The Army Retention Program - What are your questions?

2016-07-30T17:05:16-04:00

As the Army continues to go through changes, the ever-evolving Army Retention Program can be hard to keep up with...let RallyPoint's Career Counselors answer your questions.

Response by Capt Tom Brown made Jul 30 at 2016 5:23 PM

2016-07-30T17:23:42-04:00

This looks like it might be an excellent service for folks at any point in their career. I imagine the info provided by a RP service would be as current and concurrent with Army pubs and docs on the program as info received at on base programs, counseling sessions, or seminars on the Retention Program.

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Jul 30 at 2016 5:43 PM

2016-07-30T17:43:56-04:00

Having a core of 79-series Folks provide answers could be a very valuable tool here! (79V is my Secondary)

Too bad I've been out of the loop for too long to provide current specifics... I'd be happy to help though!

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2016 1:37 AM

2016-07-31T01:37:11-04:00

It would definitely be nice to be up to speed on the latest and greatest when it comes to retention. I can remember asking years ago if we had a Career Counselor available and nobody in my Chain of Command knew if one even existed in the state. As a Commander I'm required to conduct retention interviews and questions about bonuses and incentives are often brought up. In most cases I'm relying on 2nd or 3rd hand information. My initial question would be this: Where do I go to get the information from the source, especially in an ARNG formation whose division headquarters is a state away? My recruiter is usually where I end up going, but he's not always available on IDT weekends.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2016 9:14 AM

2016-07-31T09:14:39-04:00

This is a great idea SGM SM's have questions all the time when it comes to Retention

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 4 at 2016 11:17 PM

2016-08-04T23:17:26-04:00

Always willing to assist where needed.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 7 at 2016 11:13 AM

2016-08-07T11:13:35-04:00

I have a question about retention and this post seems to be the perfect place to get my answers. Sorry if this post is long, but I have been having issues. I have been in my retention window for about 7 months now and I have been struggling to reenlist. Currently I am trying to reclass from my PMOS 35M which is over strength to 35T which is understrength. The issue I am having is primarily with my career counselor I think any way, here is the situation:

When I first came into my window I brought it to my career counselor's attention what I planned to reclassify to. The career counselor spent 45 minutes telling me that I should just stay in my MOS and promotion will get better because the "purge" as she referred to it was over. I explained I did not want to stay in my MOS and that I want for sure to reclassify without a doubt. She then suggested that I do a 2 year contract in my current MOS and voluntarily reclassify. I did not want to do this because I did not want to risk IN/OUT calls changing and me getting stuck in my current MOS. She finally accepted this and submitted something called a "hotline".

Two weeks later she told me that my hotline came back with the message "cannot support no training dates available" (6 June 2016). I asked her what I should do next and she suggested again to reenlist for 2 years as a 35M and voluntarily reclassify. Again I stated I was not going to this, and that I wanted to reenlist for 35T, and asked what my options were. Her reply was to wait until the following month and submit another "hotline".

On 5 July 2016 she said that she submitted another "hotline" and two weeks later it received the same reply "cannot support no training dates available". And again she recommended reenlisting as a 35M for 2 years. This time I got suspicious, because she kept pushing the reenlist as a 35M. So I emailed reclassification and retention branch. They stated that if I submit my 4187 on 22 Aug they will try to get me into the 4 November class as long as my 4187 stated "Command and SM support less than 60 days PCS". I told my career counselor and she said because they used "DA4187" instead of "hotline" that I should reenlist as a 35M and submit the DA4187 on 22 Aug for voluntary reclass since I cannot be in my Retention Opportunity Window to do so. As you can see this is seriously frustrating. I told her that I wanted to submit my "hotline" one more time, and she said she would do it on 9 August.

I guess my question is 1) Does any of this sound right or make any sense? 2) Would the best option be to reenlist for 2 years in my PMOS and then submit the DA4187 for voluntary reclassification? 3) Why would a class date be available on 4 November if I voluntarily reclassed as opposed to reenlisted for reclassification? And finally 4) Is there anything else I can do?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2016 9:45 AM

2016-09-28T09:45:59-04:00

I have a question about retention, my ETS is 13 OCT 2017, does that mean the first day i can sign a new contract is 14 OCT 2016? That is what i am being told by my retention NCO, but in the reenlistment policy it says I can reenlist 15 months before my ETS. I wanted to know what information is correct so I can make sure I am good to go for the SRB.

Thanks,

SPC Wiltz

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2019 4:12 PM

2019-05-21T16:12:34-04:00

I am a SSG that hits 12 yrs TIS this August. My current contract takes me to 16 years (ETS 2023). Can I reenlist outside of ROW for career program?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2019 4:14 PM

2019-05-21T16:14:54-04:00

Apologies, I sent the same question twice.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2021 9:10 PM

2021-05-07T21:10:24-04:00

I attend OCS 20 June 2021 to 10 September 2021. My current ETS is 02 October 2021. I would like to just extend for 15 months, but I'm being told by my retention that I can only reenlist for a minimum of 2 years. I've read AR and DA-PAM 601-280 and the OCS regulation and I can't find anything that outlines this for OCS and couldn't find anything that states the SRR for OCS. So I should be able to just extend? Am I missing something?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 19 at 2023 2:15 AM

2023-09-19T02:15:06-04:00

I have a question about retention.

What do I do if my retention NCO doesn’t help me?

Who do I contact to reclass other than people in my unit including brigade NCO?

I’ve been trying to reclass and my retention NCO hasn’t been helping me. I had to do my own research to know what requirements I need for the reclass and successfully got everything together. Now I submitted my files to my Retention NCO and messaged him and called him but there’s no response. I can’t get to his office due to a training event.