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Posted on Nov 1, 2019
If someone reenlists for 2 years 14 months before the end of their current commitment, does the military cancel that 14 months?
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I have a prospective employee to hire who states that his original commitment of military service was for 5 years but that she re-enlisted for an additional two years 14 months prior to the end of her current commitment. She states that the military cancel the remaining 14 months on her current contract causing her to only actually do 10 months additional service time. This does not make sense to me. I was in the military and cannot imagine the military cancelling 14 months because you reenlist early. It would sound more reasonable that the additional 2-year reenlistment would be added to your current enlistment.
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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That's exactly how it works. The nitty gritry of it is that you are discharged the day prior, ending your current contract. Then you begin a new one on the date of reenlistment. That's active duty. The Reserve side has different rules
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SFC (Join to see)
SSG Robert Ricci the two are the same thing. 14 months prior to ETS the Soldier is discharged and gets a new term of service. In this case, 24 months. The time from old ETS to the new ETS is 10 months. It's not written off, the old contract ends due to discharge and the Soldier is given a new one.
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SSG Robert Ricci
SFC (Join to see) that makes sense but it seems to cheat the military out of a reenlistment. Thank you for resolving my question. Damn. I could have been a Sergeant First Class. Damn reenlistment NCO told me I needed to re-enlist for another six years. LOL.
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SFC (Join to see)
SSG Robert Ricci in an all volunteer Army you have to balance the needs of the Army with the desires of the Soldier. It's hard to ask a 20 year old kid to commit to three years when they can barely commit to a two year phone plan.
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SSG Robert Ricci
Yeah that's damn right funny! That's another part of the story that gets me in that she states that as a military policemen she was required to do a 5-year hitch. When I was in it was a three-year hitch. To start off anyway. I ended up staying for 11. But she said it was a required five-year hitch so I called a recruiter and they verified that it was anywhere from two to five years with the average being three. I'm getting lost in this new military stuff that as you say is a volunteer army. It was a volunteer army when I was in but just coming out of Vietnam era. Yes, I'm old. You don't need to remind me. LOL. Actually, you didn't. I reminded myself.
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SSG Robert Ricci
None presented which was my first clue. But if you'll help me for a moment and leave the DD-214 aside, have you ever heard of the military canceling 14 months remaining on your hitch because you reenlist early? I've asked for a DD-214. I will then fill out an SF - 180 and fax it to St Louis. Right now I'm more interested in finding out if the military cancels remaining time on a contract due to an early reenlistment so I can just boot what appears to be an excellent candidate. It's when they lie about the little things. How do you end up doing five years in 10 months when you signed up for 5 years and then re-enlisted for two more?
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CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025
SSG Robert Ricci I do not know the dates: my kid brother re-upped in Germany so he could ship soonest to Nam in 1966. He occurred a ‘Short Discharge’. And was in Country 5 days before being a KIA.
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SSG Robert Ricci
CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 Words escape me. I am sorry for your loss. I was ending my tours of Duty just as Desert Shield was beginning. I got out in time that I didn't have to go. But I would have gone. You see, the way I look at it was that I had been in longer and I was better trained. I too was young but how does God pick and choose which one? That's a rhetorical question really. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.
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It sounds more like they did a Service Extension. Its not a cancellation but picks up from the point you sign your John Hancock. Retired at 20 years and only reenlisted once (where I ReUpped on my last day of previous tour). The rest of the time I simply extended my service each time till I reached my retirement date. You still have to be eligible for ReUp. No fuss.
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SSG Robert Ricci
Now that I'm familiar with. She stated that she had re-enlisted and when I questioned her she said that the Army cancelled her remaining 14 months. I sure appreciate the answer but I don't really see the point of an extension 2 years before you ETS. Although if I had done that I would have had time to get my next stripe. I've been out since 1989 so it doesn't matter for me anyway. Thank you.
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SFC Ralph E Kelley
SSG Robert Ricci - No problem. First time I extended, had I failed Ranger School, I would have still been held to the extension.
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It sounds way to early to be allowed to reenlist. Maybe I'm wrong but I would be questioning it too,
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SSG Robert Ricci
Thank you for your reply corporal. My question is this now. With all due respect to those that have replied previously, why am I getting such a variation on answers? Is it the fact that just like me nobody really knows? LOL.
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MAJ (Join to see)
SSG Robert Ricci - Near as I can tell, the difference in answers that you're getting is a matter of AD vs Reserves. Unfortunately, I don't know the current rules for either, so can't help you further.
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SSG Robert Ricci
MAJ (Join to see) Thank you for at least trying, ma'am. I'm reading it a little bit differently. But I was wrong once yesterday so it's possible I'm wrong again today. {wink}
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I sort of doubt that, You would have to finish the current contract before a new one with two additional years could even start. She will still owe two years once She had FINISHED the current enlistment. Word of mouth isn't a contract, its ALWAYS in writing and don't presume anything that isn't spelled out.
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SSG Robert Ricci
That's where I'm at with it sergeant major. It doesn't make sense that if you have a CONTRACT it could be canceled out by volunteering to do two more years. Great. Do two more years. But you still have to finish the first CONTRACT. That's not how my house payment works. I mean, is it a mortgage of promise to pay a certain amount each month to buy my house a contract? I'm not going to let this worry me this weekend. I'll wait to get a DD-214.
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Not the way it works. Sounds more like the SM did not understand their enlistment contract, nor their reenlistment contract, which is not unusual. Most SM's that go in at first really don't. Her time was not cancelled.
The way it works is this:
A recruit goes in, passes MEPS and signs an initial contract. That contract is for 8 years. No more, no less. Now in that 8 years it can be broken up into 2 year increments up to 6 years of some mix of active duty and reserve. When a SM nears the end of their AD portion they are given the opportunity to re-enlist. This amount varies in year length and simply adds extra active duty time.
As long as they still have any time that is reserve or that initial 8 they have not "lost" any time as when they get out they still have that obligation.
The way it works is this:
A recruit goes in, passes MEPS and signs an initial contract. That contract is for 8 years. No more, no less. Now in that 8 years it can be broken up into 2 year increments up to 6 years of some mix of active duty and reserve. When a SM nears the end of their AD portion they are given the opportunity to re-enlist. This amount varies in year length and simply adds extra active duty time.
As long as they still have any time that is reserve or that initial 8 they have not "lost" any time as when they get out they still have that obligation.
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SSG Robert Ricci
Thank you for an excellent reply. That's how I thought it went. I've been out a long time and thought that it may have changed but it sounds like it is exactly the way it was. The only difference is when I was in the commitment was for 6 years and a variation as you suggest. Now course I did longer but the average service member that comes in has a choice of anywhere from two years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years or even 6. I spoke with a recruiter who broke it down for me and told me it all depends on what the computer spits out at them. They then offer that to the perspective service member.
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Depends on if she's active or reserve (army). When I was active duty and I reenlisted, my new contract had an effective date way prior to when my first contract was slated to end. Thus it overrode my contract and added 3 years from the time I reenlisted not finished the current contract.
On the Army Reserve side, the new contract starts the day after your current ends.
On the Army Reserve side, the new contract starts the day after your current ends.
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SSG Robert Ricci
Wow. If I had only known. I could have taken another promotion. She was active duty what was ETSing to her State National Guard. But according to the numbers she gave me that was only after doing 5 years and 10 months active. It sounds like when you re-upped it wiped out their balance of your existing contract just like she says. I can't imagine military intelligence at its finest doing such a thing. I was always under the impression that if you had a five-year hitch and re-upped for an additional two you would do a total of 7 years active. Apparently I'm mistaken and shouldn't toss her application aside.
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SSG (Join to see)
SSG Robert Ricci sometimes policies change. Over the past 2 months when I was working with a retention NCO several aspects of some policies change. Maybe the number she gave you seems off because on the Dd-214 they don't count all of the time you were in IET before you actually got MOS qualified and went to your unit. But if she checks out otherwise, I'd give her a second look for the position
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What branch? A 2 year re-up sounds unusual to me. When I did my reenlistments, it was either 3 or 6 years.
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SSG Lyle O'Rorke
SSG Robert Ricci my first was after the invasion of Iraq so was the standard time frame. Second was during the big operations in Iraq. So the army change policies to get more people to sign up and stay in.
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