June 2009 NRA News
by CAPT Tom McAtee, USN (Ret)
How Long Can I Stay Active in the Navy Reserve?
One might ask: are the “rules” concerning service limitations so complicated that they are constantly misunderstood? Quite frankly, yes. Service limitations are based on a combination of years of total commissioned service, grade, and promotional status. And in some cases, gender and designator play a part.
The following represents a summarization of the service limitations for Reserve officers, in the grades of O-3 through O-6, in an active status that are contained in Title 10, United States Code and Enclosure (3) of SECNAV Instruction 1920.6B:
Lieutenant (O-3) – A Reserve officer in an active status serving in the grade of O-3 who twice fails of selection for promotion to lieutenant commander and is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to lieutenant commander shall be eliminated from an active status not later than the first day of the 7th month after the month in which the report of the selection board that considered the officer for the second time is approved, unless retained or continued in an active status. Reference: 10 USC 14505.
Lieutenant Commander (O-4) – A Reserve officer in an active status serving in the grade of O-4 who twice fails of selection for promotion to commander and is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to commander shall be eliminated from an active status on first day of the month after the month in which the officer completes 20 years of total commissioned service, unless retained or continued in an active status. Reference: 10 USC 14506.
Commander (O-5) – A Reserve officer serving in the grade of O-5 in an active status whose name is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to captain shall be eliminated from an active status upon completion of 28 years of commissioned service not later than the first day of the month after the month in which the officer completes such service, unless retained or continued in an active status. Reference: 10 USC 14507.
Captain (O-6) – A Reserve officer serving in the grade of O-6 in an active status whose name is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to flag rank shall be eliminated from an active status upon completion of 30 years of commissioned service not later than the first day of the month after the month in which the officer completes such service, unless retained or continued in an active status. Reference: 10 USC 14507.
What does the term “elimination from an active status” mean? Basically, when a Reservist meets a statutory service limitation, one of three actions occurs. The Reservist can request retirement if qualified, be discharged, or transferred to the Standby Reserve-Inactive (S-2).
What happens to a Reservist who is close to retirement but does not have 20 satisfactory qualifying years upon reaching a statutory service limitation? If certain conditions are met, the Reservist goes into what is commonly called sanctuary. To be entitled to sanctuary, regardless of grade, a Reservist must be credited with at least 18 years of satisfactory qualifying service at the time prescribed for elimination from an active status. Statutory law limits the time allowed to obtain 20 years of qualifying service. If a Reservist has between 18 and 19 years qualifying service, the law allows three years to complete 20 qualifying years. For a Reservist with between 19 and 20 years qualifying service, the law allows two years to complete 20 qualifying years. In each case, if retirement eligibility is achieved before the prescribed time limitation has expired, the Reservist must request retirement. Reference: 10 USC 12646.
What do the words “unless retained or continued in an active status” mean in each grade service limitation description? In simple terms, if a Reservist is not subject to the sanctuary provision, then retention or continuation become the only available options for continued service beyond a statutory service limitation. Title 10, United States Code provides two separate provisions to ensure flexibility in meeting any changing Navy manpower requirement. The two provisions, retention and continuation, are very distinct from each other; and the terms RETENTION and CONTINUATION are not interchangeable.
Retention – The retention provision grants the Secretary of the Navy the authority, if required, to retain chaplains and officers in medical department designators to meet Navy manpower requirements. Simply, the Secretary may retain a Reserve officer in the Chaplain Corps, Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, or Medical Service Corps (specific specialties). Retention requires the officer’s consent and is only applicable to officers in the grades of O-5 and O-6 who reach maximum years of commissioned service (YCS). The minimum period of continuation is established by DoD directive at not less than two years. In summary, unless your designator is specified in the retention provision, you are not eligible for retention. Reference: 10 USC 14703.
Continuation – The continuation provision provides the Secretary the authority to continue Reserve officers through a continuation board process. Unlike retention, continuation may apply to grades O-3 through O-6 regardless of designator. The Secretary, if required to meet identified manpower/designator requirements, may continue lieutenants past their second failure, lieutenant commanders past 20 years of commissioned service (YCS), commanders past 28 YCS, and captains past 30 YCS. Continuation in the grades of O-3, O-4, O-5, O-6 cannot extend beyond 20, 24, 33, and 35 YCS, respectively. In past continuation plans, lieutenant commanders who were credited with at least 16 years of qualifying service were offered continuation until retirement eligibility or 24 years total commissioned service, whichever occurred first, provided they were drilling. Reference: 10 USC 14701.
Note: Nurse Corps officers and female officers commissioned before 1 October 1996, the enactment of the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA), are not subject to the provisions mentioned. As a result, Nurse Corps and female officers commissioned before 1 October 1996 are eliminated from an active status by age or recommendation of a board convened by the Secretary of the Navy.