I would find a way to benefit from that much service. The VA or Coast Guard Reserve might work. I met a guy going to Iraq as a civilian that said he got out as an O6 which is hard to believe.
Thanks for the reply. However, the last thing I would want is a military retirement.
I do not want to be like the 86 year old clinical psychologist who was involuntarily recalled from retirement 20 years after
giving up the practice of psychology and sent down-range in Iraq to where it was a billion degrees in the shade, only to suffer a medical emergency and get shipped back to Walter Reed with your (and my) tax dollars (true story told to me by a 459th AES member who recognized me at my civilian hospital because I had helped teach him ACLS; he thanked me for being humorous and keeping him awake) . There are many more stories like that regarding involuntary recall to AD around if you search the internet.
Here are some of the relevant DoD instructions and U.S. laws allowing involuntary recall to active duty for life (as well as placing military retirees subject to UCMJ punishments for activities they engage in after retirement...for life):
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from
https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/135201_dodi_2016.pdf
a.
Regular retired members and members of the retired Reserve may be ordered to active duty (AD) as needed to perform such duties as the Secretary concerned considers necessary in the interests of national defense as described in Sections 688 and 12301 of Title 10, U.S.C.
b. Regular retired members and members of the retired Reserve must be managed to ensure they are accessible for national security and readiness requirements.
c. Regular and Reserve retired members may be used as a manpower source of last resort after other sources are determined not to be available or a source for unique skills not otherwise obtainable.
d. Directors of agencies that have Defense related missions, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Selective Service System, and organizations with missions in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, may identify military and federal civilian positions that are suitable for fill by retired military members in time of war or national emergency, and provide a list of requirements to the Military Services for validation and prioritization for fill.
from
10 U.S. Code § 688 - Retired members: authority to order to active duty; duties
(a) Authority.—
Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, a member described in subsection (b) may be ordered to active duty by the Secretary of the military department concerned at any time.
(b) Covered Members.—Except as provided in subsection (d), subsection (a) applies to the following members of the armed forces:
(1)
A retired member of the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps.
(2) A member of the Retired Reserve who was retired under section 1293, 7311, 7314, 8323, 9311, or 9314 of this title.
(3) A member of the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve.
(c) Duties of Member Ordered to Active Duty.—
The Secretary concerned may, to the extent consistent with other provisions of law, assign a member ordered to active duty under this section to such duties as the Secretary considers necessary in the interests of national defense.
(d) Exclusion of Officers Retired on Selective Early Retirement Basis.—The following officers may not be ordered to active duty under this section:
(1) An officer who retired under section 638 of this title.
(2) An officer who—
(A) after having been notified that the officer was to be considered for early retirement under section 638 of this title by a board convened under section 611(b) of this title and before being considered by that board, requested retirement under section 7311, 8323, or 9311 of this title; and
(B) was retired pursuant to that request.
(e) Limitation of Period of Recall Service.—
(1) A member ordered to active duty under subsection (a) may not serve on active duty pursuant to orders under that subsection for more than 12 months within the 24 months following the first day of the active duty to which ordered under that subsection.
(2)
Paragraph (1) does not apply to the following officers:
(A) A chaplain who is assigned to duty as a chaplain for the period of active duty to which ordered.
(B)
A health care professional (as characterized by the Secretary concerned) who is assigned to duty as a health care professional for the period of active duty to which ordered.
(C) An officer assigned to duty with the American Battle Monuments Commission for the period of active duty to which ordered.
(D) An officer who is assigned to duty as a defense attaché or service attaché for the period of active duty to which ordered.
(f) Waiver for Periods of War or National Emergency.—
Subsections (d) and (e) do not apply in time of war or of national emergency declared by Congress or the President.
(MedicalCorpse: Note: emphasis added above)
10 U.S. Code § 12301 - Reserve components generally
(a) In time of war or of national emergency declared by Congress, or when otherwise authorized by law, an authority designated by the Secretary concerned may, without the consent of the persons affected, order any unit, and any member not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit, of a reserve component under the jurisdiction of that Secretary to active duty for the duration of the war or emergency and for six months thereafter. However a member on an inactive status list or in a retired status may not be ordered to active duty under this subsection unless the Secretary concerned, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense in the case of the Secretary of a military department, determines that there are not enough qualified Reserves in an active status or in the inactive National Guard in the required category who are readily available.
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Finally, unbeknownst to many retirees, retired officers remain subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and potential courtmartial FOR LIFE. This means that if you do anything that the government determines to be a violation of some arbitrary part of the UCMJ, such as Article 88, which prohibits criticism of the President, you could be brought back to active duty against your will at age 99, court-martialled, and sent to Leavenworth. If you don't believe me, read the law:
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10 U.S. Code § 802 - Art. 2. Persons subject to this chapter
Chapter 47: Uniform Code of Military Justice; Title 10 USC Subtitle A Part II Chapter 47 Subchapter I Para 802
802 Article 2: Persons subject to this chapter
(a) (4)
Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.
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Thus, after twenty-plus years of dedicated active duty service to one's country, by accepting the retainer fee of retirement pay (and benefits), you are agreeing to remain on call, subject to the UCMJ, for the rest of your natural life. No one told me this when I signed up in 1981...I'm glad I found out eventually...months after I had decided to separate without retirement.
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Now, I am aware of the option of "buying out" one's total active military service time (which, for me, would include USUHS, unlike retirement from the military) if I were to become a government employee at, say, the VA. I would fall under the "Top 3" retirement plan extant when I joined. I'm considering that route, given that this pandemic is causing havoc with my current career plan to support my family as a locum tenens doc. I need to keep my mind and options open. The only other "retirement" option will be to do as many surgeons around here seem to do, which is to keep practicing until they turn 100 or die in the OR...
