Officer salary

SF1775

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Dec 5, 2012
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I understand that officer salaries are based off of a rank and years experience scale. For Army officers who commission out of West Point, do the 4 years spent there count towards their experience or do they start at year 1? Sorry if this question seems ignorant.
 
The four years at West Point do not count for pay or towards retirement. If anyone attends USMAPS that year does count when they commission and toward retirement.
 
The four years at West Point do not count for pay or towards retirement. If anyone attends USMAPS that year does count when they commission and toward retirement.
Yes, I had heard that and wasn't sure if the same went for USMA.
 
Key point: "military."

For other Federal retirements, say, FBI, it can be factored in, along with other years of active service. There are some threads that discuss that more in detail.

There may be some murky exceptions - I have always wondered if a mid coming from enlisted service, with a few years under his/her belt (that counts), if they do a year or two at USNA but choose to go back to the Fleet, if in that case, that USNA time would count toward military retirement. But let's not wander down that path.
 
There may be some murky exceptions - I have always wondered if a mid coming from enlisted service, with a few years under his/her belt (that counts), if they do a year or two at USNA but choose to go back to the Fleet, if in that case, that USNA time would count toward military retirement. But let's not wander down that path.

Haha, wandering down that path. The period of time at USNA would not count, however the enlisted time before and after would count.

Where this gets "interesting" is, applicants who have prior enlisted time go to an academy, that academy time doesn't count. That enlisted time would. Technically cadets or midshipmen in some prep programs have enlisted, so that time counts (but not the time they're actually at an academy).

I knew a guy who was kicked out (well, left before he was disenrolled) of CGA after two years as a cadet. He "served" during Desert Storm, so he was able to claim veterans preference. Ha!

Why does enlisted time matter? Well, depending on how long you were enlisted, you could get "E-pay" on your O-pay, once you've commissioned through O-3. You're a captain in the Army, Marine Corps or Air Force, and a lieutenant in the Coast Guard or Navy BUT your paygrade is O-3e (E pay ends after O-3e). And that e-pay is a HUGE bump. I forget if you need 3 or 5 years enlisted time for that pay though....
 
Why does enlisted time matter? Well, depending on how long you were enlisted, you could get "E-pay" on your O-pay, once you've commissioned through O-3. You're a captain in the Army, Marine Corps or Air Force, and a lieutenant in the Coast Guard or Navy BUT your paygrade is O-3e (E pay ends after O-3e). And that e-pay is a HUGE bump. I forget if you need 3 or 5 years enlisted time for that pay though....

For the Army you need 4 years and 1 day for the E pay, if I remember correctly.
 
Time at the Academy doesn't count toward retirement... however... when I went to retire from the Army my Active Duty Service Date was counted as R day. The time at the Academy wasn't computed in my years of Federal service but the ADSD determined which of the military retirement plans would be used to calculate my retirement pay. That moved me from a % of the average of my final 3 years to 50% of my final paycheck. It was a healthy bump up. You are active duty from day 1 at the Academy. Know the rules. I have a classmate who just realized that he was getting a different retirement pay than the rest of us as the clerk at out processing didn't know the rules and put him in the wrong system. It has cost him thousands of dollars. As the politicians debate changing the retirement system again, it pays to know the rules and the law. (if this has changed- please correct me)
 
Good point. Certainly dig deeper than SAF. Things change and the ins and outs of some of these questions are a little more complex than we often realize. It's not typically explained while you're in, and it wasn't touched when I separated either.
 
Time at the Academy doesn't count toward retirement... however... when I went to retire from the Army my Active Duty Service Date was counted as R day. The time at the Academy wasn't computed in my years of Federal service but the ADSD determined which of the military retirement plans would be used to calculate my retirement pay. That moved me from a % of the average of my final 3 years to 50% of my final paycheck. It was a healthy bump up. You are active duty from day 1 at the Academy. Know the rules. I have a classmate who just realized that he was getting a different retirement pay than the rest of us as the clerk at out processing didn't know the rules and put him in the wrong system. It has cost him thousands of dollars. As the politicians debate changing the retirement system again, it pays to know the rules and the law. (if this has changed- please correct me)

That no longer applies. BASD is now your commissioning date.
 
Ok, I had my acronyms wrong... Yes, BASD is the date that begins your active federal service and for Academy Grads is the day you are commissioned. However, your retirement plan is based on your DIEMS date and it is still R day.

Per Army HR Command: The Date of Initial Entry into Military Service (DIEMS) is the date an individual was initially enlisted, inducted, or appointed in a regular or reserve component of a uniformed service as a commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member. Breaks in service do not affect a DIEMS date. Military Academy cadets (date of entry into the academy), ROTC cadets (date of scholarship contract or date the cadet began the advanced ROTC course, whichever is earlier) and members of the delayed entry program (Date enlistment contract signed, regardless of when the Soldier entered active duty.) are considered under these provisions. The DIEMS is the initial contract signed via the Soldier; obligating the Soldier to any type of military service, even if it was later voided and determines which of the retired pay formulas a Soldier is eligible to utilize upon retirement. The DIEMS date is utilized to determine the length of service and associated benefits. DOD 7000.14-R Financial Management Regulation, Volume B, chapter 1, paragraph 010102A states the Date of Initial Entry into Military Service (DIEMS) determines whether the retired pay base is the monthly basic pay of the member before retirement or an average of the highest 36 months of basic pay applicable during the member's career.
 
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