What reference covers prior-service enlistees getting re-issued their entire initial issue (upon re-entry)?

2017-03-09T00:31:41-05:00

Prior service Active Army. Came back in Active about 4 months after ETS shipping directly to Fort Bliss. I can't seem to find a reg or directive about reissue of uniforms. I've heard if you've been out over 90 days you get reissued your entire initial issue. I've also heard I'm responsible for the uniforms. Does anyone have any idea about this issue that can provide concrete references?

Response by SSG Laurie Mullen made Mar 9 at 2017 1:57 AM

2017-03-09T01:57:37-05:00

Have you gone through reception yet?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 9 at 2017 4:06 AM

2017-03-09T04:06:40-05:00

What is supposed to happen is you are given a memorandum to take to clothing and sales to reimburse the cost of the issue of a complete new clothing bag.
I was a readmission and that's how I did it. The memo came from finance

Response by LtCol William Bentley made Mar 9 at 2017 6:16 AM

2017-03-09T06:16:48-05:00

EDIT: of course you are responsible for your uniforms...all of them...as long as you still had a reserve obligation. Everyone enters the military with an 8 year Military Service Obligation contract. Any part of that 8 years NOT served as a member of the Active Component, will be served in the Reserve Component (whether the reserve service is as a member of a reserve unit, or in the IRR, is irrelevant, but both types of service count toward the 8 year MSO, as does any time served in the Delayed Entry Program after initially contracting but before shipping to basic training. DEP time is considered reserve service in the IRR for this purpose, although it normally doesn't count toward basic pay or retirement credit.

The confusion possibly stems from the language of the Regulation, because while it clearly states that a "reenlistee" as you will see below in my original answer, is entitled to an "Initial Uniform Allowance" if they've been more than 90 days after ETS...there are parts of the Regulation shown below that CLEARLY state that IF YOU STILL HAVE A RESERVE OBLIGATION AFTER YOU WERE "REFRAD" (RELEASED FROM ACTIVE DUTY AND TRANSFERRED TO THE RESERVE COMPONENT TO SERVE THE REMAINDER OF YOUR 8 YEAR MILITARY SERVICE OBLIGATION CONTRACT), then you MUST keep and maintain your uniform items.

So, what does this mean? Well, you were most likely required to keep and take with you all your normal uniform items/issue after ETS, because you were subject to mobilization as a member of the IRR. And obviously, the Govt doesn't want to have to reissue, resize, recheck fit and wear and serviceability of all your uniform items if it doesn't have to.

When you report for duty on your next period of active duty as part of Active Army, you should of course bring all your uniform items...all the items you were required by this Army Regulation, and others, to keep and maintain until your 8 year MSO expired. Thus, your "Initial Uniform Allowance" upon reenlistment will only be those items that you don't have now, or no longer fit, are obsolete, etc. Why buy you all new uniforms when you were required by Regulation to keep and maintain all of them? Only get issued those items that you NEED. After all, it was your obligation to keep and maintain them...if you didn't, for some reason, then the Army shouldn't have to pay for your errors.

When you left Active Army the last time, you were required to sign a statement, found on Table 12–3, page 51 of the Manual cited below:

"Clothing statement for enlisted Soldiers with a remaining reserve obligation -

I (fill in name) understand that I am required to maintain all personal clothing items in my possession, as indicated on the DA Form 4886 in a serviceable condition until the expiration of my reserve obligation on (fill in date). I further understand that if I am mobilized as a Soldier of the reserves, I am required to bring all items on the attached form with me to my designated mobilization site. Failure to do this will result in me required to reimburse the Government for all missing items."

And:

"12–1. Introduction
a. Enlisted Soldiers will retain all non-recoverable items when discharged or separated from active or reserve duty service. ARNG Soldiers will retain personal clothing per appendix C of the ARNG CCD User Handbook. Enlisted Soldiers being transferred to a USAR Control Group will retain personal clothing per table 12–1.

12–2. Personnel with more than 3 years active duty
a. Active Army personnel with more than 3 years active duty who are discharged under honorable conditions may retain all clothing items in their possession. Turn-in of recoverable items is determined by the unit commander.
b. Personnel who are Release From Active Duty (REFRAD) and transferred to ARNG or USAR units will, in every instance, retain all personal clothing in their possession. Voluntary turn-in of these items is not authorized. DA Form 4886 will be used to establish accountability. See paragraph 12–10 and table 12–2 and the RC personnel update.
c. Active Army personnel who are REFRAD and transferred to USAR control groups will retain personal clothing per table 12–1. (See the RC personnel update).

12–3. Personnel with 3 years or fewer active duty
a. Active Army personnel who are discharged under honorable conditions with 3 years or less active duty are permitted to retain all clothing items.
b. Active Army personnel who are REFRAD and transferred to ARNG or USAR units will, in every instance, retain all clothing items in their possession. DA Form 4886 will be used to establish accountability (see table 12–2 para 12–10).
c. Active Army personnel who are REFRAD and transferred to USAR control groups will retain personal clothing per table 12–1. (See the RC personnel update)."

And:

"12–11. Nonretention of clothing
a. Soldiers discharged from active duty without a Reserve obligation may elect not to retain uniform items. This means forfeiture of future clothing entitlement after discharge or separation from the Service.
b. The installation commander will authorize an approved local request for non retention of military clothing. The individual signs the request and a commissioned or warrant officer confirms it. The signed request is filed in the Soldier’s unit file.

12–12. Clothing items not authorized for retention
a. All basic issue clothing items (except organizational property such as patches and crests) will remain with the enlisted Soldier when they are transferred. The unit will ensure an accurate inventory is done prior to transfer as a part of the Soldier’s out processing. The clothing record will be included in the Soldier’s IPERMS (see para 14–9).
b. Clothing items not authorized for retention, are withdrawn, classified, and turned in to the supply system (see para 1–6a). If they are not required in the supply system, they are turned in to the DRMS. All ARNG items not authorized for retention are processed as prescribed by appendix C of the ARNG Central Clothing Distribution User Handbook."

HERE BEGINS THE ORIGINAL ANSWER BEFORE EDIT:

As an enlisted servicemember, your Service will have a policy regulation that specifically addresses this. If you can't find it on-line using key word searches of something like "Army Clothing Regulations," then go to your:

a. Recruiter,
b. S-1, or
c. Supply

and ask the same question.

I couldn't help myself: I just did what I said to do above, and here is your reference:

http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r700_84.pdf

Army Regulation 700–84
Logistics
Issue and Sale of Personal Clothing
(dated 22 July 2014)

Find this on page 17 of the Manual:

"4–2. Personnel entitled to initial allowances
Initial clothing allowances are authorized for the following:
a. An individual on first enlistment or induction.
b. An individual who reenlists after 90 days from the date of last discharge. The discharge date will be placed in the remarks block of the clothing request.
c. A prisoner restored to duty after sentence to confinement or punitive discharge imposed by a court martial.
d. Enlisted Soldiers of an inactive reserve unit who do not attend weekend or annual training or who are not authorized clothing allowances in accordance with CTA 50–900 are authorized a complete initial issue allowance. The enlisted Soldier must have been separated 90 days or more from the Active Army. Enlisted Soldiers with fewer than 90 days of separation time from the Active Army will have all clothing items in their possession when discharged. The date of separation must be indicated in the remarks block of the clothing request. In addition, substandard items in their possession may be replaced if they do not meet Army standards of appearance."

What exactly does it mean to you?

1. I read par. 4-2b and 4-2d as both stating that if you reenlist, whether from completely off contract, or from the reserves (Individual Ready Reserve), if you reenlist AFTER 90 days from your last ETS off active duty, then you will get an Initial Uniform Allowance. Exactly the same as the new recruit going to Basic Training. You should cite this reference when talking to your new Command and the supply shop about getting new uniforms. "Initial Uniform Allowance."

2. A little later on, you will see that since you have a break of more than 90 days in active duty, once you reenlist, you will begin accruing the Basic Clothing Replacement Allowance AFTER 6 MONTHS. from the date of your Initial Uniform Allowance (which should be the same day you reenlist onto active duty). Meaning that 1 year after you reenlist, you'll have earned 6 months BCRA at the going rate (whatever it is these days, probably about $300/year for BCRA, so you'd get half of that in your first year to replace your broken stuff). You will continue to draw BCRA until you have completed a total of 36 complete months of unbroken active duty, at which time you will begin to draw the Standard CRA, which is 30% higher than the BCRA, and you will continue to draw that until you retire, are separated, or are commissioned... "Basic Clothing Replacement Allowance" is NOT the same thing as your "Initial Uniform Allowance." Completely separate allowance and entitlement...

Here is the actual reference, pages 16 and 17 of the Manual:

"4–3. Clothing monetary allowance or clothing replacement allowance
a. Monetary allowances. In all areas where CMA is in effect, personal clothing initially provided at Government expense will be maintained up to the prescribed allowances by enlisted Soldiers at their own expense. A clothing replacement allowance for the cost of replacement and purchase of new items will be paid to the enlisted Soldiers annually on the anniversary month the Soldier entered the service. This allowance will be paid along with, and in addition to, regular pay. The CRA also may be used to buy additional quantities of personal clothing items. The intent of the CRA is not to cover the normal costs of cleaning, laundering, and pressing personal clothing. There are two types of CRA, basic and standard. The monetary values of these allowances are published annually.
(1) Basic clothing replacement allowance. Each enlisted Soldier will be entitled to receive the basic CRA. The allowance begins to accumulate on the day after the Soldier completes 6 months (180 days) of active duty service. If the Soldier enters a non-duty or non-pay status at any time during this period, time lost is not regarded. This is not authority for payment of the allowance when in a non-pay and allowance status. The 6-month (180 days) period begins on the date of last authorization to the initial clothing allowance. The basic CRA will be paid for the remainder of the first 3 years of continuous active duty. The basic CRA is 70 percent of the standard CRA.
(2) Standard monetary allowance. Each enlisted Soldier will be entitled to the standard clothing replacement allowance beginning the day after the Soldier completes 36 months of active duty. If the Soldier enters a non-duty or non-pay status at any time during this period, time lost is not regarded. This is not authority for payment of the allowance when in a non-pay and allowance status. On the 37th month, the standard CRA will begin. An enlisted Soldier who reenlists within 3 months after the date previous enlistment terminates is not considered to have a break in service for the purpose of this entitlement. The standard CRA will be paid for the remainder of a Soldier’s continuous active duty. The standard CRA is the total of allowances paid.
b. Determining entitlement to monetary allowances.
(1) An enlisted Soldier is not entitled to the basic or standard clothing replacement allowance if in a temporary or warrant officer status. This time cannot be counted in determining eligibility for basic or standard monetary allowances.
(2) Enlisted Soldiers ordered to active duty from reserve status are entitled to a basic CRA after completion of 6 months (180 days) of active duty service.
(3) A monetary allowance will not be paid in a command where the CMA system is not in effect. Allowances willbe discontinued as prescribed in paragraph 4–3c. Time served in such a command will be counted in determining eligibility for the basic or standard CRA when a Soldier returns to an area where the monetary allowance is paid. Any ARNG personnel ordered to active duty in excess of 179 days are entitled to the CRA after 6 months (180 days) active duty even though assigned to the ARNG.
(4) Prisoners in a nonpay and allowance status, including those in restoration training, will not be paid a CRA. Rather, these persons will be supplied necessary clothing items at Government expense on an issue-in-kind basis. See chapter 5 for other information on clothing for prisoners.
(5) Prisoners in a pay and allowance status will continue to be paid the CRA. Prisoners will replace, at their own expense, personal clothing that the installation correctional officer decides is needed to perform their duties while in confinement. Soldiers confined at other than their home station must also pay for clothing items required for travel to home station.
(6) Soldiers enlisting in the Active Army from the RCs within 90 days of release from active duty are entitled to receive the basic clothing replacement allowance. This allowance commences on the day after the Soldier completes 6 months (180 days) of continuous active duty service."

Cheers, WKB

r700_84.pdf

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Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 17 at 2018 3:47 PM

2018-06-17T15:47:56-04:00

When I came back in I was given a memo for drawing all of my initial issue at the clothing and sales. I would contact your MEPS to see if you're authorized it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 18 at 2018 5:43 PM

2018-06-18T17:43:39-04:00

90 days. But you can still request an initial issue and they will just charge you for it.

Response by LTC Charles T Dalbec made Oct 17 at 2019 10:40 AM

2019-10-17T10:40:34-04:00

AR 670-1.

Goggle and you will find same

Response by Cadet 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2020 6:12 PM

2020-05-30T18:12:27-04:00

Only i experience i had similar was when I jumped to active duty from the reserves and they issued me a whole dress blue uniform