IRR opportunities....points

[Junglejett]

Anyone doing the IRR thing for points only? If so, what kind of "work" is out there? For an enlisted aircrew dude!

[JarheadBoom]

I haven't done a whole lot of looking, but I've seen very few IRR jobs for enlisted aircrew. In fact, the only one I can think of is at Scott; it's a non-flying position, and it's apparently been unfilled for several years. I know the AFRC 1A functional manager sent out an email about it last year, trolling for interest. I don't know if he got any bites.

[Chida]

There's CAPRAP. You serve as a Cat E reservist in the PIRR, attend CAP (Civil Air Patrol) events and provide mentoring to cadets and squadrons. You're generally assigned to one squadron. This is only for Air Force reservists, though. You can then also do ADLS courses for additional points when you're in the PIRR.

[HerkFE]

There's CAPRAP. You serve as a Cat E reservist in the PIRR, attend CAP (Civil Air Patrol) events and provide mentoring to cadets and squadrons. You're generally assigned to one squadron. This is only for Air Force reservists, though. You can then also do ADLS courses for additional points when you're in the PIRR.

Do you know where to go to get more info on this? My wife hits 20 next month and is ready to go but she has mentioned that she wouldn't be opposed to doing some IRR stuff for points. We are going to join CAP anyway (Went to our first meeting last week......I know, flame away) so that would be good if she could get some points too.

[HERK_Nav]

Check your PM

There's CAPRAP. You serve as a Cat E reservist in the PIRR, attend CAP (Civil Air Patrol) events and provide mentoring to cadets and squadrons. You're generally assigned to one squadron. This is only for Air Force reservists, though. You can then also do ADLS courses for additional points when you're in the PIRR.

All (I think) of the FEMA courses will get you points, too.

[flyc5]

Can you get points for the FEMA courses as a drilling reservist? How do you go about submitting?

[Surf70]

Cat E program has its benefits. You can become a Cat E by contacting AFRC. The good deal about it is there is no commitment, i.e., no drill requirements, no UTA's, no 15 day etc. And you can get as many orders as you can handle, for both pay, and points. The only time it is for points only is if you attend a training event and you are not on orders. It is great for a bum, I wish I would have done it years ago. You are pretty much a free agent, and you are still in, etc CAC card, and all. It is called PIRR, participating inactive ready reserve, and it is a good deal if you dont want to punch and still like to do duty every now and then, and do not want the commitment of UTA's etc...

For an airline guy it has its perks... And for an Enlisted Aircrew it does too, you can work staff jobs on orders, no supervisor approval etc... However, the AD unit will be your supervising agent, for OPR, EPR once they cut orders for you, but you still belong to AFRC. You do loose your flight pay unless you have met your gates, I believe. It is a good deal like I said, and alot of guys down it because some say it is for points only, which is not true. If you are on orders you get paid just like everyone else does, and it also adds to your retirement. PM me for more info... Yes you can volunteer for as much orders as you want too. I know Cat E's that have been on AD for years. I think it is one of those best kept secrets, and it is unfunded so no chance of being cut...

Edited March 14, 2012 by Surf70

[HERK_Nav]

Can you get points for the FEMA courses as a drilling reservist? How do you go about submitting?

Check with your unit... for most of our reservists we had them do a 40A and attach the cert and submit it to their unit.

[AFmedguy]

Hey guys.

Sorry for the thread necro, but I'm a recently separated medical officer (O-3). I'm in the IRR and trying to find ways to continue to drill for points and possibly promotion. I was able to find info about the Cat E PIRR, which led me here.

Anyone have any further tips on getting involved in something like this? I tried contacting AFRC and they told me that a recruiter would reach out to me, but they never did. I plan on seeking out a recruiter at my local base either this week or next week, but is that even who I should talk to about this?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[noodles]

If someone was going ANG to AFRC CAT E....does anyone know if paricipation in the ANG gets you on the scroll? Obviously going AD to AFRC requires scrolling (which can take some time) but what about ANG (which does not require scrolling but MAY (as I have been told) get you on the scroll) to AFRC?

[Chida]

You already hold a reserve commission, so no scroll required. It involves resigning from ANG and simultaneous request to transfer to IRR. Once that is done use form 1288 to get gained to whatever admin sq is in charge of you.


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[noodles]

Great info! Any chance there is a reg reference for that? My AFRC recruiter does not know this.  

[Chida]

Get on the afepubs website and look it up. The regs are located there. But in any case it doesn't matter that your recruiter doesn't know the process. That's the way it be. Sts


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[El-Fist]

On March 14, 2012 at 2:11 AM, Surf70 said:

Cat E program has its benefits. You can become a Cat E by contacting AFRC. The good deal about it is there is no commitment, i.e., no drill requirements, no UTA's, no 15 day etc. And you can get as many orders as you can handle, for both pay, and points. The only time it is for points only is if you attend a training event and you are not on orders. It is great for a bum, I wish I would have done it years ago. You are pretty much a free agent, and you are still in, etc CAC card, and all. It is called PIRR, participating inactive ready reserve, and it is a good deal if you dont want to punch and still like to do duty every now and then, and do not want the commitment of UTA's etc...

For an airline guy it has its perks... And for an Enlisted Aircrew it does too, you can work staff jobs on orders, no supervisor approval etc... However, the AD unit will be your supervising agent, for OPR, EPR once they cut orders for you, but you still belong to AFRC. You do loose your flight pay unless you have met your gates, I believe. It is a good deal like I said, and alot of guys down it because some say it is for points only, which is not true. If you are on orders you get paid just like everyone else does, and it also adds to your retirement. PM me for more info... Yes you can volunteer for as much orders as you want too. I know Cat E's that have been on AD for years. I think it is one of those best kept secrets, and it is unfunded so no chance of being cut...

 

I wanted to give this thread a bump to see if anybody has recent experience with going from ANG to a CAT E program.  I've got 16 years of flying in, but I'm feeling pretty done at this point.  Balancing the airline job with the guard's flying currency requirements is rapidly losing it's appeal.  I would hate to completely walk away at 16 years with 13 years of AD, but it's just not fun anymore.

 

 If anyone has recently jumped from ANG to any of the CAT E PIRR, (ALO, CAP, RRS, etc.) and can shed some light on the process, I would greatly appreciate it.

[nunya]

I'm doing it right now.  I'll tell you what I did, but no guarantee it's the best or most efficient way, or hell, even the right way. 

1. Go meet your Force Management NCOIC and buy them lunch.  Tell them what you're up to so they can create a folder on you and watch your progress in their 1980s database.  If they're good, they can keep everyone else in line and translate common sense into MPF speak. 
2. Find the PIRR job you want.  Through networking and Googling, I found a guy doing the job already, cold called him and introduced myself, asked about the job, was he happy with it, etc.  He gave me his AD CC's and Reserve CC's names.  I called both of them, introduced myself, told them I was interested in joining them, etc.  Their main concern was making sure I wasn't a dbag, I was willing to do some work for them, and I understood this was mostly unpaid.  They said lots of guys call them intending to bum, and that's not even close to possible, at least according to them.  They asked for an emailed resume and some screenprints from vMPF.  Nothing cosmic.  They "hired" me based off a couple phone call "interview." 
3. Talk to your local Reserve recruiter.  The AD CC of your PIRR unit might have a recruiter he has worked with in the past.  If you're going to move (say, to your domicile), they won't talk to you until you're local.  The recruiters have no way of knowing where you actually live.  Just sayin.  Tell them you're Guard, you're not yet scrolled, and you want to transfer to XYZ unit.  You'll probably have to hold their hand a little through the process - I've been unimpressed.  I think I am the first officer my recruiter has transferred.  First things first, GET SCROLLED.  It takes months.  Make sure your recruiter starts the process yesterday so it's ready when you are.
4. Make sure you can send encrypted emails to your recruiter.  The new Guard mail.mil and the Reserve us.af.mil servers don't pay nice together.  You might have to get his digital ID via some voodoo magic.  I think this is how I did it.  https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Get-a-digital-ID-0eaa0ab9-b8a2-4a7e-828b-9bded6370b7b
5. Start your 1288.  Your recruiter will tell you what to put in each block.  Route that through your Guard WG/CC, TAG, etc. 
6. Write a conditional separation MFR to your Wing CC to accompany your 1288.  My SQ/CC had one on his computer, so he just changed the name, signed it, and sent it over to the Guard MPF. 
7. Wait.
8. The 1288 will come back from your JFHQ/TAG and your Wing MPF should send this to the recruiter.  He'll send everything to the RIO.
9. Wait some more.
10. Eventually the RIO responsible for your area will contact you either directly or through your recruiter.  They'll want some ARMS stuff.  They make sure your app is complete before it goes to ARPC.  Recommend you talk to your RIO person (mine is an O-5) directly at least once to establish some kind of rapport.  They can be pretty helpful and they can fix a lot of the Recruiter issues.
11. Wait longer.
12. Eventually you'll get a swear-in date, which will establish your separation date.  You'll swear in to your new Reserve unit and your Guard Wing will create a separation order effective 1 day prior. 
13. Outprocess and inprocess like you have 69 times before and off you go.

Good luck.  It's been a school of hard knocks.  Nobody really knows what they're doing.  You're obviously the first guy in 30 years to do this.  I hope your desired transfer date is on a distant horizon.

Edited January 9, 2017 by nunya
spelling

[El-Fist]

22 minutes ago, nunya said:

I'm doing it right now.  I'll tell you what I did, but no guarantee it's the best or most efficient way, or hell, even the right way. 

1. Go meet your Force Management NCOIC and buy them lunch.  Tell them what you're up to so they can create a folder on you and watch your progress in their 1980s database.  If they're good, they can keep everyone else in line and translate common sense into MPF speak. 
2. Find the PIRR job you want.  Through networking and Googling, I found a guy doing the job already, cold called him and introduced myself, asked about the job, was he happy with it, etc.  He gave me his AD CC's and Reserve CC's names.  I called both of them, introduced myself, told them I was interested in joining them, etc.  Their main concern was making sure I wasn't a dbag, I was willing to do some work for them, and I understood this was mostly unpaid.  They said lots of guys call them intending to bum, and that's not even close to possible.  They asked for an emailed resume and some screenprints from vMPF.  Nothing cosmic.  They "hired" me based off a couple phone call "interview." 
3. Talk to your local Reserve recruiter.  The AD CC of your PIRR unit might have a recruiter he has worked with in the past.  If you're going to move (say, to your domicile), they won't talk to you until you're local.  The recruiters have no way of knowing where you actually live.  Just sayin.  Tell them you're Guard, you're not yet scrolled, and you want to transfer to XYZ unit.  You'll probably have to hold their hand a little through the process - I've been unimpressed.  First things first, GET SCROLLED.  It takes months.  Make sure your recruiter starts the process yesterday so it's ready when you are.
4. Start your 1288.  Your recruiter will tell you what to put in each block.  Route that through your Guard WG/CC, TAG, etc. 
5. Write a conditional separation MFR to your Wing CC to accompany your 1288.  My SQ/CC had one on his computer, so he just changed the name, signed it, and sent it over to the Guard MPF. 
6. Wait.
7. The 1288 will come back from your JFHQ/TAG and your Wing MPF should send this to the recruiter.  He'll send everything to the RIO.
8. Wait some more.
9. Eventually the RIO responsible for your area will contact you either directly or through your recruiter.  They'll want some ARMS stuff.  They make sure your app is complete before it goes to ARPC.
10. Wait longer.
11. Eventually you'll get a swear-in date, which will establish your separation date.  You'll swear in to your new Reserve unit and your Guard Wing will create a separation order effective 1 day prior. 
12. Outprocess and inprocess like you have 69 times before and off you go.

Good luck.  It's been a school of hard knocks.  Nobody really knows what they're doing.  You're obviously the first guy in 30 years to do this.  I hope your desired transfer date is on a distant horizon.

Wow, thanks for the quick and detailed response.  Much appreciated.  It sounds like the process when I transferred from AD to the Guard.  Evidently, I was the first person to do that...  Ever.  I'm looking to make the transition in 6 months or so.  No rush on my part.  I'm in the early stages of "seeing what's out there."

Thanks again.  

[nunya]

2 minutes ago, El-Fist said:

 I'm looking to make the transition in 6 months or so.  No rush on my part.  I'm in the early stages of "seeing what's out there."

No problem.  Don't drag your feet too long, though.  In addition to "You can't be a bum in the PIRR," the other thing the AD/CC stressed was that he wanted guys that will give him a few years of service.  It's a painful process to access somebody, taking 12+ months, so they say they don't want the 18 year guy looking to bail in 2 years.

[El-Fist]

Cool.  Yeah, I'm at 16 now.  Better move!

[SPiF]

9 hours ago, El-Fist said:

 

I wanted to give this thread a bump to see if anybody has recent experience with going from ANG to a CAT E program.  I've got 16 years of flying in, but I'm feeling pretty done at this point.  Balancing the airline job with the guard's flying currency requirements is rapidly losing it's appeal.  I would hate to completely walk away at 16 years with 13 years of AD, but it's just not fun anymore.

 

 If anyone has recently jumped from ANG to any of the CAT E PIRR, (ALO, CAP, RRS, etc.) and can shed some light on the process, I would greatly appreciate it.

You may want to look at the IMA program as well. All the billets I've seen are non-flying, and it's a lot easier to schedule your days in 1-2 blocks/year and be done with it. Looking at RMVS they've got a decent slate of 11X positions all over.  

[JS]

I think there was another thread about the regular IMA program, but here is my nickel summary.  I am about 6 months into my new IMA job - CAT A with 48 IDTs plus annual tour.  The deal I have with my boss is that it works out to where I owe them about two, 3-weeks stints per year.  Last month, I did my PT test and physical at the local AFB on inactive duty days and only travel to the IMA job when there are big exercises, etc.  The commitment seems pretty straightforward, and I get real pay, not just this points crap, for it.  PM me if you want details on my job and my process to get into it.  I'm about ready to start my 2nd 3-week gig next month, but so far so good.  And it's a helluva lot easier than doing drill weekends and keeping up with flying currencies, etc.  

[Jaded]

What is RMVS and how do you get access? 

[SPiF]

6 hours ago, Jaded said:

What is RMVS and how do you get access? 

It's part of the AFPC Secure suite of apps. You just log into the AF Portal and you can search for it as one of the available sites. It'll let you search by all reserve vacancies, TR, IMA, or AGR. 

[Square]

.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Square

[Square]

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 7:51 PM, El-Fist said:

Wow, thanks for the quick and detailed response.  Much appreciated.  It sounds like the process when I transferred from AD to the Guard.  Evidently, I was the first person to do that...  Ever.  I'm looking to make the transition in 6 months or so.  No rush on my part.  I'm in the early stages of "seeing what's out there."

Thanks again.  

Going to add one story to Nunya's post.

I was doing the guard to reserve (IMA) switch, talking primarily to the reserve recruiter with some minimal interaction with the RIO det. Had the 1288 and memo in to my guard commander in line with the experienced referenced above, and was in the "wait some more mode."

One day I tried to log into my .mil webmail and couldn't access and also didn't have access to the AF portal. Something had happened, so I called my guard unit and found out from them looking into my status that I was in the IRR. Apparently I had been separated from the ANG with no unit gain by the AFR.

The RIO was able to backdate my association with my IMA unit so no break in participating service, but the whole thing was very strange. Had the backdate not happened I would have had something like a two month break. Had I not called them to ask the question I think I would have cluelessly showed up for Guard drill.

[ImNotARobot]

So...do I understand that one can retire out of IRR? So if I go IRR with 6 years remaining to 20, how do I figure the various programs that exist for points in that scenario? I understand that there are DL PME schools, etc, but I have no idea how to find what could work...meaning, do I qualify for enough of these schools to string together 6 good years. 

I see the IMA info above, and that's appreciated. Anyone who was deciding between IRR & IMA positions and would be willing to talk about their thought process would be VERY helpful. I've read as much as I can using the search function.

The Air Force has finally found a way to burn my tolerance candle out, stomp on it, and take a steaming shit on top of it.  I've gotta give the AF credit for consistency...the admin and/or war machine again demonstrated my value to the company:  a simple number on a spreadsheet to feed the beast. No more, no less. The years I spent fooling myself it was something else are over.