United States Army Reserve | Retention-Transition Teams Now Based in Iraq and Kuwait

U.S. Army Reserve: It's not your everyday job.

U.S. Army | Join the Reserve | For Employers | For Families | For Soldiers

Photo of Army Reserve Soldiers in formation on dusty road.

By Sgt. Maj. Mark Magnussen

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT (June 2004) -- In an effort to retain Army Reserve Soldiers, the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve, Retention and Transition Division and Third U.S. Army have deployed the first ever seven-person Active Guard/Reserve Retention and Transition NCO (RTNCO) team directly to the theater.

Currently teams operate out of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. Their mission is to support and reenlist Army Reserve Soldiers in each of the 22 countries in theater. The team leader has been on ground seven months and the rest of the NCO team arrived last March. As long as Army Reserve Soldiers are based in the theater of operations, the team plans on keeping a continuing presence there.

An Army Reserve Soldier reenlists at Camp Victory South, Baghdad, Iraq. Camp Victory South is on one of Saddam Hussein's old palace grounds.
Photo by Master Sgt. Rebecca Sewell

Current teams consist of:

Master Sgt. Gregory Jacobs - Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan Master Sgt. Rebecca Sewell - Camp Victory, Iraq Sgt. 1st Class Reggie Crawford - LSA Anaconda, Iraq Sgt. 1st Class Todd Cummings - Tallil Air Base, Iraq Staff Sgt. John White - Camp Arifjan, Kuwait Sgt. 1st Class Amy Phillips - Camp Arifjan, Kuwiat

The RTNCOs in theater are prepared to assist Army Reserve Soldiers with their life cycle management career counseling. "Our team can assist the Army Reserve Soldier in completing a Warrant Office packets, Officer Candidate School paperwork, and start Drill Sergeant packets," according to Cummings stationed at Tallil Air Base, Iraq. They also provide direction and assistance for Army Reserve Soldiers desiring to remain on Active Duty and those who are seeking a career on Active Duty or as an Active Guard/Reserve Soldier.

"Just like back in the states, all Army Reserve Soldiers must meet the reenlistment eligibility criteria of Army Regulation 140-111, table 2-1," said Phillips, RTNCO in Kuwait. "In order to help speed the process, all Army Reserve Soldiers seeking reenlistment must provide a current DA Form 2A, DA Form 705, and a memorandum from their unit commander stating the Soldier is not under suspension of favorable personnel actions, barred from reenlistment, or facing UCMJ action."

The memorandum must also state if the Soldier has already received a reenlistment bonus and for how much.

"Once the RTNCO obtains these documents, we check the reenlistment eligibility and prepare the reenlistment documents," said Phillips. If the documents are not readily available, the Soldier should access AKO to check their eligibility. Army Reserve Active Guard/Reserve Soldiers must follow AR 140-111, chapter 8, and request their Reenlistment Control Numbers from their career managers in St Louis. "They must complete DA Form 4187 and DA Form 3340 one hundred days prior to their ETS," she added.

The Army Reserve offers $5,000 for a six year reenlistment, and RTNCOs can also offer a 2-three year bonus option which authorizes $2,500 for the first three year contract and a $2,000 bonus for the second three year contract.
The 2-three year bonus program is the only instance where an Army Reserve Soldier may receive two bonuses in their career.

"Keep in mind, to qualify for a reenlistment bonus the Army Reserve Soldier must not have collected a reenlistment bonus before, not be a MILTECH or on AGR tour, have exactly or less than 14 years of TOTAL service at current ETS, and have their Primary MOS on the current bonus list," said Crawford, the RTNCO in LSA Anaconda, Iraq.

Any reenlistment bonus obtained in theater, or during the month in which the Soldier served in a tax free zone, is 100% tax free.

The forwardly deployed retention teams have reenlisted or extended 410 Army Reserve Soldiers in six different countries throughout theater. "We've given out more than $920,000 in reenlistment bonuses and have a goal of $1 million by the end of summer," stated Jacobs, currently in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Reenlistment ceremonies are solemn occasions, and cannot be sensationalized, but they must have meaning to the Soldier. Ceremonies have been conducted at Camp Victory South, Baghdad, Iraq, Doha, Qatar, and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. According to Sewell, based at Camp Victory, Iraq. "Conducting a reenlistment in a palace is very meaningful for the soldier." It also makes other Soldiers think about their future with the Army Reserve.

The Army Reserve Retention Web page can be found at www.usarc.army.mil/retn/index.htm. "We're so new and so busy here in theater that we haven't had a chance to create a link on the web page, but we expect to have it up and running by the end of June," said White the RTNCO in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

^ Back to Top