Ok. Here's the skinny fellas....
I. The contentions of working as a commuting TR are highly dependent on the unit. The units will establish their willingness to pay for the reimbursement of legal traveling and lodging costs for their non-local members depending on how difficult it is for said unit to staff their place. Units in shithole locations, or alternatively units with airframes that are not cool (i.e. not fighters and whatever else shit) will tend to exhibit greater willingness to endure the cost of traveling TRs and the paid travel gravy train. Those units that do not have such need, will likely not play that game and thus resort to the more typical commuting restrictions fighter units have been known for since forever. Figure out what type of unit you work for. The intent of the ARC was based on hometown unit models; the reality of Congressional pork belly has been an effective subversion of that intent and as such the hometown outcome is not universally true. Thence the reality of traveling cost for TRs in shitty locale/shitty airplane units.
II. Some units originally affected by the 2005 BRAC and other force restructurings that led the iron dislocated from their current/qualified members, have been allowed to reimburse commuting TRs for travel to perform IDT status, which in normal units is NOT a reimbursable expense to the member. Lodging cost reimbursement in the form of unit direct billing however, IS an entitlement for non-local TRs while performing IDT duty in all units, not just units approved for "IDT travel" reimbursement. Paragraph I caveats apply to whether or not you find yourself employed by either type of unit. At any rate, the IDT travel reimbursement is 12 vouchers a year, up to 300 dollar actual cash value last time I checked, all receipts must be included (i.e. you can't get away with not submitting receipts under 75 bucks when it comes to an IDT travel reimbursement voucher).
III. GTFO with that bullshit about traveling to work for free on RPA/MPA or AT status God damn it. Lodging only weekends while on a "1" status, living like god damn riddle kids out of a crash pad a la regional airlines because the unit promised you mandays if you play good house------a'. Mother blue loves that. Whoring out your skillset because you love wearing that bag. Rule#1 of the Reserves: you don't show up to work when not in status. Rule #1a: you certainly, DO NOT, travel for free when you're entitled to travel reimbursement, as some sort of a precondition of being given work. Travel entitlements and lodging are the price of freedom and when you give it up to play soldier for free the rest of the bros take it in the checkbook. We don't want to go back to the Country Club days of the Guard/Res; stop that shit. Your unit must have given you the spiel before they decided to hire you. If the place is located in a shithole and people can't make a lucrative living close by, then that's the price they got to pay to get you to work. Otherwise you buck up and move to the location and pursue your duty without the traveling reimbursement or per diem entitlement that's absent to a local area guy. But you do not wipe your ass with the JTFR and set an erosive precedent at the expense of your brothers.
I'm a middle-of-the-road guy by age/rank but an old timer by Reserve longevity and nothing fires me up more than some of the folks within the current crop of AD separatees, anxious as hell to get out of AD but then turn around and turn the Reserves into a low-tier regional airline operation with their work-for-free shenanigans. If you actually want to make it to your 20 year letter you should have a vested interest in internalizing what I'm saying. Y'all want to keep the Reserves a place that's reasonable to not only work in, but to get to. Some new hires are coming in with the touch n go mentality of "ill just do this to finish out my loose ends then I'm outta here" and it's screwing up the place for everybody. Don't be that guy. Be honest with the unit, have a plan, and do not forego your travel entitlements if the unit agrees to hire you as an outside-commuting area guy. Hold the line god damn it, I feel like a teamster rep drawing it in crayons for some of you guys.
Congratulations to all those parolees and welcome to the ARC, where flying, getting paid and not upsetting your civilian employer is our priority...well, at least that is my commitment to my TRs, as one who has BTDT myself. Good luck to all of you making the transition.