Expert: James Bell - 10/31/2008

Question
My son is currently in the right to service program in the navy,is being told that whe his 2 yrs active duty is up he will be in the reserves for 15 months.the possiability of him staying active in the navy is about 1% (from a career couselor in the navy).What are the possiabilitties of him being able to go in the blue to green program??he wants to stay in the active miltary,not the reserves and of cousrse at time of enlistment was told by his recrutier (no prolbem you can just re-enlist in the navy )this is turning out to NOT be the case.....


Answer
Robert -

I have no practical experience with how the Navy does things, as I was Air Force, so I can't speak as to their personnel and reenlistment regulations.  In the Air Force, if you wanted to stay active duty, you would reenlist.

Approximately 12-18 months prior to the end of your enlistment, the base personnel office would send you a reminder that you needed to secure your CJR (career job reservation) to continue in that job.  Every position in the military is filled with a warm body.

If you do not intend to reenlist, then your "slot" is made available in the assignment structure of the Air Force.  That way they have that year to fill the slot with someone else.  If you want to keep the job, then you actually reserve the slot you already have.  It usually takes about six weeks to process, and you are cleared to reenlist for another 4 or 6 years.

PROVIDED the Navy utilizes the same basic system, if the Navy is not wanting him to keep that particular job, he may have missed his opportunity to reserve it again and someone else took it, or that particular slot is simply being eliminated.

I can't believe with all the need for bodies in the military, that they wouldn't accept him back in the Navy, but it would be in his best interest to explore all his available options, both in the Navy and with other services.

Sincerely,
James Bell