Retirement The following regulations apply to retirement in VFA-41. 1. A pilot must have achieved at least the rank of Lieutenant (LT) in order to request retirement. 2. A retired pilot will be removed from the active roster and moved to a different 'Retired' roster. His career is essentially frozen at that point. 3. Retirees retain most of the rights and privileges of active VFA-41 pilots, except that they are no longer held on the active rolls. They do not accrue mission credit toward advancement or awards. Retirees may still represent themselves as Black Aces, and fly on squadron missions if there is room on the flight line. (A retired pilot will use a 9XX modex number on his aircraft during squadron missions.) 4. A retired pilot may request return to active duty if there is an available slot on the active roster. He will be re-activated at the rank at which he retired, but with only the minimum mission credit required for that rank, and his time-in-rank (TIR) clock is reset to zero. A full CQ requalification (day and night) will be required for re-activation. 5. As for all VFA-41 pilots, 'fit for active duty' is defined as the ability to fly in a squadron mission at least once a week. 6. A retired pilot will lose an Instructor Pilot (IP) designation.