How does the retention scholar work?

[noblerare]

Hi everybody. I was a SMART recipient back in 2009 and am almost done with serving my 3-year service commitment with my SF. Now, I want to re-enter the SMART program to pay for a master's degree after which I want to work at a different SF. Do I still count as a retention scholar? (I was somehow under the impression that a retention scholar meant that you returned to work for the same SF).

In my situation, if I got a SMART scholarship for my master's and went off for the next two years to be a student full-time, would I still be considered a gov't employee for the purposes of things like insurance, TSP contributions, etc.? I am currently a GS-11 (will be 12 prior to actually leaving for school) so would returning to DoD after my master's degree put me at a GS-12 or do I have to start all over again at GS-7?

Also, does being a retention scholar give me some sort of extra points with the decision committee?

[Guest]

you ever thought about applying for Long Term Training? It's a different program but they pay your salary, just like you were still going into work. I think they will pay for a max of three semesters.