How much time left do you need in order to PCS?I'm hitting 17 years. I always though you needed 24 months remaining. Hope I don't get stuck?

They will give you orders, and unless you take them you will have to separate. You are allowed to 'drop papers' for retirement 12 months from your 20 year point. Up till then you can get orders at any time. Normally they will make you extend or reenlist to get at least 24 months retainability, but there is NOTHING to prevent you from getting orders except a retirement date. Sorry dude. There are MANY people who get caught in this position and have to PCS only to retire a year later. The way assignments sees it, you can retire anytime after your 20 year point regardless of how much time you have left on your enlistment, so they don't even care about how much time you have left, they will just give you orders and make you extend. If you opt not to, then I hope you have enough time on your enlistment to get past 20, cause refusing orders means you can't get promoted or reenlist. Sorry for the bad news, but trust me, you are not alone in this screwing!

You need to have 13 months on the ground at the new duty station to PCS. I'm going to assume at 17 years you are Indefinite, so it won't affect you unless you get within 13 months of RCP or have an approved retirement date. If you have already been on station for a year, you can call up your assignment manager and see if there is any chance of PCS, but from what I hear they are trying to move to a 7 year on station plan if they already haven't. Unless the regulation has changed, the only hard and fast rule is that you can't PCS twice in the same year.

So, you been there for 17 years? What I would do, stay there to retire.