Army Retention

Mission

The objective of the Army Retention Program is to sustain the Army's end strength by retaining personnel long term. Army retention maintains operational readiness and improves lethality through targeting the Army's best and brightest within critical fields to dominate near-peer adversaries with superior capabilities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Maintain Force Strength: Ensures the Army retains qualified Soldiers to meet end-strength goals and maintain readiness.

Retain Skilled Personnel: Prioritize the retention of highly skilled Soldiers, particularly in critical Military Occupational Specialties, to enhance operational capability and lethality.

Support Transitions: Facilitate the reenlistment, transfer, and assignment of Soldiers leaving the Regular Army to Reserve Component units, while adhering to geographic and strategic requirements.

Promote Career Growth: Encourage Soldiers to continue careers in the Army through guidance, resources, and opportunities for professional development.

Force Alignment: Recruit, retain, or transfer Soldiers in vital areas to achieve and sustain total force alignment across Army components.

Support Key Initiatives: Support programs such as the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Green to Gold Programs and the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, to help strengthen the Army's future leadership and readiness.

Latest News

Reenlistment Terms

Initial Term: A Soldier serving on an initial term of active Federal military service, or a Soldier who has previously served less than 180 cumulative days on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces.

Mid-Career: A Soldier on a second or subsequent period of active Federal military service who will have 10 or less years of active Federal military service on his or her separation date or at ETS.

NCO Career Status Program: Soldiers with 10 or more years of active duty. A Soldier on NCO career status has no actual ETS date. The Soldier’s service is governed by maximum retention control points for the specific rank held.

Reenlistment Options

Regular Army Reenlistment: Soldiers may reenlist for 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 years, regardless of grade or amount of service completed. Soldiers in the rank of staff sergeant or higher, who have 10 or more years active federal service on the date of discharge, will be restricted to an indefinite term of reenlistment.

Current Station Stabilization: Soldiers may reenlist for stabilization and guarantees up to 1 to 30-months period of stabilization at current duty assignment.

Army Training Reenlistment: Soldiers may reenlist for attendance at an available service school of choice for PMOS, Skill Qualification Identifier (SQI), Additional Skill Identifier (ASI), or language training.

Overseas Assignment Reenlistment: Soldiers may reenlist for an assignment in an overseas location.

CONUS Station of Choice: Soldiers may reenlist a specific duty station within the continental United States based on availability and Needs of the Army.

Reserve Component Reenlistment Options: Soldiers transitioning from the Regular Army can enlist into the Reserve Component, including the Army National Guard or U.S. Army Reserve, to continue serving part-time while pursuing civilian careers or education.

Reclassification

The Army reclassification process allows personnel to change their MOS to meet their career goals or the Army's needs. Soldiers may request reclassification voluntarily or during reenlistment, or it can be mandatory for force balancing requirements. Once approved, soldiers must complete the necessary training for their new MOS to become qualified.

Priority MOS

The Army has established reclassification targets to advance force-structure modernization and maintain readiness. As part of this effort, the Army will prioritize reclassifying Soldiers into priority MOSs to support the Army’s evolving structure.

Current Priority MOS List

13J Fire Control Specialist 13J.pdf [PDF - 81.8 KB]

13M MLRS/High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Crewmember 13M.pdf [PDF - 78.2 KB]

14E Patriot Fire Control Enhanced Operator/Maintainer 14E.pdf [PDF - 63.6 KB]

14G Air Defense Battle Management System Operator 14G.pdf [PDF - 67.1 KB]

14P Air and Missile Defense Crewmember 14P.pdf [PDF - 65.4 KB]

14T Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operator/Maintainer 14T.pdf [PDF - 63.7 KB]

17E Electronic Warfare Specialist 17E.pdf [PDF - 67.4 KB]

19C Bradley Crewmember 19C.pdf [PDF - 69.4 KB]

19K M1 Armor Crewman 19K.pdf [PDF - 68.6 KB]

25H Network Communications Systems Specialist 25H.pdf [PDF - 68.7 KB]

92F Petroleum Supply Specialist 92F.pdf [PDF - 96.5 KB]

MILPER Messages

Selective Retention Bonus (Tier SRB) MILPER 25-132 SRB.pdf [PDF - 2.3 MB]

Reclassification In/Out Calls MILPER 25-131 IN_Out Calls.pdf [PDF - 964 KB]

Regular Army Precision Retention MILPER 25-133 Regular Army Precision Retention.pdf [PDF - 1.2 MB]

Special MOS Alignment Promotion Program MILPER 25-065 SMAPP.pdf [PDF - 1.5 MB]

Conversion Bonus Program MILPER 24-305 Conversion Bonus.pdf [PDF - 827.3 KB]

Written Bonus Agreement (WBA) MILPER 24-423 WBA.pdf [PDF - 1014.3 KB]

Update to Home of Record Designation MILPER 25-252 Home of Record Designation Request.pdf [PDF - 788.4 KB]

FY25 Secretary of the Army Career Counselor of the Year

The FY25 Secretary of the Army and James R. Bragg Career Counselor of the Year competitions concluded successfully from 9-12 June. This year's honorees are SSG Natalie Mathena (TRADOC Command), named the FY25 Secretary of the Army Career Counselor of the Year; SFC Richard Jones (TRADOC Command), selected as the FY25 Reserve Component Transition Career Counselor of the Year; and MSG Ayla Bennett (FORSCOM Command), the FY25 James R. Bragg Senior Career Counselor of the Year.

Reenlistment Opportunity Window

ROW Eligibility: Soldiers with a contractual ETS between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026 are eligible to enter the Reenlistment Opportunity Window (ROW) starting 12 months prior to their ETS.

Effective 1 July 2025, the ROW will remain open until 90 days prior to a Soldier’s ETS. Soldiers within the 90-day window may still reenlist with an exception to policy.

Temporary Exception (Effective 14 April 2025): Soldiers with an ETS between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026 are authorized to enter the ROW early and may pursue any qualified retention option.

Updated Retention Option Guidance (Effective 21 April 2025): Soldiers with an ETS of 30 September 2025 or earlier are limited to Option 1—Regular Army Reenlistment Only.

Extensions

Effective 1 June 2025, the Army will suspend all extensions except for “M” and “M1” extensions for Soldiers with an FY25 ETS. Exceptions for other extension requests for FY25 personnel will be considered on a case-by-case basis, ETP requests will be processed by Retention and Reclassification Branch, HRC.

Soldiers with an FY26 ETS are authorized to extend for all applicable extensions, except for “LZ” and “W” extensions.

FAQs

When does the reenlistment window open? The Army's Reenlistment Opportunity Window (ROW) opens 12 months before a soldier's ETS.

What determines reenlistment options for a soldier? Reenlistment options for soldiers are determined by a combination of factors such as their rank, time in service, and the strength of MOS.

What determines if a soldier will receive a bonus? Soldier's qualify for a reenlistment bonus based on the strength of MOS, the length of their reenlistment contract, and the Army's operational needs. Bonuses will be determined by the SRB message in effect at the time of reenlistment.

Am I able to reenlist for an option if I am taking action to meet the service remaining requirement for TEB or Continuation Pay? Soldiers in their reenlistment window who are required to meet the SRR for TEB or Continuation Pay may reenlist under any option they are qualified for; you are not restricted to the Regular Army Reenlistment Option due to the SRR. Soldiers who are not in the ROW who are required to meet the SRR for TEB may take action IAW DA Pam 601-280, paragraph 12-2. Soldiers who are not in the ROW who need to take action to meet the SRR for Continuation Pay are restricted to the Regular Army Reenlistment Option or extension IAW with DA Pam 601-280, chapter 5.