thecloser2144

I tell anyone that is considering to being an ART....take the the job and consider it something to substitute your guard/reserve bumming. In other words, get as many days as you can, then work your tech job in the off days. The military retirement is far superior than anything technician related, .60 cents per day for an O-5 for each day you do now, do the math and you'll see why being an air tech is a horrible pay/retirement system.

Depends on what you want. Want to have to work until you are 57 then take the air tech job. You have to work until your MRA (minimum retirement age) if you want a decent retirement. Is the pay the same? Absolutely not, neither is the retirement. Me personally, the thought of working until I'm 57 at my guard unit makes me contemplate putting a large revolver in my mouth and pulling the trigger, but maybe your guard unit is better than mine.

I would say that a blue or orange tux would be appropriate......similar to what I saw on dumb and dumber, cane and hat included of course....

Don't forget that when they boot you out before your MRA (minimum retirement age), mine being 57, you don't get a cola adjustment until you reach 62. Basically, you are getting penalized every year for getting booted out. In my state, (Wisconsin), the TAG has decided to not write any waivers for Air Tech's seeking to extend their civil service beyond their 28 years of commissioned service date. So, if you are an air tech, you can only count on working until you hit that date, or 30 if you make O-6. I also heard more and more states are starting to go to this. Of course, when the airline industry turns upside down in 5 - 10 years, this will all change. On another note, does anyone know how to calculate AGR retirement pay?....I know how to do it on the traditional guardsman side, being cents per point after 60 (army has a good website for this), but what if I convert over to AGR, does anyone know how to compute pay in retirement as an AGR? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Well to answer some of the questions on here, I was trying to point out the ridiculous of having tanker guys wear the patch and say that they went to the school...and how in our community they are pushing this tactics down our throats when they should be concentrating on other things...you know flying the aircraft, teaching new students, talking to the FAA about new procedures, etc. Instead, we (AMC community) tend to focus now on the non-flying aspects and that flying is an afterthought. To help out the fighter guys with their vuls, its pretty simple and any nutless monkey should be able to do it. How hard can it be...hmm, we have so much gas, and we are in this area...will that work for you fighter dude?....Sorry but having to sit through those horrendous briefings at Red Flag when all we care about is place, how much gas, and how long you need us for is about as pointless as having a tanker guy go to WIC. Finally, I think that maybe a more beneficial school would be say Advanced Instrument School, or Instructor School before WIC or anything to do with "tactics." Ohh, i'm sure I wasn't the only guard guy who has ever gone to a school for the sake of getting paydays. Seriously...nutless monkey.

No they don't, you can get a waiver, in the guard its up to your TAG, so its state dependent. ROTMA is for guys who have 7 years as a Major and need to make LtCol, it ultimately gets you an extra three years and the rank of LtCol if and a kick in the ass out the door after your three years are up.

Just a caveot with the FERS retirement, you must reach your MRA (Minimum Retirement Age) to get the good FERS retirement package. What I mean by this, is if they boot you out early, say with 28 years commissioned service and you are only 53, you do not qualify for the good retirement in the FERS system becuase you have failed to reach your MRA (which is based on the year born so i'm guessing its at least 57). So, when they boot you out of your Guardsman position, or non-retain you at 28 years commissioned service (which by the way is becoming standard for most guard units) and you lose your Air Tech job, you get the crappy FERS retirement. So that means no COLA until your 62, etc. Good Luck, another reason to go to an airline or try to become an AGR.

Nice...yeah, I wore my "non graduate" patch to Red Flag one year, the fighter guys didn't get my sense of humor. I'd probably go if I was hard up for the pay days, but I don't really want to PCS. Thanks for the info.

Is WIC a complete waste of time for tankers?...I mean, what can they possibly teach you for tactics with the tanker....overhead, scram, combat descent....???? Our Wing Commander seems to think that someone needs to go to this but I think its a complete waste of time, not to mention that most of the patch wearers I've come across are complete tools. Any thoughts?

Nice, yeah its all about QOL.....i've been in the guard flying for over 10 years and its things have really begun to go downhill. Nobody ever says "boy, its so much better today than it used to be.".....it should be the type of job that you never want to leave...but its quite the opposite now.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking it was similar to the MC-12 positions. I've got to do the math to see if its worth more to do it with dynamic or take a 60 day tour to somewhere like the Deid. At least i'd be a civilian so I wouldn't have to put up with all the active duty bs.

Does anyone have any experience with these positions? Just wondering what the pay, lifestyle, bases are? I understand I would probably be 60 days in the AOR flying, but i'm wondering if its worth it to even apply for a job to augment my "guard bumming." in case LTMPA dries up....Thanks.

It will help, but with budget cuts, and a draw down in the future of forces/aircraft I think that the days of the guard are numbered.

Yeah if you can stomach it that long...

My 2 cents...if you want to get an airline job after you get out or any flying job after 10 years I would suggest this..... C-21....get a lear type rating KC-10 get a DC-10 type rating E-4 get a 747 type rating and an ATP for free.... After 10 years get out and get a Fed ex job and finish your military in the guard....

I've been in the guard for over 10 years now and as of late I believe that we are getting more and more like AD everyday. The new AEF cycle, the Bureau taking anything that AMC seems to give us, proliferation of Academy (the one in C Springs, not the former one in Knoxville) Grads that came from AD to the guard, have all added up to a condition that many of us are waiting until the day that the airlines start hiring in mass numbers. I can say that we still have good attitudes and most units have really good people there, but after 10 years of crap being funneled down our throats, most of us are looking for a way out. I believe that if the job markets for pilots turn around, things will change dramatically....the 65 rule can't come soon enough.

New to the discussion, but saw the part on back-filling active duty at the AOR....not gonna happen. Just talked with the "bureau" and apparently too many man days being spent on guard bums for doing active duty work....so, they want the active duty to start flying their lines in the desert, MPA days need to be saved for other things, (the important things like manning the all too important fuel conservation office). We will have to see how long that will last. My 2 cents...it will last about 6 months, then the guard will be able to back-fill active duty again once they (active duty) starts complaining about being on the road 300 days a year. Also, expect the long term MPA to get turned off around 1 April, too many man days being spent.