How does the service commitment work?

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uefhwuhf3[3[[

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Hey everyone so I know that after your 5 years of service you can either leave and do 3 years(I think) in the reserves, or sign for 20. What happens if you want to do like only 10 years? Or if you want to leave for a different reason, like family reasons or an opportunity to get a civilian job? Is there a punishment for leaving before your 20 years?
 
Sean17 said:
Hey everyone so I know that after your 5 years of service you can either leave and do 3 years(I think) in the reserves, or sign for 20. What happens if you want to do like only 10 years? Or if you want to leave for a different reason, like family reasons or an opportunity to get a civilian job? Is there a punishment for leaving before your 20 years?
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No punishment for getting out before 20. However, each extended training course or change in duty location usually incurs additional years of commitment, usually around 2-3 depending on costs involved. So, say you served 3 years, went to an extended training course and moved to a different location. The military requires a 3 year payback for the costs involved. Your commitment is now 6 instead of 5 years. You can get out any time after your initial obligation as long as you have fulfilled your payback. You can turn down events that would lengthen your initial commitment, but you also open yourself up to an extended deployment in doing so.
 
The three years in the Reserves after the initial active duty tour is generally duty in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). That equates to showing up for an annual muster- usually one day at most.
 
As @HawkeyeMom said, there are some lengthier commitments for a select few career fields, but these are usually only for the medical, legal, and aviation paths. If you don’t enter one of these careers, then you will more than likely only be held to the five year active duty service commitment (ADSC) that you incur when graduating from an academy. True, any PCS or training you complete usually requires some kind of commitment, but these commitments are usually only 1-2 years and and run concurrent with your initial ADSC. For example let’s just say you have been on active duty for two years and are then offered a PCS that requires one year retainability. You would be able to accept that assignment and still not go past your original commitment because you still have 3 years left to serve on active duty. However if you were at say 4.5 years of service and accepted that assignment, then you would essentially be agreeing to serve an extra 6 months on active duty since one year retainability would take you to 5.5 years. Make sense? And as @DAB42 said, you are allowed to serve the reserve commitment in the IRR, which basically means you are a civilian not subject to UCMJ, and only subject to recall upon a national emergency.
 
For the AF, Palace Chase can get you out of some of the ADSC's, as long as you are willing to go RC.

Also note that once that initial IRR commitment only applies to the initial 8 years of federal service. Once that threshold is crossed (enlisted or commissioned), it doesn't come back when you reenlist or incur a new ADSC.

Thanks to BRS, at least some of your pension is portable. Make sure you maximize your TSP contributions during those first 5 years. The annual ROR is killer.

@Tex232 is also speaking AF.

As for mustering, it depends on the branch. The AF only requires physical attendance if you're within 150 miles of a muster location.
 
Also, Officers don't "sign" for 20. Once your service commitment (AKA Obligated Service) is done, you can request to leave Active Duty when you want to. If that is 10 years then at 10 years.
 
If you attend flight school straight out of the academy, what is the minimum ADSC? What would be the ADSC if you attend graduate school?
 
LurkingQuietly said:
If you attend flight school straight out of the academy, what is the minimum ADSC? What would be the ADSC if you attend graduate school?
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Have to say it - “that depends” -on Service policy, which can change with current state of retention, as a force shaping tool.

Speaking generally, if an AD officer is at grad school full time as a PCS assignment, it might be a two for one deal - 2 years grad school might require 4 years active duty “payback.” Or, if Tuition Assistance is being used for distance learning or after-hours degree classes, it may be a different formula. Much depends on whether the additional time is required to run consecutively or concurrently with other ADSO periods.

To earn their full Post 9/11 VA educational benefit, SA grads have to serve another 36 months after their initial ADSO. They can then separate and take advantage of that generous benefit.

This question gets asked regularly. A quick search produced:

Aviation Committment???

Couldn't find it in quick search... 5 years (academy) + 2 (flight school) = 7 owed, after receiving wings. Is this correct? Heard it might be 5 + 4 = 9 (again after wings). Is it the same for Marine Corps aviation? If there's a wait to get into flight school does that time count...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

@Hurricane12 is an AD aviator out of USNA, and while not a primary source, is a trustworthy poster. Hope she or another knowledgeable poster check in with the latest pilot/NFO commitment period. It doesn’t start until after winging.
 
No mystery in USAF.

It's all specified in AFI 36-2107

Skip down to Attachment 2 (p. 20 in the PDF) for every common ADSC in use by the Air Force. Other branches vary.

For rated positions, it's 10 years for pilot; 6 years for CSO, ABM, and RPA pilots. Note this ADSC begins up completion of training.

For Federally-sponsored master's programs, it's 3x the length of education period up to a maximum of 4.5 years. For officers just using tuition assistance, it's 2 years (regardless of length of TA).
 
Capt MJ said:
To earn their full Post 9/11 VA educational benefit, SA grads have to serve another 36 months after their initial ADSO. They can then separate and take advantage of that generous benefit.
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The same is true for the ROTC commissioned officers. The original commitment is really to "pay back" their college education. That's one reason why DS signed up for another three. He wants those benefits, probably not for himself but for future children, if any. If his plans work the way he wants then the military will end up covering his Masters, which is why I anticipate another 3 years after his current hitch.
 
Capt MJ said:
Have to say it - “that depends” -on Service policy, which can change with current state of retention, as a force shaping tool.

Speaking generally, if an AD officer is at grad school full time as a PCS assignment, it might be a two for one deal - 2 years grad school might require 4 years active duty “payback.” Or, if Tuition Assistance is being used for distance learning or after-hours degree classes, it may be a different formula. Much depends on whether the additional time is required to run consecutively or concurrently with other ADSO periods.

To earn their full Post 9/11 VA educational benefit, SA grads have to serve another 36 months after their initial ADSO. They can then separate and take advantage of that generous benefit.

This question gets asked regularly. A quick search produced:

Aviation Committment???

Couldn't find it in quick search... 5 years (academy) + 2 (flight school) = 7 owed, after receiving wings. Is this correct? Heard it might be 5 + 4 = 9 (again after wings). Is it the same for Marine Corps aviation? If there's a wait to get into flight school does that time count...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

@Hurricane12 is an AD aviator out of USNA, and while not a primary source, is a trustworthy poster. Hope she or another knowledgeable poster check in with the latest pilot/NFO commitment period. It doesn’t start until after winging.
Click to expand...
Current aviation commitment is winging plus 8. Winging takes about 2 years on average, so you're basically looking at least at a 10 year commitment if you go aviation.
 
kinnem said:
DS keeps taking it a few years at a time. He's completed his obligation and re-upped for another three.
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Ditto for my AROTC DS. He tacked on an extra year to his basic obligation originally in order to increase his chances or guarantee (can't remember which) of his chosen branch.
 
gonavy14 said:
Current aviation commitment is winging plus 8. Winging takes about 2 years on average, so you're basically looking at least at a 10 year commitment if you go aviation.
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Note that each service sets different requirements for this. AF is Winging plus 10, currently.

Commitments generally run concurrently, so whichever has the furthest out date is the binding one. As an officer, if you do not have a commitment, you may start the process to separate at any time (or retire, if over 20yrs of service). Now, it's not as simple as dropping your 2-weeks notice elsewhere, but you can begin the process anytime you don't have a commitment.
 
DS is currently 0-2 with 3 years TIS next month. Had 4 year ROTC scholarship so he owes the Army 4 years. Expects to drop his REFRAD sometime this summer with the hope/expectation of getting terminal leave for his last 90 days. Is planning on stay 90 days past his 4 year marker to get 40% of his masters paid for. 90 days at $1800 BAS and BAH tax free plus 0-3 pay for 40% of his masters bill not too bad.
 
Army Officer Active Duty Service Obligations (ADSO) are covered in AR 350-100. You can google it and get a PDF. A few key points:
  1. USMA ADSO is 5 years and most, but not all, additional ADSO's run concurrently with those 5 years. (ROTC is same rules, but with 4 or 3 year ADSO)
  2. Time in graduate school does not count toward fulfilling the 5 year USMA ADSO
  3. Additional ADSO for graduate school is 3 times length of schooling (many caveats depending on type of schooling)
  4. ADSO for Captains Career Course (CCC) 1 year
  5. ADSO for PCS: 1 year CONUS to CONUS and Overseas to CONUS; Length of tour for CONUS to Overseas
 
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