Pursue personal, professional goals

By Daniela VestalJune 16, 2015

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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 17, 2015) -- The Army's Career Intermission Pilot Program is back and has been extended through Dec. 31, 2019.

Under the program, Soldiers can apply for a one-time, temporary transition to the Individual Ready Reserve to pursue professional or personal growth outside the Army, said Albert Eggerton, deputy chief, Officer Division, U.S. Army G-1.

At the end of their intermission, they will re-enter the Army with a service obligation of two months for every month they were out.

"The program has slots available for 20 officers and 20 enlisted Soldiers each calendar year," Eggerton said.

"It is targeted to officers in year groups 1999 through 2011; warrant officers; sergeants and staff sergeants in the regular Army; and active Reserve Soldiers who have completed their initial three-year term on active duty."

The pilot program was authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act in 2009 to determine whether giving Soldiers a break in service helps "retain the valuable investment in experience and training that is otherwise lost when a Soldier separates permanently," Eggerton said.

Patricia Woods is the CIPP program manager for the Enlisted Personnel Management Division at U.S. Army Human Resources Command.

She said most of the enlisted applicants she works with want to pursue educational goals or spend time with Family members when unexpected life events occur.

Woods said this program is a good option for Soldiers who have something come up in their lives they need to focus their full attention on before continuing with their military careers.

Woods provided several situations of how Soldiers might use use CIPP:

Soldiers whose parents are in very poor health, who want to spend the last couple of years with them, Soldiers who have children with disabilities who want to take the child to doctor appointments and focus their full attention on the child; or Soldiers undergoing fertility treatments who want to focus their time on starting Families, Wood said.

While on intermission, Soldiers cannot use Army tuition assistance but are able to use their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, Woods said. While Soldiers are able to pursue any education degree or program they want to, they also maintain their current rank and grade.

"CIPP is not a commissioning program," Woods said. "So, you are going to come back in, the way you went out."

"It is important for Soldiers to understand the differences in their benefits while using this program," said Robert Peterson, CIPP Program manager, Officer

Personnel Management Division, Human Resources Command. "Soldiers will continue to receive Tricare, commissary privileges and one-thirtieth of their base pay twice a month."

Peterson previously worked with compassionate reassignments for Officer Personnel Management Directorate. He said CIPP can be an alternative for Soldiers who cannot be reassigned under the Compassionate Reassignment Program but have the financial resources in place to support themselves and their Families while participating in an intermission through CIPP.

"Through the compassionate program, the situation the Soldier is being reassigned for has to resolve itself within one year," said Peterson. "Many of the Soldiers looking into compassionate reassignment had Family members with illnesses requiring treatments that would exceed the year time limit. A program like CIPP would have been an excellent alternative for them."

Peterson said the program can also benefit dual-military Families who may not have had much time together based on the deployment rhythms of the last several years.

"I (know) a Soldier who just had her second child and (she) and her husband's assignment cycles just have not synced," said Peterson. "So, she is getting out for 21 months so she and her husband's schedules will line up when she comes back in and they can go to the Intermediate Level Course together."

"With the second iteration of this program, there is no cutoff date for applications," said Eggerton. "Soldiers must apply for the program eight months before they want to begin their intermission to allow time to complete the application and complete the congressionally-mandated Soldier for Life program."

"While on intermission, Soldiers must contact their program managers once a month and are responsible for maintaining their physical fitness," said Woods. "When the time comes to reenter the Army, the Soldier must be able to meet the established standards the Army sets for retention."

"Soldiers who believe they are not eligible for the program may be able to apply for an exception," said Eggerton. "Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis providing that the exception does not violate any of the statutory requirements."

For more information, please refer to Milper message number 15-161.