Quote:

Originally Posted by plift

If he goes guard/reserves he'll have to pay the severance back. I looked into that option when I was separating.

True. Assuming he gets a retirement, the separation pay must be repaid.

My Advice: If you want to go to the Guard or Reserves, do **NOT** wait for the second deferral. If you do, you'll need a "waiver" from the Reserve Personnel Center to get hired by a Guard or Reserve unit and they don't like to do the paperwork if they don't have to. It's possible but just another roadblock. Get out ASAP if you want an airline career and a military retirement.

Also, getting out ASAP will further your seniority at the airlines, and seniority is EVERYTHING. Get your applications in NOW.

Also, if you want to get a military retirement, don't worry about "losing" the separation pay for leaving before the second promotion board. You'll just have to pay it back later out of your retirement checks.

Could not agree more, but there's no guarantee they will let him out or approve a palace chase. Keep in mind, he still has an ADSC. I wouldn't be surprised if they pass him over twice and then continue him.

Regardless of being continued or non-continued, once you're passed over twice you are absolved of your ADSC and are allowed to get out early. Continued just means you don't get the severence pay and non-continued means you do get the severence pay.

USAF time in grade policy says majors can go to 20 years commissioned service.

Funny how this discussion took a turn. Getting passed over was my grand plan from the day I got my wings. I didn't intentionally do SOS (though offered twice in residence), got passed over twice, cut my ADSC by 2 years, got my severance pay, got a reserve job, landed an airline job, and the rest is history. It took a lot of planning and gut wrenching decisions but it paid off in the end. I did SOS by correspondence just before I separated, so that I can be promotable in the reserves. Back in the day, if you wrote the promotion board a letter stating that you did not want to get promoted, they definitely would not promote you but you would also not get the severance pay.
Back when I was in, you can continue to 20 and retire as an O-3 as long as you were in a "critical" career field. And yes, O-4 can continue to 20 and retire with no issues.

I'm far from the uptight active duty mil guy, but this is pretty lame.

Emphasis is on "can," although unless it changed recently high year tenure for an O4 is 24 years. Keep in mind, OP is a Captain so this is irrelevant to the thread. That said, if you're twice passed over you may be offered continuation...if the AF wants to. The 95 year group had a very very small (may have been zero) percentage offered continuation. My memory was about 200 guys got suddenly and unexpectedly kicked to the curb.

Different strokes for different folks, pal. Over $1 million in earnings considered lame? If you are lucky enough sit in my cockpit, I'll let you jerk my gear.
Hey btw, were you my ** sq cc because this was exactly what he said during my exit interview? Who's laughing now?

Almost all O4's in all the services are allowed to by policy.

However comma...Title 10 sets O4 HYT at 20 years, but that's a ceiling, it does NOT guarantee sanctuary to get there.

Title 10 guarantees two O5 looks, and guarantees sanctuary at 18 years but there is usually an air gap between those and only service policy bridges that gap.

But there have been in the recent past shenanigans related to passed over O4's getting shown the door short of 18 years.

Lame? I say it was well played, but that's just me. The Air Force needs good people who want to climb the corporate ladder to O-6+ and good people who want to spend their 10-12 yrs in operational flying assignments who don't care about being promoted into command positions. Unfortunately, many of the people who choose to get out are the ones who could be great leaders and really change things, but choose not to. It's just the way it is and the culture we've created for ourselves.

Correct, but without the policy, Guard/Reserve without enough points can't claim sanctuary at 18 after being passed over twice (and others are being asked to sign "sanctuary waivers" as a condition of going on orders). Hence my response to the question, you should get to 20 as a matter of policy...absent that, it wouldn't be a sure thing.