guard/reserve questions

[Scrapdog]

Don't you get hostile fire pay either way as long as you Iraqi or Afghani airspace? And how hard is it to on orders and isn't it easy to pick up extra trips if your not? Lastly how much can a guard/reserve bum make if there flexible?

Dude - you are too funny! Psysicx, you seem like a good kid but I think your glasses have fogged up reading this post. I'll re-iterate for ya...a part time schedule is designed for a part timer!! You need to have another job to make ends meet in the long run, trust me!! And on top of that, most units won't even consider hiring you in the first place unless you've got a long term plan or a specific primary job so you can feed your family in the first place!

Do you want to live out of your car for god's sakes? Come on brutha - see the light here...

 

[ExAF]

Or.....

Do you want to live out of your car for god's sakes? Come on brutha - see the light here...

Or...In a van down by the river!

 

[psysicx]

Sorry plus I know that heavy drivers can make a living bumming.

 

[Beaker]

Some icing on the long-term orders cake

"Long Term Orders": You can go "Active duty" in a Reserve unit either voluntarily or involuntarily. Currently in our C17 world these orders are available in 3, 6, and 12 month increments for volunteers. The paycheck is exactly like the paycheck of a person on Active Duty.

By far, the most money you can make is by being on orders. You will most likely get what we call a cha-ching, or tax free/hostile fire pay each month if you enter Iraqi or Afghani airspace. It can be worth about 5-6 hundred for a 1LT or Capt. In addition to that, you can expect about 8-9 hundred per month in per diem from your "stage trip".

Each situation is different, and worth researching carefully. You also have to use a very accurate Magic 8 ball to determine what the future is going to hold for the unit that hires you - how long are orders going to be available? Who is in line to get them should they be reduced or dry up?

Regarding the post above - 8-9 hundred/mo might be a good ballpark estimate, but it depends a lot on where you are spending that month. Will it be Al Udeid, Manas (both just a few dollars a day excepting the first) or Ramstein (close to a c-note/day)? Find out where the units you are interested in are spending their deployments.

Also worth noting, if you make your home of residence more than one hour away from your unit and don't drive back and forth too much (called putting yourself in 'commute' status) you can get mileage and tolls to and from your house, per diem while you are at work _at your home unit_, and housing based on your zip where you live, not the unit. You can also get reibursed for your hotel stays while at work. We've got some guys who have been at hotels for 3 years! They don't get paid the mileage back and forth, but have mega hotel points. I choose to maximize my time at home and don't play that card. IMHO, it seems a little to close to fleecing... If you are going to be a UPT input like the initial poster, you will probably want to live close to the unit because you will be on a prog tour for a while after upt, but your mileage may vary.

Many many variables to consider. I would cast a wide net, make your package look as professional as possible and do what you can to get to know people in the unit. Just because they are willing to hire you, doesn't mean you'll be happy there. I would also have a backup plan/job. Advice I still haven't taken...

For disclosure purposes, I'm on orders at a non-deploying heavy unit.

 

[bagasticks]

I'll speak up from a reserve tanker clown perspective. You can easily a make a living, atleast in my unit as a bum (trougher). We have trips constantly that the ARTS dont want, we augment AD crew to the desert, and a local flight schedule that is always in need of seat meat. The health insurance gig is that if you go to the desert (which you could volunteer for continually if you wanted) you get like 6 months of tri-care when you get home. I think you have to go for like 60 or 90 to get it? I dont know I am a traditional, but several of my friends clear 50-60k a year troughing. I only rec. it if your single. just my .02

 

[psysicx]

Now I'm more confused.

 

[pipe]

Enlist in the ANG/Reserve unit closest to you...or one that flies fighters. When it comes time to select a UPT candidate, if you are a current member of the unit and have shown an active interest in flying, you'll have a leg up on the other candidates.

(My hunch is that your 1000 hours in a Lear will weigh equally with the guy who saved all his tip money and scratched enough lessons together for his private pilot. You both have demonstrated an interest in aviation.)

Also, the college degree is (or at least "was") waiverable, but not likely.

Good Luck.

If it works out - it's a great plan. If it doesn't - you're an enlisted dude in a Reserve unit (probably deployable too).

I was presented with this conundrum once upon a time. I had a sponsor pilot in the unit who assured me that if I enlisted I would have no problem getting a UPT slot.

I elected not to go that route and got hired at another Reserve unit. I'm not saying I was right or wrong, but I never had to go to basic or any tech schools and I ended up in the same place.

PIPE

 

[boom2pilot]

If one was to apply/get hired by SKYW/Horizon following UPT, how long would someone have to fly a line or sit reserve before you drop a years worth of mil leave. Won't the hiring company be skeptical of hiring a new mil pilot knowing that they'll fly thier mil gig until they qualify for upgrade at SKYW/Horizon?

 

[jherk02]

By the letter of the law I think you could do it one minute after getting hired, especially for an involuntary activation (OIF, OEF). Having said that, I can't imagine not at least getting through IOE with the company first, getting a few hundred hours under your belt second, and lastly getting off probation. After a year with the company, I can't imagine they would even look twice.

All three are technique only, though.

 

[hindsight2020]

"If one was to apply/get hired by SKYW/Horizon following UPT, how long would someone have to fly a line or sit reserve before you drop a years worth of mil leave. Won't the hiring company be skeptical of hiring a new mil pilot knowing that they'll fly thier mil gig until they qualify for upgrade at SKYW/Horizon?"

That seems to be somewhat situational, it might work if done prior to leaving for UPT, but if you're referring to the MQT period once you get back to the unit from FTU, not all units have a guaranteed year of MQT active orders for new guys to fly. I was informally offered a bleak outlook on MQT period (as bad as less than 30 days), whereas a buddy of mine knows for sure (so he says) they have a year's worth of active orders for seasoning (C-5), the other has 270 days (-16s). So mileage varies. I guess it wouldn't be too bad of a plan, although I would venture to say that one is probably in better shape to clear more money troughing the first year than juggling a regional job (ASSUMING NOT COMMUTING, the unit will probably frown on that being so junior) while still junior at the unit. Who knows...