I'm a 21J SPC(p) with 128GT towards the end of my 2nd enlistment that was looking forward to ETSing Jan 09 and going into the civilian sector through a journeyman lineman apprenticeship.
HOWEVER, A few weeks ago I was alerted I was being sent back to Bragg. I just attended a Levy brief the other day and my orders aren't cut yet because I have to reenlist or sign a declination of service statement. I wanted to sign the dec-statement, but guys in my unit getting out in Dec 08 are already starting to get stop-lossed. So, if I sign the dec-statement, then it's basically another deployment with two(+) more years of service with a bar to promotion and a bar to reenlist, or I can reenlist to go to Bragg to meet their life-cycle requirements.
The reason I wanted to get out is because I wanted to reclass, but was told that because of my In/out showed y/n, there's no way I could reclass. I just read in MILPER 07-293 that:
3. SOLDIERS MAY REQUEST RECLASSIFICATION INTO CMF 18 AND MOS 21D, 21P, 31D, 35L, 79R, 89D, REGARDLESS OF THE IN/OUT CALLS FOR CURRENT PMOS. THESE MOS ARE APPLICATION ONLY. ADDITIONALLY, ONLY SOLDIERS THAT HOLD THE SQI OF 4 MAY REQUEST RECLASSIFICATION INTO MOS 79R.
Is there any chance in hell I can still reclass to 21P via the BEAR program instead of following through with my proposed orders and reenlisting for my same MOS? I'm not trying to get out of another deployment, or even Bragg, I just really need to escape this MOS because of this new BCT structure.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: malfracky,
Originally posted by malfracky: HOWEVER, A few weeks ago I was alerted I was being sent back to Bragg.
Is there any chance in hell I can still reclass to 21P via the BEAR program instead of following through with my proposed orders and reenlisting for my same MOS?
To answer your question ...
AR 601-280, Army Retention Program, Chapter 6 (BEAR Program), para 6-5:
e. Soldiers, other than initial term Soldiers, must not have been alerted for reassignment at the time application is received at HRC.
Since you're on assignment instructions (even though you don't have orders), you cannot apply for the BEAR Program.
I'm a little disappointed, but thanks for the clarification before I started to get my hopes up.
How long, after arriving at my next unit, would I have to wait to submit a reclass request, or would I have to wait for my next two-year window and then reenlist for it?
You can actually submit a reclassification packet as soon as you get to your next CONUS station (if you're not in a life-cycled unit), if you can get a school date for a year out. You must be on your current station for 12-months.
Since you are not an initial term Soldier, you won't be offered Option 3, Army Training Reenlistment Option, but if you'd like to reclass to 21P, you can do it outside your 24-month reenlistment window.
So, you're saying that I won't be able to reenlist for reclass when my window opens up again in two years? (I will have 8.5 years total service by then) I thought I would still be eligible.
What I am saying is you cannot reenlist to change your MOS until after you've been released from the life-cycled unit. You can probably reenlist after two years in the unit, but cannot leave until after the third year.
I'm certian that AR is correct, however call this number and check with Mrs. Nelia Kondratiuk (703)806-3904. She is an absolute miracle worker and if anyone can help you it will be her. We have gotten people out of some seemingly impossible positions before.
I give regulatory guidance and policy and even the occasional exceptions to both ... there are always exceptions to exceptions and people that know you or you may know people.
Nothing I put out is set in stone, but it's the best guidance I can give.
If you want to be a 21P, follow 21P SSG's advice and contact the POC ... the worst she can say is "no, not right now".
Will all units be earmarked for lifecycle manning? The types of organizations earmarked for lifecycle manning are Brigade Combat Teams or Units of Action (BCT/UA) and other Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTO&E) units where combat readiness and cohesion are paramount.
What is the normal timeline of a lifecycle unit? There are three phases in a lifecycle: Reset, Train, and Ready. During the Train phase, lifecycle units conduct at least 4 months of focused training from individual through collective, culminating with a certification exercise (CERTEX) at a Combat Training Center (CTC) or a Major Readiness Exercise (MRE) in a local training area. The Ready phase marks an approximately 30 month period in which a unit is available for employment. During this phase, a unit can be scheduled for Deployment Ready Brigade (DRB) type missions and incorporated into the division’s personnel, tasking, and training management system (PTTMS), which outlines red, amber, and green cycles. The Reset phase is the conclusion of the current lifecycle and the initiation of the subsequent iteration and will last between roughly 2 months. Based upon Soldier promotions and professional development needs, about 25% to 33% of a lifecycle unit could “roll-over” within the unit for an additional 3-year tour. During the Reset phase, incoming and outgoing personnel simultaneously conduct transition activities (HHG, CIF, In/Out process, property and equipment transfer, etc).
Originally posted by 21P SSG: I'm certian that AR is correct, however call this number and check with Mrs. Nelia Kondratiuk (703)806-3904. She is an absolute miracle worker and if anyone can help you it will be her. We have gotten people out of some seemingly impossible positions before.
I don't want to sound too negative, but I re-upped earlier this week and I'm afraid to even think about re-classing until my two-year window opens back up again.
I felt like I was pressured and rushed to reenlist this time around - it was literally "you have the weekend to think about re-enlisting, or sign the DCSS and expect a stop-loss."
I'm real mad that I've been getting the run-around on re-classing/re-enlisting for the past year, even while I was in Iraq, and then I end up coming on orders with 370 some days left until my ETS but didn't find out until I got back from my redeployment leave and had eleven months left until I was supposed to get out.
I'm mostly okay about it now, but sometimes it feels good to vent.
Originally posted by junior13B: Not familiar with the terminology. What is a life-cycled unit? Can you give me some examples?
My unit began from scratch. All our guys in the unit in-processed, did a bunch of training exercises including JRTC, and deployed to Iraq within a year of standing up. The next 15 months we were in Iraq. We came back and started out-processing while in-processing new guys so the unit can deploy again in a year.
I was under the impression that we were supposed to have a year of refit and another year of training, but I think our next deployment was bumped up sooner due to a very high retention rate in our brigade, which means we really don't have a lot of new guys to train. I don't think all the BCTs are like this, but it can happen just the same.
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