By: YNC Arnold Uhrina, CG PSC, Enlisted Personnel Management-1
In accordance with ALCOAST 516/13, the preferred window for requesting voluntary retirement falls between the dates of May 1st and October 1st. Members may request retirement for a date that falls outside of this window; however a command endorsement is required to accompany the retirement request that specifically addresses the potential impact for a staffing gap at the unit.
*Note: A signature on the retirement request as a Thru addressee does not constitute acceptance of a potential gap or conclude that no gap will exist. A new-page first endorsement to the memo must accompany the retirement request explaining the potential for a staffing gap resulting from the requested retirement date. Failure to provide the proper command endorsement may result in the member's retirement request to be returned with no action taken.
Q1: Should I contact my Assignment Officer prior to requesting retirement?
A1: It is imperative that IF you plan to request retirement outside of the window AND this may be of concern with your command, the member and/or their command should contact their Assignment Officer to discuss retirement intentions and potential backfill of the position at the unit.
Q2: ALCOAST messages are only good for a period of 12 months. The latest edition of Military Separations (COMDTINST M1000.4), released in March 2015, noted that the preferred retirement window is September 1st through December 1st. Why are we still using an old ALCOAST from 2013?
A2: As noted in paragraph four of ALCOAST 516/13, the update to the retirement window dates were intended to be included in the recent update of Military Separations. When the manual was released, the dates were not updated. The preferred retirement dates have been confirmed with CG-133. The correction to the dates will be reflected in the next update to Military Separations, tentatively scheduled for a 2016 release.
Q3: How do these dates relate to High Year Tenure (HYT) retirements? Retire In Lieu Of Orders (RILO)?
A3: All HYT candidates may request retirement for a date no later than 1 September of the year following the year their active military service time exceeds their PGP. Members who request to RILO should still request a date no later than 1 August of the applicable assignment year. HYT and RILO requested retirement dates that fall before 1 May will require a command endorsement that specifically addresses the potential of a staffing gap at the unit. Note that a member may request to Commander (CG PSC-EPM) to be retired, if eligible, due to HYT, up to six months prior to their required retirement date. In this case, the nature of the retirement is involuntary.
Q4: Do you have a template for a new-page endorsement that my command can use?
A4: A template for this endorsement may be found at the CG PSC-epm-1 Retirement Section Website:
http://www.uscg.mil/epm/epm1/Retiredefault.asp.
