As more soldiers are told the leave, the Army has tried to simplify its guidance for receiving involuntary separation pay.

Laws, directives and policies governing special pays for soldiers who are getting the boot have been consolidated in an entirely new regulation, AR 637-2.

The regulation, Separation Pay (Nondisability) and Levels of Payment, was published April 21, and will take effect May 21.

It applies to Regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve officers and enlisted soldiers who are on active duty or active service.

Until now there has not been a regulation focused specifically on the federal law (Title 10 USC, 1174) and Defense Department policies (DODI 133.2.29) governing involuntary separation pay.

An Army publication (DA Circular 635-92-1) that addressed these matters expired in 1997, well before the convening of the force reduction and retention screening boards associated with the ongoing drawdown.

As stipulated by Congress, the nondisability separation pay program provides a one-time, lump-sum payment to regular and reserve soldiers who are being involuntarily discharged or released from active duty or active service short of reaching retirement eligibility.

As a drawdown tool, involuntary separation pays complement the Temporary Early Retirement Authority, which is popularly known as the 15-year early retirement plan.

TERA is not an entitlement, but rather an option that to date has been limited to soldiers who are being involuntarily separated from active duty because of the drawdown, or in the case of some officers, because of promotion non-selection.

Unlike the early retirement options of the post-Cold War drawdown of the 1990s, soldiers cannot volunteer for TERA if they have not been selected for involuntary separation.

TERA allows soldiers with at least 15, but fewer than 20 years of active service to receive the same benefits as those who retire with 20 or more years of service, except their retirement pay is reduced accordingly.

Soldiers who fail to qualify for TERA, but who have at least six, but fewer than 20, years of service generally are entitled to involuntary separation pay, provided they are not being forced out for cause, such as a courts martial conviction.

As detailed in the new regulation, there are two types of involuntary separation pay as follows:

Half Separation Pay – for soldiers who are not qualified for retention, and who have been denied re-enlistment or continuation, and whose separation is characterized as "honorable" or "general."

Separations associated with the half-pay formula include expiration of service obligation, selected changes in service obligation, convenience of the government, drug abuse rehabilitation failure, alcohol abuse rehabilitation failure, security issues and service-specific programs designated for  half-pay, such as the Qualitative Management Program.

Payments are calculated by multiplying 5 percent of a soldier's basic pay at the time of separation by years and partial years of active service.

Full Separation Pay – for soldiers who are qualified for retention, but who are being denied re-enlistment or continuation under "honorable" conditions because of a reduction in force, promotion non-selection or because of high-year of tenure policies, such as those associated with Retention Control Points.

Payments are calculated by multiplying 10 percent of a soldier's basic pay at the time of separation by years and partial years of service.

Federal law requires that soldiers who receive involuntary separation pay agree to serve a minimum of three years in the Ready Reserve, which for soldiers consists of a National Guard or Army Reserve troop unit, the Individual Mobilization Augmentee program or the Individual Ready Reserve.

The three-year Ready Reserve obligation will begin on the active-duty separation date, unless the soldier has an existing service obligation.

In such cases, the three-year obligation will not begin until the day after the existing obligation is completed in the Ready Reserve.

Before completing the reserve transition process, Active Army soldiers should make sure that a DA Form 3340 (Request for Reenlistment or Extension in the Regular Army) is used to validate their denial of continuation on active duty.

The Ready Reserve service agreement should be prepared and submitted on a DA Form 4187 (personnel action request) as described in Chapter 1 of AR 637-2.

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