senate approving commissions?

mwbeah · Sep 24, 2005

I recently was sworn into the USAR as 1Lt. I am in the STRAP program for CRNAs and was supposed to get my first stipend payment this week. Well, I didn't. My recruiter contacted the payroll office and was told that it was because of the Senate hearings and that a new law had been passed that requires the Senate to approve all commissions and it had caused a backup and delay. Supposedly I didn't fall into that category because the law just took affect, but they are behind processing payroll now and I now 'allegedley' won't get my first check for another two weeks. Does anyone have any insight into this?

You may want to call someone at this website:

http://www.usarc.army.mil/naad/strap.htm

Commissioning authority is typically delegated to Officers in a leadership role (i.e. Professor of military science, Battalion Commander of a Recruiting command). The senate does review and approve General officer nominations but when I was commissioned.....(senate had nothing to do with it). Your recruiter......did he say he called, or did you actually see him call. Something is not right. Whoever signed your oath of office is the one who commissioned you, not the senate.

Mike

mwbeah · Sep 24, 2005

you may want to call someone at this website:
http://www.usarc.army.mil/naad/strap.htm
commissioning authority is typically delegated to officers in a leadership role (i.e. professor of military science, battalion commander of a recruiting command). the senate does review and approve general officer nominations but when i was commissioned.....(senate had nothing to do with it). your recruiter......did he say he called, or did you actually see him call. something is not right. whoever signed your oath of office is the one who commissioned you, not the senate.
mike

again you need to make some noise, someone is pulling your leg. ask your recruiter to personally take you to your approval authority and see what he says. i bet it is the battalion commander or one of his represetatives.

mike

12201. reserve officers: qualifications for appointment

release date: 2005-07-12(a) to become an officer of a reserve component a person must be appointed as a reserve of an armed force in a grade corresponding to a grade authorized for the regular component of the armed force concerned and subscribe to the oath prescribed by section 3331 of title 5. in addition, to become an officer of the army national guard of the united states or the air national guard of the united states, he must first be appointed to, and be federally recognized in, the same grade in the army national guard or the air national guard, as the case may be.

(b) except as otherwise provided by law, the secretary concerned shall prescribe physical, mental, moral, professional, and age qualifications for the appointment of persons as reserves of the armed forces under his jurisdiction. however, no person may be appointed as a reserve unless he is at least 18 years of age and-- (1) he is a citizen of the united states or has been lawfully admitted to the united states for permanent residence under the immigration and nationality act (8 u.s.c. 1101 et seq.); or

(2) he has previously served in the armed forces or in the national security training corps.

© a person who is otherwise qualified, but who has a physical defect that the secretary concerned determines will not interfere with the performance of the duties to which that person may be assigned, may be appointed as a reserve of any armed force under the jurisdiction of that secretary.

(d) in prescribing age qualifications under subsection (b) for the appointment of persons as reserves of the armed forces under his jurisdiction, the secretary concerned may not prescribe a maximum age qualification of less than 47 years of age for the initial appointment of a person as a reserve to serve in a health profession specialty which has been designated by the secretary concerned as a specialty critically needed in wartime.

egul105 · Sep 25, 2005

thanks for the info. i thought it sounded odd too, and he's made several mistakes from the time i first applied. plus, i was sworn in back in june, and even if a new law had been passed, i don't see how it would affect me. i am going to call the naad office on monday and speak with the major that is handling my strap. i kept the email he sent me about the reason i didn't get the check ( and there's also a comment in there from him about me sounding like i needed a hug in response to my inquiry about the check). i just want to get paid. i'm currently technically flunking out of school because i'm continuing having to work and if i flunk, i will already owe $12000 in tuition and have to start over again next year.

again you need to make some noise, someone is pulling your leg. ask your recruiter to personally take you to your approval authority and see what he says. i bet it is the battalion commander or one of his represetatives.
mike
12201. reserve officers: qualifications for appointment
release date: 2005-07-12(a) to become an officer of a reserve component a person must be appointed as a reserve of an armed force in a grade corresponding to a grade authorized for the regular component of the armed force concerned and subscribe to the oath prescribed by section 3331 of title 5. in addition, to become an officer of the army national guard of the united states or the air national guard of the united states, he must first be appointed to, and be federally recognized in, the same grade in the army national guard or the air national guard, as the case may be.
(b) except as otherwise provided by law, the secretary concerned shall prescribe physical, mental, moral, professional, and age qualifications for the appointment of persons as reserves of the armed forces under his jurisdiction. however, no person may be appointed as a reserve unless he is at least 18 years of age and-- (1) he is a citizen of the united states or has been lawfully admitted to the united states for permanent residence under the immigration and nationality act (8 u.s.c. 1101 et seq.); or
(2) he has previously served in the armed forces or in the national security training corps.
© a person who is otherwise qualified, but who has a physical defect that the secretary concerned determines will not interfere with the performance of the duties to which that person may be assigned, may be appointed as a reserve of any armed force under the jurisdiction of that secretary.
(d) in prescribing age qualifications under subsection (b) for the appointment of persons as reserves of the armed forces under his jurisdiction, the secretary concerned may not prescribe a maximum age qualification of less than 47 years of age for the initial appointment of a person as a reserve to serve in a health profession specialty which has been designated by the secretary concerned as a specialty critically needed in wartime.

Jimmedda · Sep 27, 2005

Your recruiter did not do anything wrong. I am having the same problems with my recruits. It is horrible. Your recruiter has nothing to do with it. Complain to the SENATE they are the ones who made the rule at the last minute. MWBEAH Sir with all due respect the Reg has changed. We do not even let in Green Card Holders anymore. You have to be a Naturalized Citizen.

It is a mess out here.

mwbeah · Sep 27, 2005

Your recruiter did not do anything wrong. I am having the same problems with my recruits. It is horrible. Your recruiter has nothing to do with it. Complain to the SENATE they are the ones who made the rule at the last minute. MWBEAH Sir with all due respect the Reg has changed. We do not even let in Green Card Holders anymore. You have to be a Naturalized Citizen.
It is a mess out here.

I just read the change, it appears that it is for CPT through LTC, this guy shouldn't be having a problem.

Mike

Jimmedda · Sep 27, 2005

No on get receives an Reserve commission anymore. Everyone gets an Active Duty commission. Trust me sir there is nothing that his recruiter did wrong. He is not " Pulling his leg" No recruiter in their right mind would hold him up.

ON the Other hand EGUL everyone has a boss. You are allowed to talk to the BC. Ask the BC to call your school to get the fee defered on basis that the Army will pay. They should be able to help you.

If you have any more questions you can contact me via phone- 877-573-9205 US Army Healthcare Recruiter.

Lambert5883 · Sep 27, 2005

No on get receives an Reserve commission anymore. Everyone gets an Active Duty commission. Trust me sir there is nothing that his recruiter did wrong. He is not " Pulling his leg" No recruiter in their right mind would hold him up.
ON the Other hand EGUL everyone has a boss. You are allowed to talk to the BC. Ask the BC to call your school to get the fee defered on basis that the Army will pay. They should be able to help you.
If you have any more questions you can contact me via phone- 877-573-9205 US Army Healthcare Recruiter.

First of all, I apologize for my ignorance in asking the following:

Are you saying that the Senate will have to approve "Direct Commissioning" of a low grade officer (Nurse Corp.) and, also, that one cannot receive direct commission as a "Reservist", but only that which pertains to "Active Duty" status?

mwbeah · Sep 28, 2005

no on get receives an reserve commission anymore. everyone gets an active duty commission. trust me sir there is nothing that his recruiter did wrong. he is not " pulling his leg" no recruiter in their right mind would hold him up.
on the other hand egul everyone has a boss. you are allowed to talk to the bc. ask the bc to call your school to get the fee defered on basis that the army will pay. they should be able to help you.
if you have any more questions you can contact me via phone- 877-573-9205 us army healthcare recruiter.

jim, my friend make sure you have the correct information to recruit with.

please read:

accessions and retention:

new officers to receive regular army commissions

by gary sheftick/army news service

washington (tradoc news service, feb. 22, 2005) - all new officers going on active duty will be commissioned "regular army" beginning may 1.

beginning late this summer, the army will start changing the u.s. army reserve commissions of officers currently in the active component to ra commissions, a g-1 official said. he said the process of converting usar commissions to ra should be completed by may 2006.

during the past decade, officers did not receive ra commissions until they reached the rank of major. since 1996, even cadets graduating from the academy at west point, n.y., received usar commissions.

the defense science board last year recommended a change in policy, and the army is now adopting a "one active army, one commission" theme, said col. mark patterson, officer division chief in the directorate of military personnel management, g-1.

only officers going to reserve component units will continue to receive usar commissions, patterson said.

a provision in the 2005 defense authorization act directed the change.

until now, an ra commission required senate approval. since promoting an officer to the rank of major required senate approval, the army decided to wait until then to seek ra commissions, patterson said, accomplishing two actions with one list to the senate.

with the new legislation, however, now an ra commission simply requires approval by the president, and that may be delegated to the secretary of defense, patterson said.

a scroll with the names of all officers being commissioned into the active component will be produced for the purpose of presidential approval. an ra commission requires:

citizenship;
security clearance; and
moral character.

years ago, officers with ra commissions may have had some advantage over usar officers during a reduction in force, patterson said. since the 1990s, though, such personnel decisions are strictly performance-based, he said.

changing the status of all officers to regular army illustrates that, regardless of commissioning source, all officers serve as equals and are all part of the total army, g-1 officials said in a released statement on the "one active army, one commission" theme.

"we believe they're making a commitment to the military," said lt. col. dennis harrington, an action officer in the g-1 directorate of military personnel management. "so we should make a commitment to them."

egul105 · Sep 29, 2005

okay guys, i know everyone is trying to help, but i'm new to the usar and this whole conversation has me completely confused. could someone explain to me what this whole 'new law' thing means? i spoke with a major in the naad (nameless for a reason) and was told that this new law took affect july 1st and i was commissioned on june 28th, so it had nothing to do with me. she apologized that i hadn't received the stipend and promised that it had been signed that day and sent to san antonio. that makes me think that somewhere or somehow my paperwork never quite made it to where it was supposed to be when it should have. at this point, i don't care as long as i get paid, but i'm still confused.

jim, my friend make sure you have the correct information to recruit with.
please read:
accessions and retention:
new officers to receive regular army commissions

by gary sheftick/army news service

washington (tradoc news service, feb. 22, 2005) - all new officers going on active duty will be commissioned "regular army" beginning may 1.

beginning late this summer, the army will start changing the u.s. army reserve commissions of officers currently in the active component to ra commissions, a g-1 official said. he said the process of converting usar commissions to ra should be completed by may 2006.

during the past decade, officers did not receive ra commissions until they reached the rank of major. since 1996, even cadets graduating from the academy at west point, n.y., received usar commissions.

the defense science board last year recommended a change in policy, and the army is now adopting a "one active army, one commission" theme, said col. mark patterson, officer division chief in the directorate of military personnel management, g-1.

only officers going to reserve component units will continue to receive usar commissions, patterson said.

a provision in the 2005 defense authorization act directed the change.

until now, an ra commission required senate approval. since promoting an officer to the rank of major required senate approval, the army decided to wait until then to seek ra commissions, patterson said, accomplishing two actions with one list to the senate.

with the new legislation, however, now an ra commission simply requires approval by the president, and that may be delegated to the secretary of defense, patterson said.

a scroll with the names of all officers being commissioned into the active component will be produced for the purpose of presidential approval. an ra commission requires:
citizenship;
security clearance; and
moral character.
years ago, officers with ra commissions may have had some advantage over usar officers during a reduction in force, patterson said. since the 1990s, though, such personnel decisions are strictly performance-based, he said.

changing the status of all officers to regular army illustrates that, regardless of commissioning source, all officers serve as equals and are all part of the total army, g-1 officials said in a released statement on the "one active army, one commission" theme.

"we believe they're making a commitment to the military," said lt. col. dennis harrington, an action officer in the g-1 directorate of military personnel management. "so we should make a commitment to them."

mwbeah · Sep 29, 2005

Okay guys, I know everyone is trying to help, but I'm new to the USAR and this whole conversation has me completely confused. Could someone explain to me what this whole 'new law' thing means? I spoke with a Major in the NAAD (nameless for a reason) and was told that this new law took affect July 1st and I was commissioned on June 28th, so it had nothing to do with me. She apologized that I hadn't received the stipend and promised that it had been signed that day and sent to San Antonio. That makes me think that somewhere or somehow my paperwork never quite made it to where it was supposed to be when it should have. At this point, I don't care as long as I get paid, but I'm still confused.

Always cover yourself by asking for the regulation number and source of the current information. I used was prior enlisted and learned some things the hard way. I LOVE being in the Army and serving my country, the problems arise because it is such a big organization and things get "shuffled" around and sometimes lost.

Always:

1) Keep all copies of your important documents at least 7 years (even if they are posted electronically).

2) Keep a log of personnel visits, including name of person(s) who serviced you.

3) When in doubt ask for the regulation type and number (i.e. DA "number", DOD "number").

4) If you have heard nothing about a personnel action within 10-15 business days, call again and inquire or contact your Commander or local personnel representative to inquire.

5) Being a Reservist, you must keep quality records. I have been Active Duty for nearly 14 years and also had 8 years of reserve time and things get lost for whatever reason.

Mike