ART-AGR flexibility

[CopyShot]

How much flexibility does a unit have in changing the status of a position, specifically ART to AGR?  Is that something that's easy enough IF the Wing leadership supports it, or a NAF/MAJCOM type approval?  I fully understand there's different pots of money, and different manpower authorizations involved, but I'm not plugged into the nuances of the A1 world enough to know how easy/hard that is.

[hindsight2020]

In short, NO. It's not easy, nor probable, and Wings have little input. 

 

**TLDR warning**

There's a fundamental cost savings to the bean counters at ARPC, associated with doing this job as a civil servant vice AGR. Which is why the lion's share of the full time support in Active-Duty-Lite is ART.  Within the last 3 years they had to address some of the shortcomings in pay and retirement of the civil service system (FERS won't even give them the 6c multiplier that LEO and ATC in the civilian Fed are accustomed to, forget the yearly vesting fees post 2014 compared to pre-2014, let alone CSRS), which is why the recent updates to the SSR tables and ART bonus imo fall short of the cake vice the AGR side. Specifically, the retirement is shit compared to AGR/AD. It's not the money, it's the time value of money. See my prior comment about straight civil servant 6c multipliers.

Military critters are a sacred cow class in this country good bad or indifferent. If you can get federal cops and ATCers those kind of multipliers and vesting years to disbursement, you can do it for ARTs. So the answer is self-evident: They just don't want to. Which does nothing but antagonize the talent. I digress. Advantage AGR.

BL, if you're chasing an AGR, you're gonna have to low crawl like many of us lifer Reservists have had to, because they're actively fighting to nodge you off that pot. That means moving if need be. I had to endure 7 years in a place I almost lost my ability to form and raise a family, if not my outright sensibilities over, in order to attain a lateral into a duty station I could actually stomach doing the rest of the time to an AD retirement and raising my family without absentee parenting oportunity costs that were non starters for me.

It wasn't pretty, but I don't regret it because I know exactly what I'm after: the position of Fuck You, and AGR is the road to that in my life. 

All that said, ART is not a bad way of going about raising a family and homesteading; I saw dozens do just that as townies in my first CAF unit. I do admit it beats the civilian economy post corona. It's not perfect, as long as you can medically make it to your late 50s that's is. That was my main objection in staking my retirement to this medical dependent AFSC, let alone a part-B military job where the failure to maintain part B makes you ineligible for the Part A aka civil service part...something straight non-ART civil service critters don't have worry about.

At any rate, that's the history of ART in the AFRC, and personal editorial on why they'll notch the proliferation of AGRs for officers like its their religion. Good luck man!

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by hindsight2020
grammerz bad

[CopyShot]

So a year or two ago there was a lot of publicity about converting more of the force to AGRs. Has that taken root at all? This is specific to AFRC, though I’d heard that ANG was already going down that path.


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[hindsight2020]

 

31 minutes ago, CopyShot said:

So a year or two ago there was a lot of publicity about converting more of the force to AGRs. Has that taken root at all? This is specific to AFRC, though I’d heard that ANG was already going down that path.


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This describes most of the implementation changes. It's not particularly significant, other than some changes within the management of term vs non-term positions.

Why do you ask? Are you looking for an AGR? Vacancies are listed in MyPers. 

[SocialD]

WRT to the ANG, it can be done but it may take some time and it's not just something I'd expect to happen.  I'm not fully up to speed on the process, but within the base there is a lot of horse trading that goes on for Technician and AGR resources.  6 to 9 years ago we had 5 or 6 tech pilots and the rest were AGR, but over the years we've traded away tech spots for AGR spots.  I think we're down to only 2 Technicians spots filled with maybe 1 spot left unfilled right now.  The rest of our guys are AGR or ADOS alert orders. 

 

[CopyShot]

 
This describes most of the implementation changes. It's not particularly significant, other than some changes within the management of term vs non-term positions.
Why do you ask? Are you looking for an AGR? Vacancies are listed in MyPers. 

I am looking for an AGR, but in this case it’s that I may have a great opportunity available. At the moment however, it’s an ART billet. I currently have a civilian job which I’d like to keep protected if possible.


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[SocialD]

Interesting timing,  we have been told all our tech spots will be converted to AGR (we only have 2 techs left anyway).  Guys currently in Techs can stay tech, but when they vacate it will become an AGR.  Don't really understand how all the works but this is ANG and not AFRES.

Edited May 14, 2020 by SocialD

[herkbum]

Interesting timing,  we have been told all our tech spots will be converted to AGR (we only have 2 techs left anyway).  Guys currently in Techs can stay tech, but when they vacate it will become an AGR.  Don't really understand how all the works but this is ANG and not AFRES.

I think this is Round 3 of 5 from the original plan. Word was they were shooting for 66%-75% AGR for full time staff. I’ve been out of the know for a bit, so numbers may be slightly off.


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