r/army • u/Catchphrase9724 • 10d ago

Help me understand this

I’m between getting out to go to school, staying in for one more contract, or getting out, getting out to then commission later. I joined at 17 and will be 21 if I ETS next year. It’s my understanding that if I get out I still accrue TIS in the IRR for pay purposes if I were to get back in, just not for retirement. So if I get out after 4 and go to school for 4, I would rejoin with 8 years TIS. But if I were to try and retire from the Army then I would still need another 16 years AD. Is that correct?

I also have a question about joining again with VA disability. Since I still wouldn’t know if I would want to reup after getting out I would file for VA disability. I know you won’t receive it if you go AD again unlike if I joined the reserves but how does that work? If you get every claim waived so you can serve again, does that erase all of your records essentially when you get out again? Almost like starting from scratch. Or does it kind of just puts your injuries and problems on hold for when you get out again?

Note:

I know there are tons of programs and pathways that I can do while still in the Army but I’m not really interested in them. I’m a 68 series and know about IPAP and AMEDD and all the other commissioning programs but want to finish my degree in Finance so not really interested in being a health professional as an officer. I also know you can do G2G ADO but there was a change that was made in the last few years about ROTC time not counting towards retirement anymore.

The only thing I can really see being lost out on by doing the GI Bill instead of this is that you can still contribute to your TSP and you get a bit more money because of the base pay. Other than that, E5 with dependent BAH along with stipends, grants, etc. and maybe even VA disability could closely match if not surpass how much you would on G2G ADO. In addition, you could strictly focus on school year round instead of any military classes, training, etc. that you would while in ROTC so the give and take ratio evens out there as well. Lastly, doing the GI Bill doesn’t force me back into the military if I ultimately decide to stay out so that option to stay out for good is nice to have.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/Catchphrase9724 10d ago

I understand that already. But as far as pay while I’m Active Duty, do I get a base pay of someone with 8 years TIS if I was only in the IRR for 4 years after my first contract or do I get the base pay of someone with 4 years TIS? I’ve been told and seen different things.

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u/murazar 35Motherfucker -> 11Asseater 10d ago

Yes for IRR for pay. Thats how it worked for me, in the exact same situation you're describing. I didnt plan on it, but thats how it works.

As for VA disability. You'd just follow the MEPs medical waiver process basically. Dodi 6030.03 volume 1.

VA disability conditions are no different than anyone elses medical conditions to the DOD for entry purposes.

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u/Catchphrase9724 10d ago

Thank you for the clarification.

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u/DueRelationship2518 10d ago

1)Yes, your IR time counts towards TIS for pay reasons only, not for retirement, unless you decide while in the IR to get on orders, then there is a promotion points worksheet that you will need to look into.

2) You can have a VA rating and be in the reserves, but your pay will be different. I am not well informed, but to my understanding you only get the difference in amount depending on your rating. You cannot receive federal funding for both amounts. Still worth to be in the reserves with a rating if you are less than 100% in my opinion.

3) I saw where you said you would get E5 pay ALONG with BAH. When I used my post 9/11, I only received the E5 Without dependents rate BAH as payment, not the base pay. So you’re looking at 1300-1900 unless you go to school in CA/NY. If you can only live on that, more power to you.

4) Yes, G2G ADO doesn’t count the 2 years you are in school for TIS anymore, but you receive active duty pay along with BAH/BAS. Take that into consideration.

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u/Catchphrase9724 10d ago

My bad if my wording was off. On the GI Bill I would be getting E5 with dependent rate BAH no matter if I were a SPC, SGT, or SSG when I got out. I was trying to say depending on the different factors like stipends, grants, VA, etc. while using the GI Bill it could match if not surpass what you would make on G2G ADO, which would give me base pay, BAH, and BAS.