do you serve in the military until your retirement ?

I really wanna say is like .... once we get enlist , do we have to serve in military as long as we can , it's not like college life, right , we can't choose how many years we wanna be in military?

Public Comments

1. You sign a contract with a certain minimum amount of years. Then you re-up or leave as you wish,
2. The job that you pick determines how long your initial contract is. The more technical the job usually the longer the contract. You serve at least a total of 8 years. Say you enlist for 4 years, you have a 4 year obligation in the reserves (to be called up). If you want to get out then you can or you reenlist.
3. yes you can choose. 2 years minimum. but you can go for 2 or 3 or 4.. or 20 years and retire if you'd like. that's the united states army anyways.
4. Once you sign on, its for life! no other way out, unless you are in a pine box!
5. First enlistments last 4 years. At that time, you can re enlist , or get out. You may leave the military by finishing your enlistment, be discharged for medical or legal reasons, or retire. Officers are obligated to a first 6 year service period. They can be recalled to duty if in reserve status, inactive reserve status, or have a critical specialty up to the age of 65. Officers of General {flag} rank serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States.
6. You can..to a point. There are enlistments of varying length. It really depends on what your specialty is, and your personal choice. Realize though, that for enlisted folks at least ,your enlistment may well incur a commitment in the reserves, after you leave active duty Officers normally have a commitment of 4-10 years, depending on service, and what you're going to do.