Posted on Jun 6, 2019
I'm being PCSed to Korea shortly before my ETS. How can I ensure that I return to this duty station after the unaccompanied tour?
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In February I was notified that due to my rank/TIS etc. that I would be put on orders for Korea and have approximately 5 months left after the tour until I ETS (my ETS is January 2021). In May I received the official notification from HRC that I would be reporting to Korea in September. I was initially promised that I would be able to return to my current duty station after my 1 year unaccompanied tour in Korea. When I received the notification in May, my assignment was to a different duty station (CONUS) than the one that I am currently stationed at now. Also, I just had shoulder surgery and am currently in the process of recovering and will be on a temporary profile/unable to take and APFT any time soon. My questions are as follows:
1. Is there a way I can request a compassionate reassignment/deletion of orders based on the fact that my wife (who is bi-polar and enrolled in the EFMP)?
2. If I were to sign a dec. statement now, I am aware that I can still be sent to Korea and kept there until my ETS date (which I do not want), but would there be a way to sign a dec. statement once I am in korea and get back to my current duty station to finish my time out?
3. Is there any way that my medical situation would prevent me from an overseas PCS move due to being on a temporary profile/still in the process of recovering?
4. If the worst case scenario happens (I end up going to Korea and having to PCS), what is the least amount of time that I would have to extend for so that I can get out as soon as possible.
Note: My primary concern is not so much getting out of the Korea assignment, but not being able to return to my current duty station once the tour is complete. The job market and cost of living are very good in the area that I am currently located in and I was planning on completing the tour and being able to ETS from here. Thank you all for your help and input!
1. Is there a way I can request a compassionate reassignment/deletion of orders based on the fact that my wife (who is bi-polar and enrolled in the EFMP)?
2. If I were to sign a dec. statement now, I am aware that I can still be sent to Korea and kept there until my ETS date (which I do not want), but would there be a way to sign a dec. statement once I am in korea and get back to my current duty station to finish my time out?
3. Is there any way that my medical situation would prevent me from an overseas PCS move due to being on a temporary profile/still in the process of recovering?
4. If the worst case scenario happens (I end up going to Korea and having to PCS), what is the least amount of time that I would have to extend for so that I can get out as soon as possible.
Note: My primary concern is not so much getting out of the Korea assignment, but not being able to return to my current duty station once the tour is complete. The job market and cost of living are very good in the area that I am currently located in and I was planning on completing the tour and being able to ETS from here. Thank you all for your help and input!
Korea
PCS
ETS/EAS
Profiles
Medical
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 10
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1. Is there a way I can request a compassionate reassignment/deletion of orders based on the fact that my wife (who is bi-polar and enrolled in the EFMP)?
A. You can always try. Make sure you have some docmentation from your wife's doctor, it might help.
2. If I were to sign a dec. statement now, I am aware that I can still be sent to Korea and kept there until my ETS date (which I do not want), but would there be a way to sign a dec. statement once I am in korea and get back to my current duty station to finish my time out?
A. You are correct, you sign a dec but Big Army could just put you on the same orders.
3. Is there any way that my medical situation would prevent me from an overseas PCS move due to being on a temporary profile/still in the process of recovering?
A. Same as the EFMP answer. Get documentation from your ortho doc. The only way this would probably work is if you are unable to be treated for your injury in the ROK.
4. If the worst case scenario happens (I end up going to Korea and having to PCS), what is the least amount of time that I would have to extend for so that I can get out as soon as possible.
A. I'm pretty sure it is 9 months remaining before ETS to PCS. Check with your Reenlistment NCO on that one.
A. You can always try. Make sure you have some docmentation from your wife's doctor, it might help.
2. If I were to sign a dec. statement now, I am aware that I can still be sent to Korea and kept there until my ETS date (which I do not want), but would there be a way to sign a dec. statement once I am in korea and get back to my current duty station to finish my time out?
A. You are correct, you sign a dec but Big Army could just put you on the same orders.
3. Is there any way that my medical situation would prevent me from an overseas PCS move due to being on a temporary profile/still in the process of recovering?
A. Same as the EFMP answer. Get documentation from your ortho doc. The only way this would probably work is if you are unable to be treated for your injury in the ROK.
4. If the worst case scenario happens (I end up going to Korea and having to PCS), what is the least amount of time that I would have to extend for so that I can get out as soon as possible.
A. I'm pretty sure it is 9 months remaining before ETS to PCS. Check with your Reenlistment NCO on that one.
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
Hospitals are fantastic in Korea. Do not think about the old days of MASH TV show.
I did have shoulder surgery in 2003ish. I also came back to Korea and retired 90 days later out of FT Meade. It can be done. I did 7 years in Korea on multiple tours. Most tours are accompanied, so you could take your family there. On one of my tours I needed an MRI and 121 Hosp sent me to a Korean Hosp. Koreas live and breath tech...and the internet is 5 times faster then in the US when I was there. Wife was pissed when we got to the states and it was so slow.
I did have shoulder surgery in 2003ish. I also came back to Korea and retired 90 days later out of FT Meade. It can be done. I did 7 years in Korea on multiple tours. Most tours are accompanied, so you could take your family there. On one of my tours I needed an MRI and 121 Hosp sent me to a Korean Hosp. Koreas live and breath tech...and the internet is 5 times faster then in the US when I was there. Wife was pissed when we got to the states and it was so slow.
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SGM Steve Wettstein
SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint - Yes I am quit aware of the Korean Tech. My wife of 29 years is Korean and when she does her yearly trip to the RoK she usually gets dental or some small medical procedure.
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Remember, most tours are ACCOMPANIED tours in Korea. My wife was very impressed with the on post town square. It is a completely new post at Camp Humphreys. Amazing. I just got back on 13 May 2019.
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SSgt Rebekah Bradfield
Accompanied usually comes with a longer tour. Air Force is usually 1 year unaccompanied or 2 years accompanied. Bringing dependents is not guaranteed.
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SSG (Join to see)
Yes it's my first time going there- CMD sponsorship is very difficult to get in the Army....plus I am ETSing soon after the year is over.
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SSG (Join to see)
SSgt Rebekah Bradfield The Army is the same way- I want the shortest amount of time if I end up having to go there
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
SSG (Join to see) - Command sponsored is now the normal tour as of when I left 3 weeks ago. BUT, Cmd Sponsor is 2-3 years. Maybe if you extend, you can take your family and that would be an experience they will always remember. Again, Korea has changed from the 1980s. Back then Cmd Sponsorship was VERY unusual.
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Not sure how it works in the Army, but I was at a command where we had a sailor coming in with similar issues to yours. They wanted to give us a heads up, not wanting to get out of anything, but letting us know they had exceptional circumstances. Our XO talked to them, and was able to go back to the detailers and get them reassigned to something better for them, and frankly, for us a deployed unit. You might try talking to some of the senior NCO's where you are slated to go, and see if they can help. Best of luck.
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I don't have any answers for your questions, but I can empathize with you on the shoulder recovery. I had mine on 20 December and recovery can be a bitch. I'm happy I didn't have to go to Korea while finishing up recovery.
Oh, I don't know where you are in the recovery process, but I went to Korea for my first time while still recovering from stress fractures in both legs....a year later I returned to the states while still recovering from a broken hand.
Oh, I don't know where you are in the recovery process, but I went to Korea for my first time while still recovering from stress fractures in both legs....a year later I returned to the states while still recovering from a broken hand.
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SSG (Join to see)
I had the surgery about 2 weeks ago...still doing physical therapy and cant do much of anything other than the basic stretching/resistance exercises that the physical therapist is having me do.
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SSG Laurie Mullen
SSG (Join to see) - Did you have your rotator cuff repaired? My arm was immobilized for about two weeks and then I did start physical therapy, but I was still in a sling for a couple of weeks during it. I was out of work for about ten weeks and on light duty for two and a half months. I just got off it on the 3rd and have a follow up with doc next week.
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SSG (Join to see)
not the rotator cuff- but the ligament that connects the AC Joint (part of the shoulder) to the collar bone, was torn. They actually cut part of the ligament off and well as removed bone spurs from the AC joint. I was also in a sling for the first week and a half and still doing physical therapy.
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What about calling branch and getting your orders amended? Just an idea. Would alleviate any of the other hoop jumping you may have to endureotherwise.
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SSG (Join to see)
SGT, thank you- I have considered that, since I just had my surgery I am giving it until the end of this week to see if anything changes in the system.
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1. My guess is this is your first tour to Korea?
2. I just got back from a quick trip to Korea 3 weeks ago. WOW, it keeps improving. Camp Hump is a heck of a installation. It is also the largest Army post in Asia. I have done 7 years and wrote a book about Korea that you will find on Amazon. It can be your best tour.
2. I just got back from a quick trip to Korea 3 weeks ago. WOW, it keeps improving. Camp Hump is a heck of a installation. It is also the largest Army post in Asia. I have done 7 years and wrote a book about Korea that you will find on Amazon. It can be your best tour.
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You are going to have to go to Korea, and then separate over there. Decline your follow-on assignment. They will have to pay to return you to where you are now upon separation. You could also request a hardship discharge now.
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SSG (Join to see) - Let me know if below gets a little confusing.
1. Yes, you can request compassionate re-assignment, especially if you find out that EMFP is not available in Korea; however, it may not be approved. Do this as soon as you can, but expect that it may be denied.
2. A declination statement would not be available to you until you reach Korea. Why? Because the Army has not said that you need to extend for Korea; however, on your way back, you will be given that option when you receive new orders. However, if they are giving you that option now, you may find that they station you somewhere else in CONUS, outside of your current location, or read #4 below.
3. Medically (temporary profile), no, you will have access to the medical unit in Korea. You would need a permanent profile AND orders from a physician preventing you from moving because of rehab.
4. This will depend on what orders you get coming back. I received orders while I was in Germany to Fort Hood. I declined after they required a six-year reenlistment (I had about a year left for a 2-3 year tour in Fort Hood), and started a Chapter 16 separation (AR 635-200, 16-4). However, if you are more than 60-days outside of your ETS, you will be required to spend 1-year in the Army Reserves (at minimum).
*Please note:* During your ETS, you may be eligible for certain travel reimbursements. https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/travelpay/armypcs/endofmilitaryservice.html
1. Yes, you can request compassionate re-assignment, especially if you find out that EMFP is not available in Korea; however, it may not be approved. Do this as soon as you can, but expect that it may be denied.
2. A declination statement would not be available to you until you reach Korea. Why? Because the Army has not said that you need to extend for Korea; however, on your way back, you will be given that option when you receive new orders. However, if they are giving you that option now, you may find that they station you somewhere else in CONUS, outside of your current location, or read #4 below.
3. Medically (temporary profile), no, you will have access to the medical unit in Korea. You would need a permanent profile AND orders from a physician preventing you from moving because of rehab.
4. This will depend on what orders you get coming back. I received orders while I was in Germany to Fort Hood. I declined after they required a six-year reenlistment (I had about a year left for a 2-3 year tour in Fort Hood), and started a Chapter 16 separation (AR 635-200, 16-4). However, if you are more than 60-days outside of your ETS, you will be required to spend 1-year in the Army Reserves (at minimum).
*Please note:* During your ETS, you may be eligible for certain travel reimbursements. https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/travelpay/armypcs/endofmilitaryservice.html
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Reenlist for return duty assignment. Used to be that way circa 1971-1992. Leaving your spouse behind helps as it saves money rather then having to move you and family just you.
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So I'm confused how due to your Rank/TIS.
TIS is 20 years as a SSG and can retire not ETS. So are you retiring?
TIS is 20 years as a SSG and can retire not ETS. So are you retiring?
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SSG (Join to see)
Not retiring- ETSing...and for my TIS (8 years), and never having been over seas (minus deployments), I am at the top of the list for branch to send me
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SFC(P) (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) - Ah ok I read the beginning wrong lol.
Hopefully it works out for you and your family and your follow on orders you get back to original post.
Hopefully it works out for you and your family and your follow on orders you get back to original post.
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