What Service Remaining Requirement do I need to meet after completing Basic Leader Course?

2023-11-30T16:16:01-05:00

I got a temporary promotion to E-5. I have BLC scheduled for July 2024; however, I will only have 11 months left of active drilling, then 2 years in the IRR after. I referenced AR 614-200 (January 2019), Chapter 4, page 29. It states that courses that are less than 4 weeks only incur a 6-month time remaining service obligation.

In the past, I had heard from word of mouth you needed 1 year left to attend BLC. The BLC was scheduled for me already though.

So, basing off AR 614-200, I should be fine?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 30 at 2023 4:20 PM

2023-11-30T16:20:58-05:00

Contact one of these three gentlemen... they are very knowledgeable in Military related questions/issues.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 30 at 2023 4:45 PM

2023-11-30T16:45:29-05:00

Are you an E5 or are you a Sergeant? There is a difference.

Now, to the question at hand.

What Chapter 4 states, and I believe you are referring to Service Remaining Requirements, if you look in Chapter 4-6, Table 4-1, a Soldier attending a course that is less than 4 weeks must have at 6 months remaining in service. Since you will have just under a year of Active Reserve and 2 years IRR (you're still on Army scrolls just not getting paid), you will have plenty of service time remaining upon completion of BLC.

Conclusion: You'll be fine.

You've just experienced your first time of being an NCO where you've had to research what you had heard from the barracks lawyers. I think what you may be referring to is back in the day a Soldier that was promoted prior to completion of the course had to complete the course within a year otherwise they'd lose the rank AND the pay. That was a long time ago, and I can attest that in all my years, I have never seen anyone suffer that. Hell, when I went through the Senior Leader Course, there was a SFC that had been trying to get a seat, and had been wearing SFC, for 5 years.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 30 at 2023 10:00 PM

2023-11-30T22:00:48-05:00

Time in service remaining for BLC, ALC, SLC and MLC (regardless of length) are all six months.
This change was implemented years ago to ensure that almost anyone who needed PME was administratively eligible.

There is (oddly) no time in service remaining requirement for promotions to SGT and SSG in the Army and Army Reserves. (AR 600-8-19 ch 1-31)