Question for Guard/Reserve guys...

[MarineGrunt]

Couple of questions:

I'm going to be flying KC-135s. After UPT, how often do I need to come in and fly? I understand that newer pilots have to fly more often to stay current. Any ideas?

My second question has to do with having a civillian flying job. As most of us know, being a pilot requires one moving to where the jobs are, moving to take advantage of a promotion, etc. How do the guard guys deal with this? I dont want to leave my guard unit, so is it common for pilots to commute half way across the country for drills? Do any problems arise from this?

Input appreciated!

 

[pony251]

Marinegrunt, being a pilot means you do not have to move where the jobs are. The jumpseat is a wonderful tool to help get to work. Although commuting can reall suck. I recommend you move near your guard unit. If all goes well, you will be with your unit for 20 years. How many airline jobs do you think you might have in 20 years? You do not want to commute to both jobs. If you plan on doing nothing but sitting reserve it might be in your best interest to live where you are domiciled. Remember, you can get military days with the airlines that can double as time at home. These can help keep you with the family another couple of days a month. You may not make as much with the airline, but your pays sucks anyways the first year or two so the guard money is worth it. I am not sure how many days your heavy trips are for, so that may keep you away from home as well. Food for thought.
Sorry, but I can't answer any of the heavy flight time requirments. Best of luck to you.

 

[RichO]

Ditto......live where your reserve/guard job is.............

 

[ThomasR]

Guard/Reserve Commute

I was in the Army Air Guard in Michigan for 12 years. Most of the time I had a desk job for Consumers Energy Company and drove two hours [one way] each week to make AFTP's in addition to regular monthly calls. The rest of the time was dedicated to school.

I got a job in Texas after graduation and commuted once a month giving up the extra training time [and pay]. I worked in Texas for a year. After about a month of commuting I took a leave of absence. I don't recommend that approach. If your unit is at strength any absence is filled by someone waiting for a slot to open. A leave of absence is good for only a short period of time and when you get back you will find many things have changed. You will be starting back at the beginning to include a lot of aculturation orientation test and training with a new set of members and lines of communication. You will have to reorient yourself while commuting a long distance and without the extra drills.

I also called an airline company and found that it is possible to arrange seating at no cost [some kind of military arrangement/the company you fly for can also be instrumental in negociated with an airline]. That would be my recommendation. Although the best solution is to apply at a unit close by and wait for a slot to open while keeping your options open at your old unit. Your CO can help in making arrangement to transfer [as long as you don't piss him off or get on his bad side]. You will be in a vulnerable position and everyone will know it until you get resettled so be extra friendly to all.

 

[keydet96]

You're unit will probably want you to fly at least four or five times a month and take some trips here and there. You can probably get away with less, but it isn't a great idea. Guard bumming for a while to get proficient in the jet is working great for me. I'm making a decent living and learning a lot in the process. Besides, I'm not really in a position to get my dream job yet!
There are guys that live where they are domiciled and commute to the guard unit. The only ones I know have thousands of hours in the tanker, so they can get away with it and not suffer so much on the proficiency end of things. On the other hand your unit may not look favorably on doing "min" time at the squadron. When you get back, I'd play it by ear and figure out what will be best for you.
Good Luck!

 

[skyward80]

My unit is in NJ. Most people live close to the unit. People commute from NYC, PHL, and DC for the most part. However, we do have some people who commute from as far away as SEA and LAS.

Personally, I plan to live near my unit and find an employer with a good commuter clause in their pilot contract. Comair and FedEx are a couple of examples. Of course, I am making the assumption that hiring will actually be part of the business language in 05/06.

Just a note... working for a civilian carrier can give you some awesome non-rev bennies (be a flexible traveller) OR get Uncle Sam to pick up the tab for travel. I don't know if the Guard is different, but for the Reserves we can get our travel paid for IF we get active duty time on the front and end of a TDY. That gets into a whole different thing--Reserve/Guard pay. I won't even pretend to understand that.

Skyward80

 

[HairOnFire!]

I'm one of those that live at my civ domicile and commute two states over for my Reserve job. And yes, I have 2500 hrs in my Reserve airplane, so it is not as much a problem with proficiency anymore... But when you are just starting in a new airframe, I'd fly it a lot to get comfortable with it. Did I say comfortable? If the AF only knew I used that word... Your unit is going to want at least 6 days a month, minimum. That's a minimum, and if you do that every month someone will start asking questions.

 

[bssthound]

I've done both. Lived near my Reserve unit while commuting to the airline job and, now,
living in domicile and commuting to the Reserve unit. The big advantage when you land an
airline job is that if you're living near your Guard/Reserve job you'll be able to take military
leave, stay home, and make more money. While you're junior at the airline your schedule
is usually pretty bad. If you're living near the unit you're a lot more flexible when sudden
opportunities arise. The size of your unit's city can also dictate your actions. I live near
my DFW domicile and commute to Keesler AFB for Reserve duty. That means flying non-
revenue to Mobile, Alabama, renting a car, and driving an hour to Keesler. I rent a car on
travelocity, which usually runs me about $15 a day, and that's tax deductible. If you're
commuting to/from a Reserve unit near a major airport your options are a lot better.

Bottom line, in my opinion, if you're new to the unit it's best to live nearby if you can.
Whatever you do, have fun. The tanker is great in that you get to see the world.
Pack your suitcase, man, and don't forget the camera. You'll have a ball.

 

[skyward80]

Hound:

Isn't it true that if you put AD days on the front end of your orders, you can get the gov't to pick up the tab for commuting costs? One of our booms commutes out of MIA to PHL for work, and he told me that the gov't usually pays for his costs (sometimes he non-revs--he's an FE for a 121 operator).

Skyward80

 

[bssthound]

Eighty:

Yes, that's true. I've heard others in the sqdn mention that at least half of your time
has to be active duty status. i.e., if you're at the unit for eight days at least four of
those must be active duty. That could just be a squadron policy, for all I know. We
have a lot of commuters from all over the U.S. Not all are airline types; those that
aren't often take their costs out of "hide" when there aren't any mandays available.

Also, if you live more than 50 miles from your unit you're allowed to file a travel voucher
to be paid mileage whenever you're on mandays. Before I moved to DFW I had an eighty
mile drive to the unit. Pretty nice additional bit o' change!