Can I terminate a contract to go 38G/6D CA Reserves?

2020-09-13T02:56:59-04:00

Hey there,

I signed my contract to re-enlist into the NG. I signed for 8 years as a 42A and my recruiter assured me that I could submit a packet for OCS whenever I wanted to essentially. I learned about the Reserves looking for 38G/6D which is CA Public Education. I am wondering why my recruiter did not mention this to me. My civilian career since 2014 has been an educator. My Master’s degree is in Education and I’m currently seeking an EdD. I have inquired to others about the possibility of changing over to the Reserves and direct commissioning as I meet all the requirements. One person told me that the hiring authority can truly bypass anything because I’m no where near my ETS date.

I was wondering what the community thinks about this? Is it possible to terminate this contract in order to purpose my dreams of being a US Army Officer?

Thank you for time.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 13 at 2020 3:48 AM

2020-09-13T03:48:20-04:00

The strongest position you have is the position you have before you sign the dotted line. That is now gone.

Now you are committed to your enlisted contract, and yes, you can get out of it by way of commissioning for an upward path.

I'm betting you'll be a 42A until you either commission at whatever point that might be, or you're nearly done with your newly established 8 years. I highly doubt you'll just be able to cancel your obligation to pursue an officer packet, because as pointed out, you can still pursue that path while you are enlisted.

Just be thankful you are not Active Duty. You have all the time in the world to work your officer goal.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 13 at 2020 9:24 AM

2020-09-13T09:24:03-04:00

Your Guard recruiter probably didn't mention it because CA is an Army Reserve thing, and Guard recruiters don't know anything about it, and aren't in the business of putting people in the Army Reserves.
For the job you are talking about (really any officer job in CA), you must already be a commissioned officer to apply.
You can go to OCS in the Guard for literally any branch available, then apply for this program from the Guard. If accepted, they will transfer you to the Army Reserves.
If I were you, I would do a little more research to find out where the closest jobs are, and decide how far you are willing to commute to drill for this. It might be the closest one is 1,000 miles away.

For clarification, you cannot "terminate" a contract. You can renegotiate a contract, the Army can terminate it if it was erroneous, (SM was ineligible), or you could request a hardship discharge or conditional release to join another component.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2020 12:30 AM

2020-09-14T00:30:16-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member you can always try to transfer to the Army Reserve or go IRR then get picked up by a Army Reserve Retention NCO as many states tend to try to hold on to their Soldiers for dear life even if there is no upward mobility for them.
As far as direct commissioning, the last that I heard the Army Reserve got rid of that and you need to do OCS instead. The other thing is you need to do a "basic branch" prior to going Civil Affairs. Once you have done your basic officers training (BOLC) and been a LT for a few years then you can apply to go Civil Affairs (see below for major requirements):

- Be eligible for a Top Secret security clearance under provisions of AR 380-67
- Be a First Lieutenant or Captain in a targeted year group
- Possess a baccalaureate degree

https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/special-operations/civil-affairs/civil-affairs-req.html

Civil Affairs Requirements

Learn about the requirements to becoming a Civil Affairs Soldier.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2021 4:58 PM

2021-01-26T16:58:23-05:00

I recently moved from the Guard to the Reserves to pick up 38A with the intent of doing 38G as well. You can try to switch from Guard to Reserves under your enlistment contract or once you commission but a commission carries 4-6 years of mandatory service with it that the state can use to keep you. It might actually be about the time it takes to go to BOLC, get a bit of PL and other experience, and bring those skill sets to CA in addition to your civilian skills. How hard states will fight to keep you depends a lot on the state. They can essentially tell the Reserves, "this is how much time she owes," but I'm not completely sure how it works on the enlisted side as I was commissioned by the time I switched. If your state sends people to accelerated OCS or Federal OCS, I'd probably just go that route but if they only let people do the state program (2 weeks of phase 1 OCS, 12 months of drilling, phase 2 OCS, and 2 weeks of phase 3 OCS) I'd try to commission in the Reserves which sends people to federal OCS at Benning. In any case, you will need to commission to some basic branch before you can be a 38G. I'm not certain if you have to be qualified for it by the time you apply but it never hurts to pick up an additional skill set as I mentioned before.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2021 6:52 PM

2021-10-15T18:52:16-04:00

I too am going through this process as a 38G/6D. I am only at the application stage, and feel in the dark. How did this process fare for you?