6.3 Reenlistments, Retention & Continuation

The Selective Reenlistment Program

The SRP applies to all enlisted personnel, and is the mechanism by which commanders, civilian directors, and supervisors evaluate first-term, second-term, and career Airmen "to ensure the USAF retains those who consistently demonstrate the capability and willingness of maintaining high professional standards."

Consideration Windows

15 for first-term, 13 for everyone else is the pattern to remember. Commanders may also conduct selective reenlistment consideration at any time outside the standardized window.

What Commanders Consider

Four factors are named: enlisted performance report ratings, unfavorable information from any substantiated source, the Airman's willingness to comply with USAF standards, and the Airman's ability (or lack thereof) to meet required training and duty performance levels.

Supervisors should review the Airman's personnel records — including the DAF Form 1137, Unfavorable Information File Summary, if applicable — before recommending.

Non-Selection and Appeal

If not selected, a DAF Form 418, Selective Reenlistment Program (SRP) Consideration/Denial of Continued Service for Airmen, is completed and the Airman informed. The commander sends the form to the military personnel flight after the Airman signs and initials, and must make sure the Airman understands the right to appeal.

The two clocks:

• The Airman has up to three calendar days to render an appeal intent
• The Airman must submit the appeal to the military personnel flight within 10 calendar days of the date the intent was rendered

The appeal authority depends on service length — a three-way split the PFE tests directly:

The decision of the appeal authority is final. Note the counterintuitive shape: the most senior authority (SecAF) reviews the 16-to-20-year band, not the 20-plus band.

The NCO Career Status Program

This program extends the length of reenlistments for RegAF Airmen. All Airmen who have been selected for continued service by their commander or civilian director (including those with approved waivers) and who have at least 12 years TAFMS on date of discharge (the day prior to reenlistment) will be reenlisted for an unspecified period.

They then serve up to their High Year of Tenure based on current grade — or projected grade if promoted — unless separated sooner by policy or law. Airmen who serve 20 or more years may retire, if otherwise eligible, no later than the first day of the month following High Year of Tenure.

AFH 1 names the benefit: it streamlines the reenlistment and extension process and alleviates unnecessary administrative actions for Airmen, supervisor chains, and military personnel flights.

The Career Job Reservation Program

The CJR program manages first-term Airman reenlistments by AFSC to prevent surpluses and shortages. All eligible first-term Airmen must have an approved CJR to reenlist.

The CJR window is identical for constrained and unconstrained AFSCs and is worth memorizing as a pair of months:

Airmen are placed on the career job applicant list on the first duty day of the month during which they complete 35 months on their current enlistment (59 months for six-year enlistees), but no later than the last duty day of the month during which they complete 43 months (67 months for six-year enlistees).

35–43 months for four-year enlistees; 59–67 months for six-year enlistees.

Two details AFH 1 flags: Airmen on the CJR waiting list whose AFSC is removed from the constrained list will receive a CJR, but those removed from the waiting list before the AFSC was unconstrained will not receive supplemental consideration. And the note: approved CJRs do not expire until the Airman's date of separation — while the body text says Airmen must reenlist on or before the CJR expiration date to keep it.

Enlistment Extensions

An Airman on an active enlistment may request an extension if there is a service-directed retainability reason and the extension is in the best interest of the USAF.

• Extensions are granted in whole-month increments — AFH 1's example: needing 15½ months of retainability requires a full 16-month extension
• Voluntary extensions are limited to a maximum of 48 months per enlistment
• If specialties are constrained, the Air Staff may limit first-term Airmen extensions to a specified period
• Airmen may extend to establish a date of separation at high year of tenure; normally they must be within two years of high year of tenure before extending
• Once approved, an extension has the legal effect of the enlistment agreement, extending the period of obligated service
• Extensions can only be canceled when the reason for the extension no longer exists, and only if the Airman has not already entered into the extension

The Selective Retention Bonus

The SRB is a monetary incentive paid to Airmen serving in certain selected critical military skills who reenlist for additional obligated service, intended for skills with demonstrated retention shortfalls or high training costs. Airmen in SRB skills who reenlist or extend for at least three years may be eligible, subject to DAFI 36-2606, Reenlistment and Extension of Enlistment in the United States Air Force. Airmen can expect to serve in the SRB specialty for the entire enlistment for which the bonus was paid.

The Zones

Zones are determined by TAFMS at the time of reenlistment or the date the extension is entered. An eligible Airman may receive an SRB in each zone, but only one SRB per zone.

Notice there is no Zone D in the list — a detail that trips candidates who assume a continuous A-through-E sequence.

The Calculation

SRB = one month's base pay × number of years reenlisting or extending × the SRB multiple on the authorized SRB listing.

Maximum SRB per zone: $100,000.

The base-pay trap. AFH 1 states that the Airman's base pay on the date of discharge is used — so an Airman promoted to Staff Sergeant on 1 May who reenlists on 1 May has the bonus computed on Senior Airman base pay from the day prior. Expect a scenario item built on exactly this fact.

Worked example. A Senior Airman with a monthly base pay of $3,000 reenlists for 6 years in an AFSC with an SRB multiple of 1.5: $3,000 × 6 × 1.5 = $27,000, which is below the $100,000 zone cap and therefore paid in full.

Retraining

Retraining is a force management tool used primarily to balance career fields across all AFSCs and ensure sustainability, and it also returns disqualified Airmen to a productive status. The Online Retraining Advisory is a living document on myFSS, maintained by AFPC. The reference is AFMAN 36-2100.

First-Term Airmen Retraining Program. In the continental United States, first-term Airmen may apply no earlier than the first duty day of the month during which they complete 35 months (59 for six-year enlistees) and no later than the last duty day of the 43rd month (67 for six-year enlistees) — the same window as the CJR. Outside the continental United States, they may apply nine to 15 months prior to the date they are eligible to return from overseas, if within their normal first-term window. Airmen with an indefinite return-from-overseas date must complete the original tour length before departing for retraining.

On the last duty day of each month, AFPC selects the most eligible Airmen using quality indicators: most recent performance report rating, current grade, projected grade, previous two performance report ratings, date of rank, TAFMS date, aptitude qualification examination score (electrical, mechanical, administrative, general), AFECD Part II, and requested AFSC preferences.

NCO Retraining Program. Designed to retrain second-term and career Airmen from overage specialties into shortage specialties. It runs in two phases:

Airmen possessing a secondary or additional AFSC in a shortage skill may be returned to that skill if in the best interest of the USAF.