Forced to Retire at 30 years

[ww1collector]

A friend in Virginia is retiring in 4 weeks because he has to at 30 years service. He is currently working on a super secret mission in Europe-he knows it all. BUT, he is being retired and putting someone in his place who is a relative light weight. I did not know this rule existed. What a country!!!

[teufelhunde.ret]

30 and out has been the rule for a long time.

[Dave]

A friend in Virginia is retiring in 4 weeks because he has to at 30 years service. He is currently working on a super secret mission in Europe-he knows it all. BUT, he is being retired and putting someone in his place who is a relative light weight. I did not know this rule existed. What a country!!!

 

 

Yep, that's the rule. Waivers can be made to retain people on active duty beyond statutory retirement, but they are rare (we had an O-6 on staff who was retained for a year...retired with 31 years commissioned service just last Friday). It's called "Retire-retain".

 

Think of it this way, a lot of general officers and flag officers get to HYT (High Year Tenure) and are forced to retire. These are the guys that are the top executives in the military...but they reach statutory retirement and are forced out. It doesn't seem right to be kicking them out with all the expertise they have...

 

BUT

 

If these folks don't leave, then it's really tough for the younger people to move up the chain. If the younger people don't promote because there's too much "dead wood" at the top, they get out and do other things.

 

So even though it doesn't seem right to be pushing out the most experienced people, it's how the system works and it's how we can grow the younger generation to take over from their seniors, so they can eventually gain that same level of expertise...and share it with the people that they are mentoring down the chain of command.

 

Dave

[cutiger83]

So even though it doesn't seem right to be pushing out the most experienced people, it's how the system works and it's how we can grow the younger generation to take over from their seniors, so they can eventually gain that same level of expertise...and share it with the people that they are mentoring down the chain of command.

 

Dave

 

I did not know this existed but that makes perfect sense. Thank for explaining. :thumbsup:

 

...Kat

[Dave]

I did not know this existed but that makes perfect sense. Thank for explaining. :thumbsup:

 

...Kat

 

No worries. That's the only drawback when you can only have a finite number of people in the military. You'd LOVE to keep everyone (kind of like how the Soviets kept old generals and marshals around working in the "Inspector General" capacity until they died) but numerically you can't. And younger people (and younger ideas, etc.) are key to the overall longevity of our forces.

 

Dave

[sigsaye]

Along with what Dave said, it is also a way to clean house. In the Navy, if you haven't advanced to the next pay grade by a specific time, you are seperated. Other wise, you end up with a bunch of no loads who just sit in billits sucking up jobs and pay checks and contributing nothing.

 

Steve Hesson

[henry2]

I met guys who knew knowing of the outside world but the military but never went above a paygrade of E5 or E6

[Misanthropic_Gods]

Right now Adm. Mullen who is the CJCS has currently has 43 years of service...he was commissioned in 1968. It all depends on what your job is, who you know, and how fast you advance.

[Dave]

Right now Adm. Mullen who is the CJCS has currently has 43 years of service...he was commissioned in 1968. It all depends on what your job is, who you know, and how fast you advance.

 

Actually statutory retirement differs by paygrade. For ADM Mullen, as a four star admiral, he should have been forced to retire after 40 years of comissioned service (YCS), however, 10 USC 636 allowed for him to remain on active duty as the CJCS beyond 40 YCS. He also should have been forced to retire on 4 November 2010, a month after his 64th birthday, however, this was deferred in accordance with 10 USC 1253 by the SECDEF, allowing him to serve until 4 October 2012, his 66th birthday (but he'll be retired by then). That same law allows the President to extend an officer's service to their 68th birthday.

 

Once you start getting into the top end of the O-10 spectrum, that's some pretty rare air...very few exceptions are made to the normal statutory retirement requirements.

 

Dave

[Misanthropic_Gods]

Actually statutory retirement differs by paygrade. For ADM Mullen, as a four star admiral, he should have been forced to retire after 40 years of comissioned service (YCS), however, 10 USC 636 allowed for him to remain on active duty as the CJCS beyond 40 YCS. He also should have been forced to retire on 4 November 2010, a month after his 64th birthday, however, this was deferred in accordance with 10 USC 1253 by the SECDEF, allowing him to serve until 4 October 2012, his 66th birthday (but he'll be retired by then). That same law allows the President to extend an officer's service to their 68th birthday.

 

Once you start getting into the top end of the O-10 spectrum, that's some pretty rare air...very few exceptions are made to the normal statutory retirement requirements.

 

Dave

 

 

Thanks for the correction Dave, you sure have that stuff locked down. Aaah...the eccentricities of the US Code

[Dave]

Thanks for the correction Dave, you sure have that stuff locked down.

 

Thanks! I do have a little background in this though...my masters thesis was entitled "A Qualitative Analysis of Selection to Flag Rank in the United States Navy" In it, I covered the rules and regulations regarding career progression (amongst many other things in 167 action-packed pages...)

[kfields]

Reading this post made me think of Admiral Hyman Rickover. He was finally forced to retire in the early 1980's after 63 years of service!

[Dave]

Reading this post made me think of Admiral Hyman Rickover. He was finally forced to retire in the early 1980's after 63 years of service!

 

LOTS of Presidential intervention on that one!!!

[kfields]

Or NON-intervention.

[joefriday22]

A friend of mine re-up'd to get himself to the 30 year mark. He was a Sgt.Mjr in the USMC at the time. Someone made a mistake with his paperwork and signed him up for 4 years instead of 2 which brought him to 32 years. As luck would have it he was selected as the 10th Sgt. Mjr. of the USMC which is a 4 year assignment bringing him to 36 years of service.

 

 

 

Rob

[sgtbrown]

A friend of mine re-up'd to get himself to the 30 year mark. He was a Sgt.Mjr in the USMC at the time. Someone made a mistake with his paperwork and signed him up for 4 years instead of 2 which brought him to 32 years. As luck would have it he was selected as the 10th Sgt. Mjr. of the USMC which is a 4 year assignment bringing him to 36 years of service.

 

Rob

 

One time I was BSing with the retired CO of Wright-Patterson AFB and we got on the subject of "The Sergeant's Mafia" (or the Chief's Mafia), the people who really run the services. Your friend has it written all over him that he eats second lieutenants for breakfast!

 

Tom

[joefriday22]

One time I was BSing with the retired CO of Wright-Patterson AFB and we got on the subject of "The Sergeant's Mafia" (or the Chief's Mafia), the people who really run the services. Your friend has it written all over him that he eats second lieutenants for breakfast!

 

Tom

 

No doubt and propably not only second lieutenants. He's 80 years old now and still works out in a gym and runs 3 miles/day, 3 days/week. Hard core!

[ABrangerjoe]

I just hope that I can make it to 20 years at least!

[Bluehawk]

Something else to remember - is that in quite a few cases these grey beards end up working for Civil Service or in some other capacity which contributes directly to national defense for the remainder of their working lives; and/or often doing almost the identically same job as a civilian (e.g. lifer sky cops becoming civilian Chiefs of Police, or commercial pilots, spooks, professors at the War Colleges and the like). I know of at least one retired former submarine XO, as another example, who works tirelessly helping the Academy recruit the best of the best from our region - so, they keep a hand in that way as well.

 

I have devoted the past 3 years to composing biographies of deceased and fallen airmen and have noticed the above many a time.

 

Anyhoo, we don't always always lose their expertise and dedication.