Pay in the Reserves??

[CFIIer]

Maybe this question has been asked.... I'm still doing UPT, but was wondering what the pay situation is once your orders end, and you are a reservist again. Excluding ART/AGR jobs, what kind of money does a traditional reserve pilot make in a unit flying something like C-17s every month?? If I made myself available as much as possible for scheduling, what could I expect?

Thanks in advance

 

[airgator]

It really depends on how much flying there is to do at your unit. If your unit is an associate unit like mine, you can fly with the AD side if there's no trips and alot of guys bumming. I haven't had to yet because there is plenty of orders because of the war. As a 1LT, after all your base pay, BAH, Per Diem, flight pay, hostile fire, etc, you'd probably take home at least 4 grand a month being a full time bum. Make it downrange once a month and you'll get the tax free too.

 

[Vandal]

Harder in 130's, you probably won't make as much as active duty, at least I haven't been.

 

[psysicx]

4K a month, thats good money.

 

[dtfl]

As a 1lt in a non strat airlift unit you will not make as much. There are budget crunches and cuts all over. Man days are cut back - except MPA days for the war.

To make 4k as a 1Lt you would have to be on orders the entire month and most likely get tax free. I dont see that - but Im in a C130 unit. PM me if you want some #s that I see on a monthly basis in a C130 unit.

There are man day opportunities out there - non flying gigs - but you have to be an O3 for most of them. Like I said before - the man day money is being cut. AFSOC lost a lot. The Sq I work in had 1800+ last FY - this year they got 717. IMA money is being cut....cuts abound. There are still ways to make $ though.

Once you get back to your unit you will have to get local indoc and any other quals you didnt get at whatever airframe school you go to - get training $ for that. Then ask for the Prog Tour 90-120 days of man days there. THen start volunteering for everything. If you are a Strat air guy try to get man days to work the stage at various bases.
Become Drop Zone CO qualified. Get SOF qualified (if you have that). Get some Spe Ops school classes - tng money again.

 

[Slice121]

As a new guy part-time I made $20-25K, that includes a few TDY's and working 8-10 days per month on average.

 

[psysicx]

Can fighter guard guys ask to deploy outside of there unit?

 

[CFIIer]

Thanks for the info guys.
Actually, I am going to a C-17 unit. I was just curious about my future financial situation...that is, before Fedex picks me up

 

[TankerDriver]

With a C-17 unit, you'll probably be able to work alot more than say, a tanker unit, but you are going to be hard pressed to make $4k a month in the reserves as a 1Lt. 1Lt's are just under $4k a month on AD with base pay, flight pay and BAS. I was making just under $6,000 a month as a 1Lt on AD with tax free, haz duty, family sep, hardship, per diem, BAH, BAS, flight pay and base pay while I was deployed.

 

[MsFan]

As of right now, there are plenty of opportunities in my unit (McChord Reserves, C-17 associate wing) for long term active duty orders in support of OIF. If you don't mind doing a two week trip to the stage each month, you can make decent money. If you've had your fill of the stage and don't ever want to see it again (like many of us), your opportunities for active duty orders are much more limited. Basically, you can get orders to fly a particular mission, but only for the duration of the mission. No 179-day active duty orders to hang around and wait for that sweet Pacific trip. Right now, my unit is only seeing 1 or 2 short trips a month that don't go to the stage. Difficult to make a decent living doing one 4 day trip a month.

Rumors are circulating that things could change this summer which could make long term orders more difficult to come by. We'll see I guess.

 

[psysicx]

How is this going to change when C-17's delpoy for 4 months straight? Can you make more money bumming then AD? Don't some C-17 bases have weekly milk runs?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Thanks for the info guys.
Actually, I am going to a C-17 unit. I was just curious about my future financial situation...that is, before Fedex picks me up

Orders are toast. i wouldn't count on them. They're just not going to need as many of us on orders with the three week SRT's and the deployed squadrons. They've already started denying people's requests. If things turn around, and you get them, bonus. But I'd plan on averaging 2-3 K per month bumming as a 1lt. It's just really hard to predict how things will work out. We really need the airlines to pick up and open up some breathing room in the Reserve.

 

[psysicx]

These forums are confusing. The C-17 guys over at baseops said that there were too many trips available and bumming will continue for years to come.