What is the minimum contract length for prior service in active army?

2019-03-14T13:37:18-04:00

I've been out of the military for about a year now, but am wanting to go active duty to see if I want to make it a career. My question is what is the minimum length I can enlist for?

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 14 at 2019 1:51 PM

2019-03-14T13:51:44-04:00

The shortest time I have ever seen was a 1 year contract...but I think that was a short term program to give people an opportunity to see if they like the Army after one year. The next shortest is 2 years but I think that is a rare chance as well. The standard is 3-4 years.

Response by COL David Turk made Mar 14 at 2019 2:36 PM

2019-03-14T14:36:11-04:00

I’ve been out a long time, but I think this still applies. If you’ve only been out a year, and you’re a SP4, I’m assuming you have not fulfilled your eight year commitment, and therefore should still be in the reserves (IRR?). If that’s the case, I would check with a recruiter to see what it would take to go active, or talk to your USAR branch to see if they have any one year tours for reservists.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Mar 14 at 2019 2:54 PM

2019-03-14T14:54:39-04:00

Regular Army is 2 minimum, but HRC Business Rules apply to Prior Service. Because that changes frequently, the only way to find out is to see a recruiter for the current information.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Mar 14 at 2019 2:55 PM

2019-03-14T14:55:53-04:00

Active duty usually requires 3 years. There are exceptions, they are usually reserved for specialty fields. Contact your local recruiter. Thank you for your service.

Response by MAJ Javier Rivera made Mar 14 at 2019 3:12 PM

2019-03-14T15:12:14-04:00

Contact your nearest recruiting office. They have the latest and greatest since you fall under the Prior Service Business Rules.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 14 at 2019 7:16 PM

2019-03-14T19:16:51-04:00

The shortest contracts I've seen are 3 years and some change but they're only available for certain MOSs. I would recommend going into a recruiter and actually seeing various contract lengths for the jobs you're interested in. The more popular the job, the longer the contracts are generally. So you have to figure out if a short contract is worth a job you might not want. I took one of, if not the, longest initial enlistment contracts out there but I secured an amazingly rare and highly demanded job. I happened to actually want a long contract so it worked out, but there's usually a trade off.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Mar 14 at 2019 7:36 PM

2019-03-14T19:36:26-04:00

I would recommend three years because it takes you two years to get really good at your MOS on Active Duty even with prior NG service. So if they do offer you a 2 year contract which I doubt they will........pick three years at a minimum. The very few folks I know that enlisted for 2 years in the 1980's wanted a little more time on AD.........seriously.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 14 at 2019 7:47 PM

2019-03-14T19:47:12-04:00

I was prior service when I enlisted back into the Army and I had to sign up for 3yrs...

Response by SSG Kasius McCall made Mar 14 at 2019 9:35 PM

2019-03-14T21:35:16-04:00

I have a brand new baby PV2 that has a 2 year contract.