<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>This is probably right up Zaphod's alley... my daughter was just wondering if your service time begins during your first year at the Academy or upon graduation?</p>
<p>I told her let's get TO I-Day, THROUGH Plebe summer, not to mention four very intense years... but you know kids.</p>
<p>I believe it begins upon graduation from the academy but there may be some legislation in the works to change that.</p>
<p>It begins on graduation day. If you go to NAPS, your NAPS time counts.</p>
<p>In short, your four years by the bay count for ZERO in terms of pay or retirement.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that will ever change.</p>
<p>What fun would one lonely year in the service be! Hoo-rah to five!</p>
<p>Shogun,
Please elaborate. Missed you!</p>
<p>usna09mom</p>
<p>depends on what you service select. you comittment if you go navy air then it starts when you start flight training, these days which in many cases due to backups at pensacola, could be a year after you graduate. It is different in many of the service selections to make sure they maximize your time in</p>
<p>navy07- I believe that might only be true for ROTC grads. I think USNA grads, if delayed for their track, are given active duty temp assignments to wait for their track class availability. This is what I was told anyway....</p>
<p>As far as retirement goes...
Some federal service branches have offered to "buy-back" USNA time into your retirement years as condition of employment offers following military duty. In other words, you can get employment offers for instance, from the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). If you have 9 years active service when you got out of the Navy for example, the NRC would pay into your retirement to 'buy-back' your 4 years at USNA. Thus you would now have 13 of the required 20-year minimum retirement already in. It is a good deal!</p>
<p>There are sweeping changes in retirement under review now, but only minor changes are likely to take effect within the next 10 years, so it is probably not much of an issue to C/O 2010 folks.</p>
<p>Navy07 brings up an interesting point that requires clarification.</p>
<p>In my answer, I was talking about time-in-grade. Time-In-Grade is used to calculate your pay as well as promotions. For example, promotion to LTJG happens two years to the day of your commissioning unless you ran your ship aground or something like that.</p>
<p>Your NAPS service year counts, as does any service done before NAPS or USNA. As such, I was often being paid one year higher than my year group because of NAPS, whereas others who were prior-enlisted were being paid 2, 3, or even 5 years higher. This is also the time used to calculate when you can retire.</p>
<p>Now, along comes the somewhat different issue of your COMMITMENT after graduation. As Navy07 states, it varies somewhat for some service selections, and can change every few years. For example, in 1991 the minimum service commitment was five years. For pilots, however, it was SEVEN years AFTER THEY GOT THEIR WINGS, which usually took two years, meaning they were in for at least NINE after graduation. I BELIEVE the minimum commitment has since been upped to SIX years (current Mids please correct if I'm wrong), so I guess 2 for 7 Night is now 2 for 8 Night.</p>
<p>Now that things are as clear as mud... :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Ahh...But the question was..."wondering if your service time begins during your first year at the Academy or upon graduation?"</p>
<p>I don't see anything in their about time-in-grade or sevice obligation...just service time.</p>
<p>Service time definitely (under current law) does NOT start until graduation day at USNA....PERIOD.</p>
<p>My last post was only showing how some good deals after military service may recognize USNA service apart from other (ROTC for example) service. A benny under some circumstances.</p>
<p>Z! consider yourself "under training"!!! :D :D</p>
<p>I agreed with you from the get-go in that regard:</p>
<p>
[quote]
It begins on graduation day. If you go to NAPS, your NAPS time counts.</p>
<p>In short, your four years by the bay count for ZERO in terms of pay or retirement.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I was just clarifying the later comments, as well as being proactive. "Service Time" is hardly a clear description.</p>
<p>Reading is fundamental. :D</p>
<p>Yeah,
We call it PEBD (pay entry base date)...well actually I guess it is really "time in service" because PEBD is also used for situations such as NAPS-to-USNA to get you more pay upon 1-year out of graduation instead of two.</p>
<p>Besides, it was really a no brainer, right? I mean come on.... a quarter million dollar education in exchange for one year service after USNA graduation?? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I was under the impression that while the time at the academy did not count towards service time or retirement, it was added to your total time when you retired if you got 20+ years in. ie, if you were to retire at 21 years you would add the USNA time and it would be calculated at 25 years. I also know that in the late 90's when the Navy was looking for volunteer reductions, they gave USNA grads the four years so they could retire early.</p>
<p>LFWB dad- Now that is interesting. Never heard that one before. Then again, I hadn't heard about the NRC offer until recently, when a USNA grad departed the service after MIT grad school and was offered that deal.</p>
<p>I KNEW I would get the info, and then some! </p>
<p>Thanks all. The line I liked is Dad2B'2010's, talk about "bang" for your buck.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Besides, it was really a no brainer, right? I mean come on.... a quarter million dollar education in exchange for one year service after USNA graduation??
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Precisely.</p>
<p>I had forgotten about the 4 years at USNA being tacked on after 20.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I had forgotten about the 4 years at USNA being tacked on after 20.
[/quote]
So, that is reality then? A little added benny...if you can suvive 20 years of crap after 4 years of hell. :D</p>
<p>I BELIEVE it is, yes.</p>
<p>At the very least, the story was floating around as far back as 1991.</p>
<p>Many pilots, especially Navy end up serving 9 years to complete their requirement since many are forced to TAD up to a year at the academy following graduation.</p>
<p>I served in submarines, so I'm no expert. For pilots, their commitment starts when they receive their wings. Generally, helo pilots get their wings much faster than jet pilots.</p>
<p>My roommate got the the next-to-last available pilot billet on service selection night. He reported to Pensacola about a year after our graduation. Towards the end on his initial flight training, he broke his leg and had to repeat the initial flight training. His comittment started about three years after graduation-- and he was a helo pilot.</p>