Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

Going to an airlift unit that has ample opportunity to go full time. I'd like to hear what a day or week in the life looks for an LT, specifically what happens when not flying.

"The service has also begun reviewing training for the AC-130J Ghostrider, the Air Force’s newest gunship. It’s trying to fast-track special operations flight school by sending students straight to AFSOC training units after they earn their wings on the T-6 Texan II. That cuts out the intermediate phase of flying the T-1 Jayhawk, which is heading into retirement after serving as the stepping stone to mobility and special operations aircraft. That decision can shorten pilot training time by six months, AFSOC spokesperson Lt. Col. Becky Heyse said. Around 30 airmen are expected to go straight from undergraduate pilot training to AFSOC to learn to fly the U-28…

Howdy everyone, Just seeing if anyone had advice for contacting the 345th BS in Dyess. I would very much like to apply to their 2024/2025 UPT board, but I am having some trouble getting in touch with them to arrange a visit during their November rush weekend. I have sent several emails to no avail and having trouble with the number listed on milrecruiter. Curious if anyone else is having this issue. Apologies if this isnt the right place to post this, but I am at a bit of a loss. Thanks

I'm currently Active Duty and in talks with an ANG unit, but have a question I keep getting different answer to: What length of a commitment do I incur if I transition to the ANG via Palace Front as an officer? The ANG recruiter is telling me 4 years, but that sounds high considering the payback for Palace Chase is 3x your remaining ADSC and Palace Fronting (from my understanding) is just a transition to the ANG with no commitment since I've served out my ADSC contract. For some context, I'm in a flying position and would be filling a flying position in the same aircraft/crew position that I currently fly with no additional training required. Thanks in advance…

ARTs or people in the know out there- I have searched high and low to no avail. Maybe I can't operate google or the search function too well, but this topic seems to have limited (zero) coverage. I am currently deployed and my access to my home station CPO is fairly limited. Besides that, they have shown limited knowledge on the very thing they are supposedly experts in (shocking). My questions are very specific so I won't bore TRs and the casual viewer with a long post so please PM if you can assist. Thanks. TW

Hey everyone, I'm a 2nd year college student (may be graduating early) and an Instrument rated Private Pilot. I'm interested in a career as a pilot in the ANG/AFRES after I graduate and I'm wondering what the best way is to go about visitng a unit that you have no contacts in. The only contact I've made thus far was from shaking hands with an ANG pilot at an airshow, who ended up giving me his business card when I told him I was interested in a career with the Guard. I maintained contact with him and was able to visit that unit and had an excellent experience. I ended up really liking all of the pilots I met and plan on returning during a drill weekend. However the on…

I'm coming off invol mob Title X orders soon and I'm being told that I won't be able to make up any of my UTA's from this past year after August 15th. They also tell me I might not be able to make up my UTA's that I missed while mobilized. Does this sound kosher?

Currently coming up on 10 yrs active duty as a B1 WSO. Looking for a change so looking at C-130 posit in ANG for ability to move family closer to home (East coast) among other reasons. Definitely have some questions though. First, if I have 23 months of ADSC left due to signing GI bill over to my kid, so I think I would have to Palace Chase. I figure this is likely in this era of force mgmt but who knows. What's the first step though? Second, or maybe most most importantly, what are the best reasons to go ANG? I mean, I am pursuing for location and a change, but what else makes people so happy about ANG? Seems simple but I just don't know. Is there a commitment to…

For those guard/reserve troughers out there: Let's say I am on an MPA tour and accrue 10 days of leave. At the end of the tour I take those 10 days of leave. Are there any restrictions on where I need to be when I finish my leave? When I was on active duty/Regular officer status the answer was "leave starts and ends at the local area." But since the end of my leave is the end of an active duty period, I'd think that it would be treated like terminal leave, meaning that I can be anywhere when my leave ends. I checked the regs I know of and this situation is not specifically addressed. Thoughts/opinions?

Does anyone work for a civilian company that offers compensation or benefits during their ANG duty? For example, the Feds (i.e. federal government) offers 100% of your pay for 15 days of AT each year, with the ability to roll over 15 days per year. Pretty legit...see here. Allows you to actually make serious money during AT vs possibly breaking even or even losing money depending on what your civilian job pays and your mil rank & TIS. I've heard from friends that big DoD contractors also offered paid mil leave time, Lockheed being the one named specifically. I'm sure there are others. BL: I'm trying to get a copy of a military leave policy from a civili…

I'm an AD enlisted dude applying to various Guard/Reserve units and I understand the importance of face time with the respective squadrons. I've sent out a few applications and have rushed a couple units already and plan on more. I've always worn business casual while dropping-in during UTAs, but never really thought of it as a negative. In my head, ABUs are utility uniforms and don't look too sharp. Blues, on the other hand, seem over-the-top and, frankly, dorky for a drop-in. Still, for formal interviews/boards I would 100% wear service dress. My question is: Do you think wearing a nice business casual outfit, as opposed to a uniform, is hurting my chances?

Does anyone have any contact information for the 927th ARW at Macdill or the 482nd FW at Homestead in Florida? I've been trying the numbers the Officer Accessions Recruiter gave me with no luck. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

I wanted to see if I could get an accurate idea if what my unit is telling me is true. I have been a traditional member of the Guard for about 7 years, 6 years post UPT. For almost half this time I have lived where my guard unit is and the other half supported a solid one day drive to commute to and from my civilian job. About a year ago I got picked up by a major airline and have been supporting the citizen soldier concept since then, while driving 9 hours a week to get to my civilian job, no direct airline flights from my unit location. Recently I started talking to another guard unit, in the state where I have my civilian job, and they seemed interested in…

I'm interested to hear thoughts on what might be the most effective way to demonstrate that my current character isn't indicative of my past mistakes. I intend to fully disclose my past legal troubles (2 separate underage drinking incidents when 18 and 20) on the AF Form 24 and to any who ask. I promptly did as I was instructed by the court without any issues (Community service and alcohol/abuse class) and put those incidents behind as lessons learned. I'm just hoping to get a chance to explain myself to the boards before I'm dismissed as an applicant because of those blemishes. I've graduated from a large university with a 3.5 GPA, hold a PPL, have volunteer experie…

So I'm running into a bit of an issue at work. I'm a GS employee for USAF (not an ART) and I'm now being told that if I want to do reserve work and not use Mil Leave (LM) then I have to either burn Annual Leave or go on LWOP (Civilian). I've been coding my leave time as KG - Military Furlough because that is the only other military code besides LM in the ATAAPS system and the only code that will then utilize LWOP-US. Primary reason I am concerned is if I use LWOP vs LWOP-US (aka Military LWOP) it starts to negatively impact my benefits, step increases, etc because I will be coded in the civilian system as Leave Without Pay...no military designator on there... All the …

Separate from guardreservejobs.com, what are good ways to reach out to the Guard/Reserve community? I'm doing some consulting work for a northeast Cirrus air taxi operator. We've found that hiring guard bums and reservists fits our model very well. Anyone have any insight on how to target guard and reserve pilots?

Need FINANCE HELP. I have a very specific situation that I'd love to get some input about. I took the VSP from Active Duty 1 year ago and am starting to look at Guard / Reserve positions (currently in IRR). During this 1 year, I have been approved for 60% VA disability, but instead of getting those paychecks, it has been required to be used for VSP payback....ie I won't see that money until ~2019. My questions are: 1. Can I still join Guard / Reserve with VA Disability? No permanent or duty restriction injuries..will pass all PFTs and physicals. I have heard every answer under the sun on this and would love some facts vs. opinions. One Guard unit told me anything …

Hey Everyone, There's a wealth of information on this forum but unfortunately this question hasn't been specifically addressed: what is the timeline for someone transitioning off of active duty to get hired at a Guard/Reserve unit for UPT? How far out will the hire someone or hold a slot (I realize mileage may vary depending on the unit)? I'll turn 29 in November 2018. My service commitment ends mid-March 2019 (I can take 60 days of terminal leave mid-January if that matters). That means I'll need to go OTS + UPT without age waivers all in about 8 months ... pretty tight timeline. I've read about the ANG being more flexible with age and stories about Army rotary-wing guys…

I was just told that 140 days or more in the Guard constitutes a PCS... versus 180 days for Active Duty. I'll check the JFTR, but can anyone verify that is what they have actually seen?

Currently enjoying great success with a career in engineering but going to UPT soon. I don't plan to return to a full time engineering career and I desire to get away from the M-F 8-5 grind but still need to earn some coin and have some ambitions I'd like to act on. So, I think I will start my own small consulting company taking on small projects and performing consulting in my free time. Anybody else have their own business? What do you do and how do you balance it? Would appreciate any experience you could share, even if it's in a totally different field. Thanks!

Greetings, The 157th Air Refueling Wing in Portsmouth, NH is currently accepting applications for traditional (part time) KC-135 boom operators. We are hiring prior service as well as non-prior service applicants. Current KC-135 and KC-10 Boom applicants are encouraged to apply. We are slated to receive the KC-46 in early 2018, so if you are interested in being a part of the transition, let us know! Portsmouth is located in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire and is located about an hour north of Boston and an hour south of Portland, Maine. We are within 1.5 hours of big city life, major league sports, hiking, skiing, camping, fishing and some of the be…

Instead of retiring, is it possible to leave AD to a guard/reserve unit?

I'm an ART going on a centrally funded (RPA from AFRC) TDY (on the other side of the country) for ~160 days. I would like to drive, so I would have my car to use at the TDY location. However, I am being told that I only get one travel day because I have to travel via commerical air. I have scoured the JFTR and I can not find a way around this. Per the JFTR, the AO can designate a mode of travel that is most advantageous to the government, in this case commercial air, and the member, again per the JFTR, only gets one travel day. Does anyone have any experience in a similar situation? I would really want to have a car at my TDY location for obvious reason (getti…

Question came up in recent discussion with an old friend and I really didn't have an answer. He's flown charter, skydive aircraft, did the whole CFI thing for a little while, and is now flying CRJs with one of the regionals. On the quest to step up to the majors, he's also been scoping out some of the common foreign employers: Emirates, Korean Air, etc. He's had in mind to apply to a few Guard units as well and was wondering if the idea of working for a foreign company is even allowed while serving. Of course there are many considerations with such an idea: age limit, traveling back and forth overseas, employer's willingness to accommodate Guard commitment, deploymen…

I'm currently an IMA Major in the Air Force Reserve. It's been great being a staff dude for the last 4 years, but it's time to start flying again. I can't fly a desk anymore. I was a C-130 Navigator and prior Army helicopter pilot. Since I was rated, I thought there was no restrictions on age and rank to fly (helicopters). I was told by a HH-60 unit that my rank and age make it difficult for me to be a pilot. BTW, I will be having my first look at LtCol next year. Any thoughts or suggestions?