15-Year Retirement Extended...Good Idea?

Two separate issues here, both are beneficial to the service member at that point in time....for those that join at age 18, retiring at age 33 sounds like a pretty good deal.

http://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/Home/Benefit_Library/Federal_Benefits_Page/Temporary_Early_Retirement_Authority_(TERA).html?serv=147

This has existed since 2011.

TERA is not separation pay. It is retirement. Those that qualify for and receive TERA do not receive separation pay. They are retired, early, with a slightly lower pension than a 20-yr retirement, based on time served.

Yes, TERA should continue to be authorized during the drawdown. I expect that as the Army will continue the drawdown past 2018, that Congress will authorize TERA to extend past 2018.

Should they allow TERA, yes in limited situations? However, it shouldn't be a guarantee that if you involuntary separate you will get it. Why? Because if I knew for a fact I would get TERA if separated, I could just purposefully trigger my separation. Start failing your APFT's at 14.5 years and you get to bail out early with TERA. This seems distasteful, but forcing someone to go to 20 years to qualify for retirement is also a form of coercion if they don't want to be there.