If I have 7 months between my DEROS and my ETS, will the Army put me on orders back to the US?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 May 2021 09:36:17 -0400

I'm on nominative assignment(working outside my MOS for 3 years) in Germany, my DEROS is 10FEB22 and my ETS 09SEP22. I am an E5 with no dependents. Question:
a) Will the branch put me on CONUS orders for the remaining time after DEROS in case I don't reenlist?
b) IF my current unit decides to extend me till my ETS date(which is really hard to get an approval), will I be able to reenlist right before my ETS date?
I have reasons why I have to be here in Germany till September of 2022(not Army related issues)

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2021 9:42 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 May 2021 09:42:16 -0400

I once ETSd from Germany. But then, my DEROS and ETS were only a month apart. With yours being that many months apart, you may want to talk with the Retention NCO to see what your options are. My gut tells me you may have to extend.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made May 6 at 2021 10:29 AM

SSG Edward Tilton — Thu, 06 May 2021 10:29:24 -0400

Used to be 90 days. If you extended overseas to within 90 days of your ETS you were separated when you got back. I did it twice

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2021 10:36 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 May 2021 10:36:08 -0400

You will be placed on assignment no matter what. HRC doesn't care whether you reenlist, they don't know whether you intend to reenlist, and if you told them they would assume you're lying or will change your mind because that's what Soldiers do.

All military branches do the same thing - place you on assignment, then you must reenlist or decline to reenlist and get out.

You will be placed on assignment six months prior to DEROS. You're returning from Germany so the SRR is a year. You decline to reenlist and your DEROS will be adjusted to two days prior to your ETS. It's called an IFSTE Involuntary FSTE. You will ETS from Germany.

If you're a first termer then you will just sign a first termer statement and not have to sign a declination statement and you could still reenlist later. But you don't want to do that because by then you'll be so close to your DEROS there will be no locations available for you to reenlist for. You'll have to reenlist for needs of the Army and work an assignment with your branch.

Alternately you can just request to reenlist for stabilization. Depending on strengths it may get approved and it's easier than an FSTE. You can reenlist in June

Response by CPL Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2021 10:41 AM

CPL Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 May 2021 10:41:06 -0400

From what I understand about OCONUS(did almost two years in Alaska), if you have only a few months left they can extend you at your current duty station for the remainder of your contract. I don't know if seven months is a short enough time to do that. I do know they have now made it so you can reenlist up to the day before the end of your contract. But usually following oconus they try to send you back to the states for stabilization.