You are here:
Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Palace Chase?
Advertisement
Question
I've heard the term palace chse a million times since I've been in the Air Force. I think it has something to do with going from active duty to reserve but I'm not sure. Could you please clarify what it is and how it works?
Hi Kristopher,
"Palace Chase" is an Air Force program which allows an Air Force active duty member to be discharged from active duty early, in exchange for enlisting for a period of time in the Air Force Reserves, or Air National Guard.
A similar program, called "Palace Front" allows active duty Air Force members to enlist in an Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard unit the day after their normal active duty discharge.
Approval is not certain. It depends in large part on the "manning-level" of your AFSC (job). If you are serving on active duty in a job that the Air Force considers to be "undermanned," a Palace Chase is not likely to be approved. If, on the other hand, your active duty AFSC is considered "overmanned" or "balanced," there is a good chance that a Palace Chase application could be approved.
To be eligible for Palace Chase, you must first perform at least 2/3rds of your current active duty commitment. In other words, if you are are a four year active duty enlistment contract, you cannot separate from active duty for Palace Chase until you have served at least three years on active duty (about) 2 years and six months. If you're serving on a 6 year enlistment, you cannot separate until you have served almost four years of your enlisted commitment.
For complete details about the Palace Chase Program, including other qualification factors, you'll want to view Air Force Instruction 36-3205, "APPLYING FOR THE PALACE CHASE AND PALACE FRONT PROGRAMS," which is available to view online on my website at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/afreg/p/afi363205.htm
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Website at: http://usmilitary.about.com
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
Related Articles
- Army Regulations - Army Regulation 601-25 -- Delay In Reporting For And Exemption From Active Duty, Initial Active Duty For Training, & Reserve Forces Duty
- Air Force Instruction 51-903 - DISSIDENT AND PROTEST ACTIVITIES
- Population/Major Units Assigned for Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
- Population/Major Units Assigned for Izmir Air Base, Turkey
- Air Force Instruction 44-120 - DRUG ABUSE TESTING PROGRAM
Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.