Posted on Jun 20, 2022
CPL(P) Unit Supply Specialist
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Long story short, I’m prior service Marine Corps (4 years active and 2.5 reserve). I joined active army as a E5, had an incident out of my control drop me back to E4. I’m E4 promotable, just waiting on my points. I’ve been active army for four years this Oct. Now, they’re telling me that I might hit RCP in Oct. I had plans on being a lifer for my career and family. My career means everything to me, and to my family’s wellbeing. I am trying to see how RCP points are calculated because what I have read online is that they’re only calculated by years in Army components. Would that mean my time in the marine corps/marine reserve wouldn’t count? Did my time in grade reset when I joined army? If so, do you know which regulation that falls under? What can I do to earn as many points as I can before then? I am also set to TDY soon and I feel completely stuck.
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SFC Retention Operations Nco
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I'm curious where you read online that your active time only counts for the Army. You have to stop reading reddit....

Who is "they" telling you that you might hit RCP soon? If "they" can't definitively tell you, then they probably aren't qualified to tell you.

Every day on active duty is one day toward your RCP. Whether it's while you drilled as a marine reservist or while on active duty. If you ever deployed in the reserves, went to school in the reserves, and those two weeks of training a year, are all active duty days. They count towards your RCP.

Your time in grade reset when your grade changed. Since you joined the Army as an E5, and are now an E4, your time in grade as an E5 no longer applies. Your time in grade is the amount of time since you became an E4. FYI, you will not be eligible for a waiver to promote since you were reduced, you'll need to meet the entire time in grade requirement to pin.
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MSgt Electrical Power Production
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2 y
Thanks SFC (Join to see)! I wasn’t sure about reserve time while drilling. I was under the belief only title 10 orders applied to RCP.
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CPL(P) Unit Supply Specialist
CPL(P) (Join to see)
2 y
Thank you for this information. So the SMCR that I was with is equal to the TPU the Army has, from what I was reading, that should not be included in RCP. Has that recently changed?
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SFC Retention Operations Nco
SFC (Join to see)
2 y
CPL(P) (Join to see) any days you spent on active duty, whether in the reserves or on active duty, count for one day of Active duty towards your RCP. RCP is strictly for active duty. Time towards retirement is a federal calculation, not an Army or Marine calculation.
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MSgt Electrical Power Production
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SFC Michael Hasbun
SFC Michael Hasbun
2 y
He asked about RCP. Retention Control Points. That's something else entirely.
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MSgt Electrical Power Production
MSgt (Join to see)
2 y
SFC Michael Hasbun - That’s what high tenure is! The retention control point of when you are forced to separate.
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SSG Security Officer
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That article is from 2019. Those RCP times have changed a bit since then.
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SSG Security Officer
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Edited 2 y ago
I did 8 years in the USMC as well. Crossed over into the Army in 2006 as an E5. Since the the USMC is very stingy on giving out awards, sending marines to classes, and college being very difficult to attend... I was hurting for points.

So in 2012 I got deployed to Afghanistan. While I was there I completed 6 college classes. Some nights I got no sleep due to essays I had to write. For that deployment I got an ARCOM and a drivers badge. Boosted my rifle range score and got my PT score way up when we returned to Fort Stewart. Got promoted in late 2013 the when the points FINALLY lowered after 5 years of it being stuck at 798.

So in short, if it's not too late get some college classes done, work on that PT test etc etc.

Not sure if this helped but feel free to ask me anything. Not only did I beat RCP, I also survived the sequestration.
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CPL(P) Unit Supply Specialist
CPL(P) (Join to see)
>1 y
I have enough points for promotion. My S1 updated everything needed. It was not done in time to make the list for September. HRC says I have to promote in order to be able to re-enlist. Even with the new RCP dates, my ets date has not changed. We tried for an extension, but HRC denied saying a promotion would be my only way. I am working closely with my command team and we are trying to do anything possible. My ETS date is 2022OCT04. My 1Sgt is currently looking into seeing if I would qualify for a battlefield promotion or lateral transfer, but this isn’t a combat deployment. We are trying anything possible right now.
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