As a United States military officer, you have accumulated a vast array of education, experiences, achievements, and training throughout your career. This also likely includes the training on and responsibility for operating and handling expensive military machinery and equipment. For all of these reasons you are a leader, and a valuable and important part of the military command and control structure the nation depends on. As such, if you request to leave, to resign, whether you’re in an obligated or non-obligated status – the military may not be so eager to let you go. You represent a substantial investment in time, money, resources and training. Nevertheless, by regulation, the military authorizes a way out through Unqualified Resignations (UQR’s).FAQs
What makes an officer's UQR package strong, and what does the chain of command review?
A strong UQR anticipates the reviewing authority's likely objections and documents both your circumstances and your completed obligations. Your first colonel in the chain of command usually counsels you, while medical (AMEDD) officers, judge advocates, and chaplains are usually also counseled by a senior officer within their own branch and specialty. Human Resources Command calculates whether you've satisfied all of your service obligations. The framing, tone, and timing of the package all affect how it's received.
Will I get an Honorable discharge if I resign through a UQR?
An approved UQR is normally Honorable. The characterization can be different if the resignation is submitted in place of an elimination action, or while adverse action is pending, which is one reason timing and strategy matter.
I'm a Reserve or National Guard officer on active duty. Is a UQR the right move for me?
Not always. Resigning your commission entirely is a UQR under Chapter 3, but if your goal is to come off active duty and return to a reserve component, the right vehicle is often a Release from Active Duty (REFRAD) under Chapter 2. Which one fits depends on whether you want to leave the service altogether or move back to the reserves.
What are “service remaining requirements,” and how do they affect my resignation?
Beyond the eight-year obligation, certain benefits and training programs often create additional active duty service obligations that usually have to be satisfied before you can resign, and Human Resources Command calculates them. The one primary exception to this, however, is to identify, articulate and prove to your chain of command that you have an extreme personal, family or professional hardship which makes further service in uniform untenable.