December 24, 2014
Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced last week that the Army is reversing a decision that forced prior-enlisted “mustang” officers selected for involuntary retirement to retire at their last enlisted rank.
Roughly 160 out of the more than 1,900 Army officers selected for involuntary separation were retirement-eligible “mustang” officers, but they did not have the required eight years of commissioned service time to retire at their current rank.
These officers were to be retired at their last enlisted rank, and stood to lose more than $1,000 a month in retirement compensation compared to the “high-three” average typically used to compute retired pay.
The policy reversal follows pressure from MOAA and members of Congress to stop this inequity.
Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-Penn.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.) led the charge by introducing the Proudly Restoring Officers of Prior Enlistment Retirement (PROPER) Act to reduce commissioned service time requirements. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and 13 other senators wrote a letter to the secretary asking him to reverse policy.
When announcing the policy reversal, Secretary McHugh said that some officers would be brought back onto active duty until they reached the eight year threshold. For others, time in service time requirements would be waived.
“MOAA applauds the actions of Secretary McHugh and the Army to rectify this inequity for prior enlisted ‘mustang’ officers. As a former Chief of Naval Personnel, I’d particularly like to thank Reps. Thompson and Walz for their quick response to protect these servicemembers who repeatedly answered the call of duty to our nation,” said MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, USN (Ret). “Together, these actions right a wrong and provide these officers with the respect and compensation they deserve for their decades of selfless service and sacrifice.”
Reducing end strength is never easy, but the decision by the Army is the right one to draw down with dignity. MOAA has consistently called on the services to use the force shaping tools available to them.