Guard or Reserve

[cincy]

I have 9 yrs active duty Army, and another 3 yrs NG prior to that. Currently instructing. I"M BROKE!!!!!!! Weekend drill pay would help out in a big way, but I'm afraid if I'm in the guard or reserve, no regional will touch me. First, do you agree with this? Should I wait to get a line then join the NG/Res? Do the Regionals care? Thats a lot of yrs to just throw away. Thanks!

 

[Checks]

Walk, no RUN, to your nearest Guard facility and join up. National Guard aviation is awesome! Beats Active Duty 10x over.

 

[MarineGrunt]

Agree with the above post. Fly for the Guard. These days, if you are able, you're crazy not to...

You shouldn't encounter any problems with employers if you are guard/reserve. And even if you did, you wouldn't want to work with that type of company anyway.

Start calling Guard units and Good luck!

 

[HairOnFire!]

I agree with these previous posts. It really shouldn't be a big deal to any scheduled airline. They are used to it and generally adapt to your military schedule quite easily. Think of how to show it as a positive, not a negative, in the interview. Good luck.

 

[dtfl]

Reserve/Guard

The only information I can offer, as a reservist, that might make me choose the reserves over the guard is that there are many TDY opportunities the reserves are offered that the guard are not. The 3 week planner jobs in Germany, the 2 week rotes to here/there, etc. A buddy was going to apply to a C130 guard unit and he asked them about those TDYs - he then called AF Res Command - he was told that many are TDY billets the AD can't or do not want to fill. They are given to the reserves and left "open" for a certain period of time. If they are not filled, the guard gets a quick cut and them, then they go right back to AD. If they are filled, the guard never knows about them.
Other than that - from what I hear from my buds the guard is an overall better environment. The reserves, in this day and age, can be the active duty "B" team-i.e. - being called to support active duty more than in the past. I don't know if you want that or not. The guard has the state Gov to say yeah/nay.
Good luck!

 

[Slim]

"The Guard has the state gov to say yeah/nay!" dtfl

Not True!

Everything else in dtfl's post is true except that. State governors do not have veto power when a unit in their state is federalized. Michael Dukakis tried that as governor of Massachusetts. He tried to block deployment of a public affairs detachment to Central America. He ordered his Adjutant General to disobey the order. As you might imagine, his efforts were not succesful.

A friend of mine in Texas served a year at the Pentagon, then a second one year tour in Germany and is now on active duty at Lackland AFB. He's had no problem getting AD as a Reserve member. Similar tours are available to NG members, but not as easily.

I was hired by Comair and they knew I was in the NG. During my second interview, I asked the chief pilot there about the company's attitude toward the NG/Reserve. His was response was very positive and I never had a problem getting military leave, sometimes with orders to follow.

You're right...the drill pay comes in handy when you're an instructor. Been there...done that, now I'm retired.

Good luck...fly safe!

 

[dtfl]

Oops

Thought so...my bad!

 

[CMRaviator]

Comair

Cincy....I'm assuming you're looking at Comair as the regional. Anyhow, I agree with Slim in that Comair is great with reservists. I was activated while still on probation and was given nothing but encouragement from the chief pilots office. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. On a different note, have any of the guard guys heard of overseas tours being offered in the 6mo to the 1yr range?

 

[El Cid Av8or]

I am enlisted in the Air Guard as a crew chief. I did it mainly for the experience and to serve this country. The money is nice but as an E-4, it isn't a lot (while I am on orders for over 15 days it is though). The person who got me interested in the guard is a pilot for a regional. He is also a C-130 instructor pilot for the guard. The regional has no problem with his drill weekends, going on orders, etc. He doesn't wait until the last moment to notify them though. I have talked to some fractional pilots and another regional pilot who were in the guard or reserve and their employers didn't mind. Some said that their employers even seemed "thankful" for it. As said before, if the potential employer doesn't want to hire you because you are in the guard or reserve, you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

Good luck!

 

[AlbieF15]

It is always nice when your chief pilot at the airline says "thanks for serving", however the law says he HAS to protect your job, etc. I have forgotten the law, but the Dept of Labor has links to the act.

Will someone smarter than me (not hard to find that!) post that link?

Point is many times (at least in the 121 world) the company doesn't get a vote, and you don't ASK for mil leave--you inform WHEN you are going. Now...the smart guy is going to be a tactful diplomat and do his best at both jobs, but you don't serve in the Air National Guard at the discretion of your civilian boss, and by law your job (and associated benefits including seniority) must be protected by your employer while you serve.

 

[Tweetdrvr]

Albie,

I think you are talking about the ESGR (employer support for/of the Guard Reserve) program. That is the program that educates employers about the Guard and Reserves. Here is the web address: http://www.esgr.com/

Mike