Posted on Aug 3, 2021
SFC Assistant Station Commander
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SM has about 4 years on the contract (ETS), however transferring to the IRR. How easy or difficult would it be to get a conditional release approved by the USAR to transfer to sister services or the Guard ? Thanks in advance for your suggestions and opinions.
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CPT Staff Officer
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The grass isn't always greener on the other side. If the SM makes it into the IRR they are in a powerful position to then recon other units and situations if they want to be a TPU again.

I say this because I saw multiple soldiers of mine come from other services only try and get back to the BS and nonsense they left behind in their original service only to find themselves now locked into the USAR.

So, if they are simply trying to avoid a series of constant conflicts with the USAR given their current experience I caution them to be weary of where they plan to step next. My reasoning being that if a SM simply goes into a unit and situation blindly chances are they are going to be placed there by a retention or recruiting NCO that only sees the open positions in most dire situations needing to be filled. Chances are all those billets are going to suck regardless of MOS/Rank.

While in the IRR one can "ask around" before stepping back into a bad TPU situation. I personally look up the unit's UIC, and then pull the MTOE and METL information on the unit. Validate if it is RFX or TDA, and reach out to the unit and try and get a copy of the annual training schedule. I ask around if the unit has a full AGR complement and if the key positions of Commander, CSM, and 1SG are all filled.

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His best chance for matching up an ideal drilling status balance with civilian life is going to be back into TPU in the USAR. Going NG or another service starts the crap shoot all over again.

Our first enlistment or obligation of service is spent learning how to navigate the system. If we are lucky we survived it long enough to use the knowledge to our success going forward. Otherwise we just try and get to ETS and bail. Bouncing from one service/MOS to anther is more like playing the lottery than trying to work to get yourself a better hand.
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SFC Assistant Station Commander
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The SM does not want to get stuck with the TPU, she would rather go on active duty with the USAF or USN. This is how we loose soldiers when we don’t take care of them. Something happened during her time on active duty army and felt totally neglected.
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CPT Staff Officer
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SFC (Join to see) - I guess my point is what basis is she using that active USAF/USN are going to be better? I sometimes think that Active can be even more of a crap shoot. There, it's a full time job, and rotations are frequent enough you are bound to eventually have a crap situation by duty station alone. Good things can turn to bad with PCS of key personnel. Bad things always take good leadership with authority to fix it, and long enough tenure to make it stick, but it doesn't mean it will stay that way.

I left a crap situation with a large property book a mess left by a full time AGR. Someone else will have to fill that roll and fix it. Then, at my current unit the "supply NCO" PCS'd from her full time job at a unit with a property book of $0 (Z-E-R-O), and she could easily have ended up as the S4 NCOIC of a mega property book (clean or not).

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I guess the best I can recommend is remind her that she wont know what she's in for until she gets there, and to keep her head on a swivel and always plan her next career move, assignment, school, promotion/etc.....
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SFC Assistant Station Commander
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CPT (Join to see) - Thank you Sir, for your kind advice. I will pass on her all these advises and she makes an informed decision. She has been a good ole's friend of mine. May God help her.
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SFC Assistant Station Commander
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Also, it is good to know that she is in a better situation in the IRR, on deciding if she wants to transfer services or go to TPU. I just hope the conditional release gets approved.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
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Haven't tried to go the other way, but transferring from a Guard unit to the Army Reserve usually isn't much of an issue, particularly since this soldier has served the majority of her enlistment. Joining the Air Force as prior service seems to be problematic these days. They are the smallest service, excluding the Marines, and don't put much effort into recruiting outside of their own ranks. The Navy is better, especially if you have an MOS that can reasonably convert to a Rating.
I don't know how strict the Reserve side is about Conditional Releases these days. Guard units tended to deny them if the soldier hadn't served most of their enlistment in my day, although hardship was a valid reason to apply.
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SGT Army Reserve Unit Administrator
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Are you close to ETS? Also, are you in a high density or low density MOS?
From my experience as a Army Reserve Administrator, those are two factors that could help with your transfer.

If you are close to your MOS, it could be better for you to reenlist or extend into the IRR and then go to the Guard or AC. Just don’t have a break in service.
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SGT Army Reserve Unit Administrator
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I would get with a ARCC,(Army Reserve Career Counselor) they should be able to give you information about your density.
Also, someone correct me if I am wrong, but a conditional release once approved is good for 6 months. So have your follow on plan all worked out prior to.
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SFC Assistant Station Commander
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SGT (Join to see) - The ARCC, is fast trying to send her to the USAR TPU by promising affiliation bonus's and drawing her to sign a contract to get into the same old TPU. He's doing his job, but she would rather get the DD368 approved and transfer over to the USN or USAF. She believes the USAF or USN treats their SM's better. I may be wrong but even in my time with the Army, I've been F'd up due to inefficient S1 or toxic leadership who absolutely show no care or brush off problems under the carpet.
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SFC Assistant Station Commander
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The conditional release has a end date of 6 months to 12 months.
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SGT Army Reserve Unit Administrator
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SFC (Join to see) so is the SM going into the IRR or trying to get a conditional release with her current TPU unit? Like CPT Richard Leshear said, the IRR would be ideal.
She should be communicating with a recruiter from one of the other branches to see if they will take her.
Seems to be a lot of factors in this situation that need to be addressed.
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