High Year Tenure (HYT) is a term used by the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
to describe the maximum number of years enlisted members may serve at a given rank without achieving promotion, after which they must
separate or retire. HYT is applicable to enlisted of all six military branches of the United States.
Officers are not subject to HYT, but are instead limited to statutory service limits by pay grade. See
Defense Officer Personnel Management Act
The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) () is a United States federal law passed in 1980 that for the first time standardized officer personnel management across the United States Armed Forces. It established ceilings on the number o ...
for officer information.
In the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
, soldiers will finish their enlistment contract if they exceed HYT or RCP (retention control point),unless they are reduced in rank.
History
On 1 August 2017, the Navy extended the HYT for active component sailors to 10 years from 8 years for third class petty officers, to 16 years from 14 years for second class petty officers, and to 22 years from 20 years for first class petty officers.
On 14 December 2017, the Navy announced that it will extend the HYT for seamen from its current five to six years on 1 February 2018.
On 1 February 2019, the Air Force increased the HYT for E-4 through E-6.
On 3 October 2022, the Coast Guard suspended HYT for enlisted active duty members until 1 January 2025.
On 22 December 2022, the Navy suspended HYT until 30 September 2024.
HYT dates
Extensions to the HYT date can be obtained for various reasons such as personal hardships or base closures. HYT dates vary by rank/rate, as follows:
See also
*
Up or out
Up or out, also known as a tenure or partnership system, is the requirement for members of a hierarchical organization to achieve a certain rank within a certain period of time. If they fail to do so, they must leave the organization.
Examples ...
, a similar private-sector concept
References
Uniformed services of the United States
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