how long do you have to be in the military?

Question

i was talking to a couple of older friends of mine who where in the army and they got out in four years, but they both said that if you join up now that youll be in there for a very good while. if i would sign up as soon as i turn 18, would i be able to get out in 4 years? by the way i am going to the army and going to try to go to the 82nd airbourne.

my family is dreading to see me sign up because they think id be stuck in the military for life. id like to put in maybe 10 to 15 years, but i was just wondering if i could get out if i ever wanted too.

Answer 1

Initial active duty contracts typically are for 2, 3, 4, or 6 years (depending on job and other factors).

However, the actual contract incurs an 8-year military responsibility. Also, if you are in during time of war, your contract may be--at the request of the service--involuntarily extended for the needs of the service.

What does this mean?

If you enilst for four years and get out you can be involuntarily recalled until those 8 years are up or for the duration of any war plus 6 months.

If you enlist for 4 years and at 4 years the military is still at war, they can "stop-loss" you and keep you in for the duration of the war plus 6 months.

So... Yeah...

Answer 2

Right now there is a 10 year service requirement.

Don't get that twisted though. If you go into active duty, you can sign up for as little as 18 months (not including training).

If you go into reserves or national guard, the time is the same, it's just differently served.

You can go for up to 6 years.

Now, about that 10 year requirement. This means that in the event of an emergency where you are required and there is nobody else who can help, they can call you back until the end of those initial 10 years.

The number started at 4 years. When I joined it was 8. Now it is 10.

I highly recommend service. At the least you will learn more about yourself than you ever knew you didn't know.

And no, not everybody goes to war.


Also, CG-23 Sailor is giving you dangerous advice. He spoke of extensions. Yes, extensions exist. However, this is in the form of a stop-loss. A stop loss happens when the unit you're in is about to deploy, the entire unit is prevented from leaving service or the unit until I believe 90 days after returning. This is done ONLY at the unit level and only effects your contract if your time of service ends during deployments.

Like I said, not everone deploys anyways.

Answer 3

I will have been in service for twenty come September 15.
I did 5 1/2 years of active duty Navy, then joined the Naval Reserve.

Though there is a reported two year Army enlistment, the basic enlistment program is the same as it has been for thirty years. The basic enlistment is for 8 years: 4 years of active service, with 4 years of inactive reserve. Most people enlist for 1 term and then leave. If you maintain a good record, you can re-enlist until you reach retirement. If you chose not to re-enlist for 4 years, you can be allowed out of military service, but you are eligible for recall within the next 4 years.

Answer 4

You serve for as long as your enlistment contract states.

If you Enlist for 4 years or 6 then you serve 4 or 6.

Now what your friends may be talking about is one of a couple things. Your initial enlistment is for a total of 8 years.

whatever part of the 8 years is beyond your active duty period is served as "inactive reserve"
4 Active and 4 inactive.
or 6 active and 2 inactive.
Inactive reserve just means you are on a list and in an emergency they could recall you do active duty during that time.

another thing is that under extraordinary circumstances you could be involuntarily extended and not released from active duty at the end of your enlistment (for the good of the military).

This is generally not done wholesale, but only to specific individuals under extreme circumstances.
for example: an individual who has high marks and good evaluations is in a particular military specialty that is CRITICALLY undermanned and they (the military) absolutely needs him/her, and his/her leaving the military could in fact jeopardize the military's mission.

Normally this is only temporary (until a replacement can be found) and for specific units. This is not a military wide stop-anyone-from-leaving sort of thing.

If you sign up for four years then yes, you will be able to get out in four years. The most likely thing to happen is that if we are still in a major war in 4 years and the military is critically undermanned... they might just keep you active duty for the other half of your 8 year total commitment.

but think on the likelyhood of that.. Right now we have two major theaters of military operations neither of which look to be ended anytime soon (Iraq and Afghanistan). with recruitment levels at an all-time low. we are still discharging those whose enlistments are up.

Answer 5

The standard contract is 4 years active duty and 4 years reserve. Since they can call you up from the reserves, you could end up doing 8 years active duty.

If we have a declared war, you are in for the duration. Do not worry about that however as Congress has not had the balls to declare a war since Dec 8, 1941, which is the reason we had the mess in Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. They decline to do their job so the President runs wild.

Only Ron Paul has had the balls to say NO to Iraq and now the rest of the presidential candidates are having to flip flop.

Answer 6

I was able to join for 2 years. The truth is the job you choose and the service you choose make a very big difference as do you ASFAB scores.

You should always try to sign up for the minimum amount of time. It is better to re enlist and be able to choose whatever base you want, or change a job.

You may not be able to join the 82nd. You don't pick that. you can only pick your job. Infantry man ... 11B. When you re enlist, you can then pick your base and get the division you want.

Answer 7

You can do four years and get out most likely, the only reason it would go past the four year mark is during a time of war. they may issue a stop loss which means that if you were scheduled to leave the unit and that unit is about to deploy they could keep you with the unit until the deployment is over. that is mainly to keep the unit up to strength. other than that you can do 2 or three years if you want.

Answer 8

You would get out at the end of your enlistment unless a stop loss action was implemented (which has happened during this war and during the first Gulf war), in which case the military can retain your services for the duration of the conflict plus six months.

Answer 9

I have been in a total of 6 years, 4 active duty at Fort Bragg two so far in the NG

Answer 10

If you turn out to be a high speed soldier, You can stay in the Army up to 30 years or more!