Time from signing 199 to terminal leave at Ft. Bliss?

SGT Bob

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So...I'm signing my 199 tomorrow (FINALLY) here at Ft. Bliss and I've been told it takes 3-5 days to get orders which is awesome. But how long will it take before I'm actually on terminal leave? A couple weeks?
 
You have 90 days total to do everything once you are placed on TRANSPOC. That's clear, take any transitional/PTDY leave, etc. You'll go to transitions with your orders, and choose a retirement date within that 90 day window with them. They will 'encourage' you to choose a date between 21-27th of the month, to keep congruity with your pay so it doesn't get messed up. So, with all that said, it depends on how much leave you have saved up, add your PTDY to that, and then back-date it from there.
 
Is the 21st-27th an accurate/truthful statement though?
 
When I was working at Walter Reed as squad leader in the Warrior Transition Brigade there, that's what they told us and always had us do when we put warriors on retirement leave.
 
Thanks
 
90 days takes me to April 8th. If I have to move that to, say, Mar. 30th then 60 days (My total leave) takes me to Jan. 29th. Then 20 days of PTDY would take me back to Jan. 9th. I seriously doubt it will happen that fast. It seems that I will end up only getting like 10 days or so of PTDY.

At any rate, maybe I will be out by the 3rd or 4th week of this month eh?
 
That's very possible. most likely you will have to sell off some of the leave, I don't think you'll get your BDE commander to approve that much plus PTDY
 
Is selling leave worth it? Obviously it's an opinion buti would like to know what others think
 
That's very possible. most likely you will have to sell off some of the leave, I don't think you'll get your BDE commander to approve that much plus PTDY

I know they will approve up to 60. Well, at least they have in the past. I imagine that I won't get much PTDY.
 
Is selling leave worth it? Obviously it's an opinion buti would like to know what others think

I think it's better to sell it unless you want the time off. From purely a financial perspective, you come out WAY ahead by not taking leave and selling it instead. Many believe that you lose money because you only get your base pay but that's pay that you NEVER would have received otherwise.
 
I see it that way too. Like double dipping. You can collect a check for those 2 months or however long w BAH and sep rats and then have those 2months paid to you at you base pay. Good money to fall back on right?
 
As far as getting the orders goes, I will believe it when they're in my hands. Because last month, they were telling people 4-6 WEEKS to get orders.
 
Personally, I believe it is better to take the leave instead of selling it back. 2 months of a full paycheck, w/ BAH and BAS, compared to a payout of just base pay, which I have heard they also tax at a premium rate. I liken it to winning the lottery and choosing between an anuity, or the lump sum. You'll get more with the anuity in the long run.
 
Even though you get those 2 months plus your taxed sold leave
 
Personally, I believe it is better to take the leave instead of selling it back. 2 months of a full paycheck, w/ BAH and BAS, compared to a payout of just base pay, which I have heard they also tax at a premium rate. I liken it to winning the lottery and choosing between an anuity, or the lump sum. You'll get more with the anuity in the long run.

That's the common misconception that people have. It's not an "either/or" thing at all. Let's say that I have 60 days of leave and do NOT take them. I will still get out on the same date. The only difference is I will still have to work during those 60 days rather than going home. During that time, I would still get BAH and BAS. Then, when I'm officially out, I will get base pay x 60 days for the accumulated leave. A nice bonus. =)
 
Ok but how do you figure how much you will get? For example, if you have 36 days of leave, do they base it off a 30 day month or a 31? How do they figure the remaining 5/6 days?
 
Ok but how do you figure how much you will get? For example, if you have 36 days of leave, do they base it off a 30 day month or a 31? How do they figure the remaining 5/6 days?

I'm sure it's prorated but I don't know the exact formula.
 
It would be interesting to know....how do they tax it? 28%?
 
That's what I have heard is a 28% tax rate, just like bonuses.

SGT Bob, that is a good point and a good way to look at it. My experience has mainly been with wounded warrios at Walter Reed who already had jobs lined up from all the job fairs they would put on there. They could take 2 months of leave, recieving full everything, and use that 2 months to either relax or start work, essentially double dipping. It could also be beneficial to those who are in a 'less than helpful' command that want to get out as soon as possible due to mistreatment.
 
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