Do you wish you went Guard/Res?

[Guest Bad News]

In light of the much talked about AF "bullsh*t" on Active Duty as well as the seemingly inevitable stint in a UAV, I'm considering the Guard route instead of AD. For those of you that are Active Duty, do you wish you went Guard/Res, assuming you would keep your airframe?

*Sorry if this belongs in the Guard/res forum. I just thought it would be a little redundant to be asking Reservists and Guardsmen if they wished they were Reservists and Guardsmen.*

Edited April 15, 2010 by Bad News

[alwyn2d]

In light of the much talked about AF "bullsh*t" on Active Duty as well as the seemingly inevitable stint in a UAV, I'm considering the Guard route instead of AD. For those of you that are Active Duty, do you wish you went Guard/Res, assuming you would keep your airframe?

*Sorry if this belongs in the Guard/res forum. I just thought it would be a little redundant to be asking Reservists and Guardsmen if they wished they were Reservists and Guardsmen.*

Guard and Res are great as long as the unit keeps their airframes. In the recent past, ANG/Res have not only converted to RPVs but have lost their flying mission all together. What makes life great is that you are always throwing the dice. Death and taxes are the only guarantees that I know of. Happy Tax Day, damn it.

Edited April 15, 2010 by alwyn2d

[Guest Bad News]

Guard and Res are great as long as the unit keeps their airframes. In the recent past, ANG/Res have not only converted to RPVs but have lost their flying mission all together. What makes life great is that you are always throwing the dice. Death and taxes are the only guarantees that I know of. Happy Tax Day, damn it.

Whats an RPV? And is this common in the Guard/Res?

[SUX]

remote piloted aircraft, yes it is common

[Scooter14]

I spent my first 8 years AD and have been in the Guard for the last 7.

I'm glad I started off on Active Duty and I'm glad I made the jump to the ANG. No regrets.

[Guest Bad News]

I spent my first 8 years AD and have been in the Guard for the last 7.

I'm glad I started off on Active Duty and I'm glad I made the jump to the ANG. No regrets.

Isn't the ADSC 10 years?

yes it is common

As common as being sent to UAVs in AD?

[stract]

ADSC has only been 10 years for those who came on active duty in 2000 or later and attended pilot training. Navs and ABMs don't have the same ADSC. Plus there's a program called Palace Chase.

[osulax05]

Isn't the ADSC 10 years?

As common as being sent to UAVs in AD?

ADSC's are different for different jobs and have changed a few times in the past.

And as far as UAVs/RPVs or whatever buzz word we're using these days being common on AD; yes we have more than the reserves/guard but there are still more "real" flying jobs than UAVs on AD.

[afnav]

Knowing what I know now, yes, I wish I had gone Guard/Reserve. For those who have figured out the complicated system they use, the benefits are plentiful.

Hindsight is not always 20/20. I may have been kicked out of a cockpit, but I would probably be an O5 now.

[Guest JL]

Grass is always greener on the other side (I'm a Reserve type who used to be Guard). Both options have pros and cons. Me personally; I like the Reserves/Guard better because I don't have to put up with all the retardation that has infected the AF on a daily basis. That being said; unless you have a good civilian job or you can bum enough to make ends meet the Guard/Reserve can be painful on the finances.

[EvilEagle]

Plus there's a program called Palace Chase.

- oh yeah, the program that is currently being approved for anyone that has zero months or less left on their ADSC. Right now big blue is keeping us all till the last possible moment.

[Guest Hueypilot812]

My opinion is colored by the fact I was in the ARNG flying helicopters, but I like my AD job better than my Guard gig. I tried to go ARNG to AFRC, but they wouldn't let me out of the commitment (6 years for Army pilot training). The only way they'd sign the conditional release was to go active. I didn't have a flying job, or some nice federal job where you get mil leave. I had a normal job at a small company that absolutely hated my Guard commitment and constantly reminded me that I should quit the Guard. I got tired of not flying very much (I think that's pretty much an issue with the ARNG side, not so much the ANG side) and having to argue with my boss at work all the time...on top of it all, I find that the Guard is typically more political than the AD. The AD tends to try and push everyone to get upgraded to AC/IP, etc...it's just how the system works. But the Guard there seemed to be an "insider" group, and if you lived an hour or two away from the unit (like I did) you were pretty much considered an outsider...in other words, if you can't afford to hang out at the unit all the time and get to know the full-timers, etc, then you'll always wind up on the margins.

Don't get me wrong, we had some really good people flying in the Guard, and it's very true you don't have to deal with anywhere near the amount of AD bullshit. But there are other issues that exist that you might not realize. I think had I gone from AD to Guard it would have been better, since I would have already been an AC/IP in the aircraft. But being a Guard baby (ie, someone who starts their career in the Guard), it's a struggle sometimes to work your way up...but maybe that's just with the ARNG.

[Guest Crew Report]

I work with two Lt Col's who joined AD from Guard units (one was a Sq/CC) for three years to get enough years to retire. The grass isn't always greener, each side has its own queep.

[addict]

I searced "Cheddar" and came up with some interesting stories on the green grass topic

Edited April 16, 2010 by addict

[HuggyU2]

Right now big blue is keeping us all till the last possible moment.

Well... at least until the SERB in June.

[SocialD]

SOS in correspndance AND in residence...really, WTF is the point!

Masters to make Major - sure I'll sign up for a class on the weekend or the few hours a night I have to myself, I hate seeing my family anyway...

Praying for a good VML.

Hoping a UAV doesn't get sent your way.

Uprooting the family every three years to who knows where.

Worrying about TAMI 22 (AF doesn't care if you were DG in every course and are being groomed for WIC, if you don't have xx amount of hours on x date....UAV it is for you!)

Being gone over half the year.

As far as the hoping your unit doesn't get UAV's....if this does happen you can go find work with another guard/reserve squadron. The ARC isn't all the end all be all by stretch of the imagination. There tends to be fewer AGR jobs and more Technicians, these days, which is more pay but no 20 and out. The full time jobs can be hard to come by at times, but sometimes they are there for the taking. You really won't get the diversity of flying in lots of different places (provided you are lucky enough to get more than one assignment in your airframe on AD). If there is bad leadership....your stuck with them until they move on, which can take forever. Being part time, it's hard to stay proficient...even if you want to, sometimes the days and dollars just aren't there. The next BRAC is always around the corner....but again, you can go find work elsewhere.

ARC Pros

Choosing where you live.

Flying the same if not more than your active duty bros...even as a part timer.

Ability to move to another location/airframe (of YOUR choosing).

The ability to go part time, and just fly in the military.

The ability to sit out a deployment....have to keep those civilian employers happy as well.

This one can not be emphasized enough.......4 day work weeks!

Edited April 16, 2010 by SocialD

[Guest filthy_liar]

If you asked me up to 7 or 8 years ago if I thought the Guard/Res was a better gig than AD I would've said absolutely. However, since then I've met too many pilots who are furloughed or worse, and they are regretting not having 20 good years towards retirement. They are taking whatever AD job they can get, or working GS-12 gigs. I would imagine that in the past couple of years it has become even worse. If I had enough hours prior to 9/11 I probably would've bailed on AD. Now I'm glad I didn't.

[Guest]

No way someone can comment on wishing they had gone to the ARC unless they've done so.

I have many friends that went back on AD after some time in the Guard. Not one or two, many.

[brickhistory]

13 years AD, 10 years Reserves.

Glad I did both.

Was an IMA for a couple of years and glad I had a job because being a 'bum' is a tough way of life to earn enough to feed the family.

Being an AGR was the sh1t - best of both worlds.

Reserves are so much more like AD the last couple of years that the line is getting very fuzzy to see why doing it was worth the pain.

edited to add: Can't address your question about airframe as I wasn't a pilot.

Edited April 18, 2010 by brickhistory

[C130GuardBum]

Guard baby for 20 years and have been bumming for 17 of those. Wouldn't have it any other way. It has been feast or famine some times but since 2003 it has been getting easier and easier.

[JarheadBoom]

Wish I had done it sooner.

[Guest Sandlapper]

Over at AirlinePilotForums.com, one of the most visited/posted threads is about the rated return to AD...mostly reservists with buyer's remorse about leaving AD & a few retirees looking for adventure.

If you've got a few hours to kill, read through it & you'll see just how many folks want nothing more than to get "back in". Granted, this is 99% because of the current economy & bleak civ job outlook, but that's no small factor these days. Without any meaningful economic turnaround within the next few years, that sentiment will remain. Sure, there's queep/shoes/deployments/reflective belts and all...whatever. When you're 60 years old & reflecting back on your life in the AF, the things you're going to remember are the guys and gals you flew with/deployed with/commiserated with, etc. I've never met a single person who retired from AD that regretted that decision, but I've met a LOT of folks who wished to hell they hadn't gotten out. There was a time that I was on the fence, too...but not any more.

Consider this - if you retire as a LtCol at 20 years, you're AD retirement would be equal to annuity worth about $4 Mil (including COLA adjustments) if you live for 40 years after retirement. Check it here: https://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/RetCalc/default.aspx

[Jaded]

Consider this - if you retire as a LtCol at 20 years, you're AD retirement would be equal to annuity worth about $4 Mil (including COLA adjustments) if you live for 40 years after retirement. Check it here: https://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/RetCalc/default.aspx

That's what the calculator says, but it's $4 mil in 2060 dollars (as you say, it assumes an increase of about 5.5% a year for COLA and raises, to keep your spending power about the same). Not that it's not valid, but your spending power isn't going to be what $4 mil gets you today. If you normalize it at 2010 income levels, the calculator shows you making $1.4 million before taxes in 40 years retiring as an O-5.

[Guest Sandlapper]

That's what the calculator says, but it's $4 mil in 2060 dollars (as you say, it assumes an increase of about 5.5% a year for COLA and raises, to keep your spending power about the same). Not that it's not valid, but your spending power isn't going to be what $4 mil gets you today. If you normalize it at 2010 income levels, the calculator shows you making $1.4 million before taxes in 40 years retiring as an O-5.

The point is that you'd need $4M in today's dollars to keep an inflation-adjusted yearly income stream until you turn room temperature at age 82. So it's not $4M "in 2060 dollars" - it's the sum total of monthly paychecks with your name on them, starting the day you retire.

[Jaded]

The point is that you'd need $4M in today's dollars to keep an inflation-adjusted yearly income stream until you turn room temperature at age 82. So it's not $4M "in 2060 dollars" - it's the sum total of monthly paychecks with your name on them, starting the day you retire.

I'm not arguing that point. $4M in today's dollars in 2060 gets you as much as $1.4 in today's dollars gets you today (according to the calculator's assumptions.)