Final Out

The past two days have been really productive. Yesterday I got every last signature I needed to clear at both the installation and unit levels. Today I not only cleared, but cleared out a lot of junk around the house. As a Fort Hood "training holiday" (no work for military personnel), it was a good day to do it -- no lines at all.

So here's how to clear Fort Hood as an officer. After your chain of command signs off on your 4187 (releasing you) and your branch manager send you a Request For Orders (RFO), take them to the Officer Reassignments room in the Copeland Center. In a few days, they'll notify you they're available from your brigade S-1.

Next, draw up your DA-31 leave form, starting from whenever your want and going up to the day before you have to report to your next duty station. Having 30 days of leave built up is a good idea -- that's plenty of time to transition.

With your orders and signed DA-31, get your DA 137-1 (unit clearing checklist) from your orderly room and the 137-2 (installation clearing checklist) from the Central Clearance Officer in the Copeland Center.

From there you can go on down the list -- arrange the Finance Brief, do the Transportation Briefs, and turn in your gear to the Central Issuing Facility (CIF). With a smart timetable, you can knock out everything in two days, but that assumes everything goes smoothly.

At the same time, you can start clearing the unit -- turn in your NBC gear, return any unit-issued stuff, etc. When everyone at the company has signed off, take the 137-1 to your battalion S-4 and S-3. Then your company commander can sign off.

At this point, everything on both the 137-1 and 137-2 should be filled in, except for the battalion S-1 spot. They're the last stop before you do the Final Out.

Final Out is the last step. That's what I did today -- hit up the Central Clearance Office  in the Copeland Center. My last day of work is Tuesday, and after that I am free and clear to leave Fort Hood.