service. You don't present as being loyal to your unit or the reserves that you're in a relationship with - stating that in case you're blind to how this comes across to at-least me and perhaps others.