Will I lose my time in service if I go OCS while enlisted?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:13:43 -0400

I was told that if I went OCS while enlisted, that I would lose all my time in service while enlisted and it will be reset. Is this true?

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Apr 11 at 2018 7:19 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:19:49 -0400

No you will not. TIS is just that. Thank you for your service.

Response by SGT Eric Davis made Apr 11 at 2018 7:19 PM

SGT Eric Davis — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:19:55 -0400

What you mean like will your years in serive count towards your pay grade? The answer is you not cause you seen what O-1e means as long as you got 4 years of serive or more

Response by 1SG Dennis Hicks made Apr 11 at 2018 7:20 PM

1SG Dennis Hicks — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:20:54 -0400

I have met many new 2Lt's that were prior enlisted service they were paid with all their time in service in place. Look at the pay charts to see prior enlisted pay scales. The individual that told you this should site the specific reg, paragraph and sub paragraph so they don't sound like someone spewing BS. If you are applying for OCS the application or regs should point you in the right direction. Good luck.

Response by SGT Joseph Gunderson made Apr 11 at 2018 7:21 PM

SGT Joseph Gunderson — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:21:06 -0400

No... That's moronic. In fact, There are separate pay grades for O-1 thru 3 (O-1E, 2E, 3E) for people who have had enlisted TOS. However, that being said, it doesn't work towards promotions and such. You start over in that respect (e.g. you must still be a 2LT for the right amount of time to be promoted to 1LT).

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2018 7:47 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:47:43 -0400

You retain time in service, however what you will lose are many things that were on your ERB that will no longer be on your ORB such as assignments. My assignments now start on my commissioning date. You may have issues when you commission with ORB accuracy because they sometimes jack up your records when they migrate your stuff to the officer world. Problems I had include loss of training I attended while enlisted (PLDC, BNCOC, combatives, CLS should all remain on there.). ALL of your awards should remain on there including your NCO professional ribbon and GCMs. Your NCOERs will now go into a file nobody can really see (although sometimes it is opened for promotion boards. It is also opened for OSBs.)

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2018 7:48 PM

2LT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:48:05 -0400

Oh my! Who told you that. No your good. Just check your LES after you commission to ensure it is set up correctly. You may even qualify for O-1e pay. (4years). Prior enlisted Plus time in service can be a big incentive to become an officer. Good luck!

Response by CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana made Apr 11 at 2018 8:15 PM

CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 20:15:25 -0400

No; not as a SGT/E-5. You will be pinned as an O-1E, which means you were once Enlisted for over three years. You will receive more pay with that E identifier. Enjoy the journey SGT Private RallyPoint Member

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 11 at 2018 8:24 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 20:24:46 -0400

Who told you that bullshit?

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2018 8:42 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 20:42:14 -0400

You never lose that.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2018 9:03 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 21:03:06 -0400

Response by LTJG Richard Bruce made Apr 11 at 2018 11:22 PM

LTJG Richard Bruce — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 23:22:42 -0400

I went from E-3 to Cadet to O-1. My continuous service counted as active-duty time (11 years), but the time I spent at the Academy did not count towards retirement (7 years). You should ask a personnel type to confirm if the short time at OCS will count for retirement.

Another question to ask is if the E/OCS time will affect tenure, as we use to call it. Fact of life for officer's career is that not everyone can reach 4-stars. Officer promotions and assignments go by calendar cycles, not by individual accomplishment. Time in rank is not a factor. Imagine a constantly moving triangular escalator with low rails where people are pushed off as the belt narrows. As you get closer to the end, the landing is softer. Tenure is the time in service that an officer is allowed to retire with full benefits if not promoted. When I was active, once you make LtCdr (O-4) you were allowed and forced to retire at 20 years. Cmdr (O-5) were to allowed to go to 25 years and Capt (O-6) were allowed to go to 30 years. Check to see if your enlisted/OCS time alters this time period.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Apr 11 at 2018 11:55 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 23:55:25 -0400

When I was at USAF OTS, there were any numbers of prior enlisted from all the svcs, I'd always understood active duty time counted regardless of which SVC so done was in. A family friend had been Army enlisted, whpent to Army WOCS, for helicopters, got his bachelors in aviation from Embry Riddle Univ, then Army released him to go intersvc to USCG for helicopters either as direct commission, or after an OIS, as opposed to their OCS, so no, I shouldn't think you'd lose any credit, I saw others here also said as much...our family friend didn't, he finished his 20 urs doing everything as he did, so the same should certainly be possible for you as well, I should think, I hope that was of at least some use, I'd be most eager for your thoghths, many thanks.

Response by LT Brad McInnis made Apr 12 at 2018 12:04 AM

LT Brad McInnis — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 00:04:24 -0400

Nope. It is added to your service. Mine was added after commissioning. I would recommend that before you go to OCS make sure the admin folks have the correct dates, and then after commissioning make sure they kept the same dates.

Response by SFC James (JD) Flemal made Apr 12 at 2018 12:09 AM

SFC James (JD) Flemal — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 00:09:14 -0400

Time in service won't change, but for retirement you must be in an Officer rank a certain number of years to be able to retire as an Officer. If you can get your hands on an Army Reserve Benefits handbook, it spells it out quite clearly for Active and Reserve career tracts. I wanna say 11 years in the officer ranks but I could be wrong. I haven't seen one for a few years.