USN AD to SELRES Transition

[SELRES_AMDO]

I love how the reserve community put up all these specific jobs to be competitive then basically tells you to apply for billets on JOAPPLY and if none of those jobs are available then tough shit. I guess some things don't change when you leave active duty.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Ladies and Gents, I'm resurrecting the thread looking for some gouge on the process for transitioning from AD to SELRES. I'm planning on making the move from active duty to SELRES for family reasons and am confused on the process.

1. Do I have to resign or can I just treat the move as a PCS? Looking at some of the latest news it seems like the Navy will PCS me to my NOSC but the process seems confusing.
2. I have 10 months left in my current tour so when do I need to drop my papers?
3. I've heard the CTO isn't very reliable. What do I need to know so I can ask the right questions and stay on top of them for deadlines?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Ladies and Gents, I'm resurrecting the thread looking for some gouge on the process for transitioning from AD to SELRES. I'm planning on making the move from active duty to SELRES for family reasons and am confused on the process.

1. Do I have to resign or can I just treat the move as a PCS? Looking at some of the latest news it seems like the Navy will PCS me to my NOSC but the process seems confusing.
2. I have 10 months left in my current tour so when do I need to drop my papers?
3. I've heard the CTO isn't very reliable. What do I need to know so I can ask the right questions and stay on top of them for deadlines?

When you resign you don’t PCS to a NOSC (they’re now called a Navy Reserve Center/NRC), you will move either to your home of record or whichever location you/family decide. If your post-navy location is further than your HOR, you will have to pay the difference in costs. The navy will only fund a move to your HOR in terms of distance.

I’ve heard 9 months is a good timeframe to submit your resignation in NSIPS. You can ask your detailer if he/she thinks that’s fine too.

Just like with navy recruiters, CTOs can be hit or miss. Biggest thing is early and consistent communication. Hold them accountable if you don’t feel you are getting quality customer service.

Hope this helps!

 

[Uncle Fester]

When you resign you don’t PCS to a NOSC (they’re now called a Navy Reserve Center/NRC), you will move either to your home of record or whichever location you/family decide. If your post-navy location is further than your HOR, you will have to pay the difference in costs. The navy will only fund a move to your HOR in terms of distance.

All accurate, just to add they’ll pay for your PCS equivalent distance to HOR *or* PLEAD (Place of Entry on Active Duty, wherever you first put up your hand and solemnly swore) whichever is greater. In my case, I was leaving AD from Pensacola. My HOR was only a few miles from P’cola but my PLEAD was the Academy, so they paid for an equivalent Pensacola to Annapolis. The move was otherwise just like any other PCS; make sure you get your DLA and such.

A Reserve recruiter should contact you once your resignation paperwork is in. They should give you the basic gouge on affiliating with a unit wherever you’re moving, or VTU if you’re not ready for the full experience just yet. At least when I left AD, there was a “are you interested in the Reserves?” checkbox on the paperwork, I assume there still is.

Remember that the Reserves understand you fit the Navy around your personal life, not the other way around like on AD; tell them what you need and intend to do and are able to do. The flip side is that you have to take care of a lot of adminstrivia on your own, that is typically handled by your Admin shop in an active unit. The NOSC (sorry, NRC) is always understaffed for the number of Reservists they have assigned and they can’t (and won’t) do that stuff for you. A ton of things will drop through the cracks, to your detriment. You’re your own Admin.

Before you drop your letter, maybe look into TAR (formerly known as FTS, known as TAR before that, because reasons). I don’t know your family situation or career plans are or what the TAR situation is like for your community, but if I had it to over again, I would have gone that route. It’s all the benefits of AD - pay, BAH, Tricare, and counts toward a Regular retirement - but without the deployments and such. If you go the NRC CO route, you also have the opportunity to live in some parts of the country other than Fleet concentration areas.

If you go the SELRES route, there’s one thing to remember and I can’t stress this too much: the Reserves are not like the Regular Navy. It looks and sounds similar enough to fool you, but it’s a totally different bag of tricks. Do not assume that because something worked one way when you were on AD, it’s the same in the Res. Many a new SELRES has been bitten that way.

I just hung it up in January after 23 years total, twelve of those as a SELRES, and for all the occasional asspains, I’m glad I did it. Good luck!

 

[HSMPBR]

Before you drop your letter, maybe look into TAR (formerly known as FTS, known as TAR before that, because reasons). I don’t know your family situation or career plans are or what the TAR situation is like for your community, but if I had it to over again, I would have gone that route. It’s all the benefits of AD - pay, BAH, Tricare, and counts toward a Regular retirement - but without the deployments and such. If you go the NRC CO route, you also have the opportunity to live in some parts of the country other than Fleet concentration areas.

Regarding TAR, to quote the great 20th century philosopher Ferris Bueller:

If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

 

[AllAmerican75]

When you resign you don’t PCS to a NOSC (they’re now called a Navy Reserve Center/NRC), you will move either to your home of record or whichever location you/family decide. If your post-navy location is further than your HOR, you will have to pay the difference in costs. The navy will only fund a move to your HOR in terms of distance.

I’ve heard 9 months is a good timeframe to submit your resignation in NSIPS. You can ask your detailer if he/she thinks that’s fine too.

Just like with navy recruiters, CTOs can be hit or miss. Biggest thing is early and consistent communication. Hold them accountable if you don’t feel you are getting quality customer service.

Hope this helps!

Thank you. I'll get hot on talking to the detailer and CTO ASAP.

All accurate, just to add they’ll pay for your PCS equivalent distance to HOR *or* PLEAD (Place of Entry on Active Duty, wherever you first put up your hand and solemnly swore) whichever is greater. In my case, I was leaving AD from Pensacola. My HOR was only a few miles from P’cola but my PLEAD was the Academy, so they paid for an equivalent Pensacola to Annapolis. The move was otherwise just like any other PCS; make sure you get your DLA and such.

A Reserve recruiter should contact you once your resignation paperwork is in. They should give you the basic gouge on affiliating with a unit wherever you’re moving, or VTU if you’re not ready for the full experience just yet. At least when I left AD, there was a “are you interested in the Reserves?” checkbox on the paperwork, I assume there still is.

Remember that the Reserves understand you fit the Navy around your personal life, not the other way around like on AD; tell them what you need and intend to do and are able to do. The flip side is that you have to take care of a lot of adminstrivia on your own, that is typically handled by your Admin shop in an active unit. The NOSC (sorry, NRC) is always understaffed for the number of Reservists they have assigned and they can’t (and won’t) do that stuff for you. A ton of things will drop through the cracks, to your detriment. You’re your own Admin.

Before you drop your letter, maybe look into TAR (formerly known as FTS, known as TAR before that, because reasons). I don’t know your family situation or career plans are or what the TAR situation is like for your community, but if I had it to over again, I would have gone that route. It’s all the benefits of AD - pay, BAH, Tricare, and counts toward a Regular retirement - but without the deployments and such. If you go the NRC CO route, you also have the opportunity to live in some parts of the country other than Fleet concentration areas.

If you go the SELRES route, there’s one thing to remember and I can’t stress this too much: the Reserves are not like the Regular Navy. It looks and sounds similar enough to fool you, but it’s a totally different bag of tricks. Do not assume that because something worked one way when you were on AD, it’s the same in the Res. Many a new SELRES has been bitten that way.

I just hung it up in January after 23 years total, twelve of those as a SELRES, and for all the occasional asspains, I’m glad I did it. Good luck!

FTS/TAR isn't an option for EDOs. We're too small of a community for it. I'm getting out because I can no longer balance the needs of my AD career with the needs of being a single father, so I've made the decision to put family first and Navy second. It's been a tough call to make and I feel like a shitbag for walking away but it's what I gotta do.

What kind of admin do I need to stay on top of? GMTs? PHAs? DTS?

I transferred my post 9/11 GI Bill to my kid and still owe two years on it. It's there any paper work I need to fill out when transitioning so that don't think I had a break in service?

 

[nittany03]

FTS/TAR isn't an option for EDOs. We're too small of a community for it. I'm getting out because I can no longer balance the needs of my AD career with the needs of being a single father, so I've made the decision to put family first and Navy second. It's been a tough call to make and I feel like a shitbag for walking away but it's what I gotta do.

Before you affiliate, if you're a single dad, get a hold of someone in the community and understand what the situation is regarding MOBs. It's not GWOT anymore, but they also haven't gone away completely, and those who are prime MOB bait are the junior most qualified for a billet who have never MOBed before . . . i.e. potentially you. Your kids are more important than handing out basketballs in Djibouti.

 

[snake020]

What kind of admin do I need to stay on top of? GMTs? PHAs? DTS?

Mostly GMTs, PHA/dental, annual readiness questionnaire, PFA, NFAAS, page 2 every six months, GTCC page 13, telework docs, etc . Not rocket science, but many of your Sailors will find a way to not do it and you'll have to chase them down. Also expect NRCs to lose the paperwork and demand to know why you're overdue.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Thank you. I'll get hot on talking to the detailer and CTO ASAP.


FTS/TAR isn't an option for EDOs. We're too small of a community for it. I'm getting out because I can no longer balance the needs of my AD career with the needs of being a single father, so I've made the decision to put family first and Navy second. It's been a tough call to make and I feel like a shitbag for walking away but it's what I gotta do.

What kind of admin do I need to stay on top of? GMTs? PHAs? DTS?

I transferred my post 9/11 GI Bill to my kid and still owe two years on it. It's there any paper work I need to fill out when transitioning so that don't think I had a break in service?

There a several dozen, if not more, admin requirements that the NRC is required to manage. Things as simple as "update your NSIPS/NFAAS" to GMTs. Arguably "too much" with limited resources, however their hands are tied nor do they feel the need to voice the concern up.

A few other transition thoughts I had:

1. For your separation move, unlike active duty PCS you can't request advance travel unless you have a hardship. For a sep move, you will submit your travel claim post-move to your local NRC. Expect this to take a while...
2. If your last day in the Navy is, for example, today (30 April), I wouldn't expect to drill until at least June or July - and that might be a very hopeful timeline. There's two big processes with PERS/CTO pushing your paperwork and the local NRC "gaining" you as a SELRES member.
2a. I would verify that you're eligible for TAMP, it's six months free active duty TRICARE benefits. I THINK you qualify. If so, you just need to call TRICARE and set it up.
3. As a new SELRES, you will very likely be IAP (In-Assignment Processing, essentially a made up job) to your local NRC. Being that you're an EDO, it's possible you are IAP to a local SURGEMAIN (it seems like every NRC has one) which is where EDOs are commonly assigned. You want to make sure you apply for a real billet via JO APPLY ASAP. IAP isn't intended to be a permanent billet, but rather temporary as you get situation.
3a. Speaking of JO APPLY, when it comes time to apply, you will be given ample time (about a month) to submit your preferences. Unlike active duty, JO APPLY lists the billet/s as well as a POC (usually the unit CO/XO or RPD) for you to reach out and ask questions. Find out if this is a reserve unit that would be supportive of your background (i.e. don't want you to travel every month, flexible drilling, etc.). There's been times that I liked a billet, only to find out it didn't align with personal/professional goals after talking to people.

Mostly GMTs, PHA/dental, annual readiness questionnaire, PFA, NFAAS, page 2 every six months, GTCC page 13, telework docs, etc . Not rocket science, but many of your Sailors will find a way to not do it and you'll have to chase them down. Also expect NRCs to lose the paperwork and demand to know why you're overdue.

Each NRC is different and it can be a combination of TAR/active duty staff members being overworked or simply not doing their jobs efficiently (usually the latter). I've personally completed training and/or submitted "hit list" items and it still gets lost or misplaced.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Before you affiliate, if you're a single dad, get a hold of someone in the community and understand what the situation is regarding MOBs. It's not GWOT anymore, but they also haven't gone away completely, and those who are prime MOB bait are the junior most qualified for a billet who have never MOBed before . . . i.e. potentially you. Your kids are more important than handing out basketballs in Djibouti.

Thank you, I didn't think of this. I'm an O4 so not sure if I'm still "junior" or not. I'll keep it in mind.

Mostly GMTs, PHA/dental, annual readiness questionnaire, PFA, NFAAS, page 2 every six months, GTCC page 13, telework docs, etc . Not rocket science, but many of your Sailors will find a way to not do it and you'll have to chase them down. Also expect NRCs to lose the paperwork and demand to know why you're overdue.

I've been at a warfare center the last two years working with mostly civilians. The experience sounds very similar. Lots of stuff gets lost and slips through the cracks because they have no idea how to manage military people and I've largely had to take the initiative. Thank you for the heads up.

There a several dozen, if not more, admin requirements that the NRC is required to manage. Things as simple as "update your NSIPS/NFAAS" to GMTs. Arguably "too much" with limited resources, however their hands are tied nor do they feel the need to voice the concern up.

A few other transition thoughts I had:

1. For your separation move, unlike active duty PCS you can't request advance travel unless you have a hardship. For a sep move, you will submit your travel claim post-move to your local NRC. Expect this to take a while...
2. If your last day in the Navy is, for example, today (30 April), I wouldn't expect to drill until at least June or July - and that might be a very hopeful timeline. There's two big processes with PERS/CTO pushing your paperwork and the local NRC "gaining" you as a SELRES member.
2a. I would verify that you're eligible for TAMP, it's six months free active duty TRICARE benefits. I THINK you qualify. If so, you just need to call TRICARE and set it up.
3. As a new SELRES, you will very likely be IAP (In-Assignment Processing, essentially a made up job) to your local NRC. Being that you're an EDO, it's possible you are IAP to a local SURGEMAIN (it seems like every NRC has one) which is where EDOs are commonly assigned. You want to make sure you apply for a real billet via JO APPLY ASAP. IAP isn't intended to be a permanent billet, but rather temporary as you get situation.
3a. Speaking of JO APPLY, when it comes time to apply, you will be given ample time (about a month) to submit your preferences. Unlike active duty, JO APPLY lists the billet/s as well as a POC (usually the unit CO/XO or RPD) for you to reach out and ask questions. Find out if this is a reserve unit that would be supportive of your background (i.e. don't want you to travel every month, flexible drilling, etc.). There's been times that I liked a billet, only to find out it didn't align with personal/professional goals after talking to people.



Each NRC is different and it can be a combination of TAR/active duty staff members being overworked or simply not doing their jobs efficiently (usually the latter). I've personally completed training and/or submitted "hit list" items and it still gets lost or misplaced.

Thank you. JOApply sounds very similar to how we EDOs "self detail" and network to move from billet to billet. Is there the same golden path of jobs needed to be competitive for O5 or is it different? For instance, as a SWO the progression was DIVO to Staff Tour to Department Head to OIC/PC or MCM CO to XO to CO and you eventually made O5 along the way. I'm assuming it's not that cut and dried in the Reserves.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Thank you, I didn't think of this. I'm an O4 so not sure if I'm still "junior" or not. I'll keep it in mind.


I've been at a warfare center the last two years working with mostly civilians. The experience sounds very similar. Lots of stuff gets lost and slips through the cracks because they have no idea how to manage military people and I've largely had to take the initiative. Thank you for the heads up.


Thank you. JOApply sounds very similar to how we EDOs "self detail" and network to move from billet to billet. Is there the same golden path of jobs needed to be competitive for O5 or is it different? For instance, as a SWO the progression was DIVO to Staff Tour to Department Head to OIC/PC or MCM CO to XO to CO and you eventually made O5 along the way. I'm assuming it's not that cut and dried in the Reserves.

For the community management and promotion side of things, recommend you check out the reserve officer community briefs and merit reorder slides, linked here:

Community Briefs

The individual board convening order is another solid document to reference:

FY-24

For specific command / milestone billets, that might be worth an OCM discussion to help set you up for success. The RC EDO OCM has contact info on the community page:

RC EDO

 

[AllAmerican75]

For the community management and promotion side of things, recommend you check out the reserve officer community briefs and merit reorder slides, linked here:

Community Briefs

The individual board convening order is another solid document to reference:

FY-24

For specific command / milestone billets, that might be worth an OCM discussion to help set you up for success. The RC EDO OCM has contact info on the community page:

RC EDO

Thank you very much.

 

[wink]

Love it. It's all back to the future. NOSC is now Reserve Center, like it was before and for decades. FTS is back to TAR. But I still don't know what a CTO is. That is new to me. Like a reserve detailer? Never had CTOs. I retired from the reserves in 2007.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Love it. It's all back to the future. NOSC is now Reserve Center, like it was before and for decades. FTS is back to TAR. But I still don't know what a CTO is. That is new to me. Like a reserve detailer? Never had CTOs. I retired from the reserves in 2007.

CTO = Career Transition Office (PERS-97)

They’re like career counselors which help separating active duty members affiliate into the SELRES. For officer, it’s usually an O-2/3 on recall orders who help out.

If the member has been out / IRR over a certain period of time, they won’t work with a CTO, but rather a reserve / prior service recruiter.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Thank you. JOApply sounds very similar to how we EDOs "self detail" and network to move from billet to billet. Is there the same golden path of jobs needed to be competitive for O5 or is it different? For instance, as a SWO the progression was DIVO to Staff Tour to Department Head to OIC/PC or MCM CO to XO to CO and you eventually made O5 along the way. I'm assuming it's not that cut and dried in the Reserves.

Yes and no. APPLY and JOAPPLY (O-4 and below) are basically job posting boards, where open billets are advertised ("open" may also include billets currently filled with someone overgrade). You put together a ranked dream sheet for the board, which convenes annually, and find out your assignment results a few weeks later. You have the option of saying whether or not you'll take any other open billet if you're not picked for something on your list. There should be a unit POC listed for each billet so you can reach out and find out what the participation expectations are, etc, before submitting your dream sheet. Unit COs can submit BNRs for specific bodies, so if there's a reserve unit that really works for your life and the CO feels you'd be a good fit, he can say so to the board.*

*(NB: CNAFR units work differently, they pick their folks in a separate, internal process...N/A to you, @AllAmerican75, but for any brownshoed folks who might wonder)

Different units have different participation expectations. Some are pretty rigid "be here on drill weekend unless you're dead or hospitalized or it's a UA" others do Blue/Gold drill weekends, still others are "flex drill" where other than 2-4 mandatory DWEs where you knock out all your GMT, PFA, etc etc, you drill when you're able - the latter is common with units that augment AD units.

There's not exactly a "career path" as such in the reserves. There is that same "outstanding performance in positions of increasing responsibility" mantra but not a set career progression. Actually there's not even necessarily any expectation to advance. If your ambition is just to meet unit participation requirements and get paid until you hit 20 or make O-5, that's fine. If you want to do more and seek out more responsibilities within the unit (like DH type roles), that's also fine. You work that out with your unit CO. Promotion boards like to see that spirit of volunteerism, if promotion is what you want; finding a pay billet gets progressively harder once you make O-5 and above.

Keep in mind that you aren't as billet-limited by your designator as on AD. There may be some specific EDO-oriented billets out there, but there are also a lot of "any designator" billets. My last unit was an OPNAV augment staff, and we had a little bit of everything - pilots, sub dudes, SEALs, Shoes, Medical Corps, Seabees, FAOs, you name it. That's common on fleet/staff/watchfloor augment units. What kinds of units you go to doesn't really matter so much as your level of participation.

Billets are much easier to find in the Fleet concentration areas and places like DC. If you're going to be living in East Styrofoam, Kansas, or whatever, it's going to be harder, especially as you have to eat your commuting costs (though you can write them off of your taxes).

What @nittany03 said about mobilizing is very true, especially given your family situation. While it's not the dark days of the RMPs and "12 months in Bagram for all my friends" any more, there is still an expectation that you will be mob-able. The Res is in the process of transition to the "Mob to Billet" construct which supposedly will wean the Navy off using the Reserves as free extra labor, but it's not at all clear yet how that's actually going to work...in theory there's no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is. Put it this way: if your life situation is such that you absolutely can not go OCONUS for a six-ish month stretch any time soon, you might consider putting off affiliating.