Reserve and regional: how does mil drops work?

[hindsight2020]

Hi folks,

Did a search and came up with a lot of good advice regarding waggin' a reserve gig and a regional gig for a junior co. A lot of references were made about mil leave (which implies getting a chunk of orders), but I wonder for those of us without orders, traditional bums who plan on trying to maximize time at the unit via man days and as many trips as we can snag, be domiciled where the unit is, and then commute to the regional job, how does "mil drop" work? Is it something that requires a lot of a$$pain and brings in harassement from the employer, or is it a rather uneventful deal?

Reason I ask is because as we all know, it's tough being a fresh co trying to have some semblance of stability when the pay is as variable as it can be for a bum, and we all know how sh$tty regional FO payscales are, but I see somewhat of a "middle-of-the-road" deal in supplementing one's income and health insurance/travel benefits with the regional gig while at the same time dropping the sh$tty regional schedule and focusing on the Guard/Reserve gig at home.

Anybody have any insights on how easy/difficult it is to "mil drop" trips? Is it an advisable plan of action (again assuming one doesn't get lucky and land an ART or the like!) for a brand new co or is it not worth the time and effort. Once again assuming one lives where the unit is and commutes to the regional in question. Thanks for the help.

 

[bssthound]

Dropping airline trips for mil duty is not difficult. First, though, whenever you do drop a trip for mil make certain that you did indeed perform mil duty on those days. Period. A letter from my scheduler, section supervisor, DO, CC, etc. always worked. Either it would explain that I was on inactive duty ( UTAs, TPs, RMPs ) for which there are no orders or else that I'd be on mandays and the orders had not yet been processed. I've never had a problem. I keep a template on my computer and change the dates and sender to fit the period. Oh,and I keep a copy of every letter.

My squadronmates at some other airlines also have it worked out where their mil leave requests are emailed to their Chief Pilots. CPs are used to it, in the last several years the mil leave has picked up a lot.

If you are able I highly advise living at/near your Reserve job. Not only does it pay better, but if you're doing non TDY mil duty you're at home with the family every night. Nothing outsucks having to do mil duty away from home then coming home just long enough to be out the door for several more days with the airline. I've never had a basset hound that was okay with that!

 

[hindsight2020]

Thanks for the feedback. I will be living in the city where the unit is, so I definitively agree with that assesment about where to establish your home. As for the regional, I am inquiring about it because I intend to bum until either an ART knocks me on the nuggin' or I qualify for a major job. That said, I have no idea what the bottom line will be pay-wise bummin', but if I see myself struggling to make ends meet I may have to take up a regional and supplement the income and healthcare/travel benefits, but (hate to say it) it wouldn't be worth my time not flying in the unit for a regional trip.

On a side note, anybody care to explain what goes into a man day pay period? I know the TPs and UTAs are 1/30 base pay + 1/30 flight pay; is that the same for a man day? I keep working on this excel spreadsheet that calculates total pay for a bum but I keep coming up like 15K short from what people are telling me I should make end game on 1LT pay (I'm using 3 man days per week as a template), which is definitively making me consider a regional job. Thanks again!

 

[HoursHore]

You can do 2 FTP's or RUTA's a day, so you are basically getting 2 days pay for on days work. a Manday is one day of orders, or 1/30th of AD pay. If your unit has an Alert assignment, then you can get another 2 days of pay for one day of work, since you get paid 7am-12am, and then the new day starts at 12 am-7 am. and then you can do another day.

Troughers in my unit are volunteering for the desert to get paid though. Since most guys are now recalled, desert orders and TDY are easier to get for troughers.

Thing have gotten to the point where there's been talk whether they will have to enact some sort of revolving activation thruout AFRC to accomplish present tasking.

 

[dtfl]

Thanks for the feedback. I will be living in the city where the unit is, so I definitively agree with that assesment about where to establish your home. As for the regional, I am inquiring about it because I intend to bum until either an ART knocks me on the nuggin' or I qualify for a major job. That said, I have no idea what the bottom line will be pay-wise bummin', but if I see myself struggling to make ends meet I may have to take up a regional and supplement the income and healthcare/travel benefits, but (hate to say it) it wouldn't be worth my time not flying in the unit for a regional trip.

On a side note, anybody care to explain what goes into a man day pay period? I know the TPs and UTAs are 1/30 base pay + 1/30 flight pay; is that the same for a man day? I keep working on this excel spreadsheet that calculates total pay for a bum but I keep coming up like 15K short from what people are telling me I should make end game on 1LT pay (I'm using 3 man days per week as a template), which is definitively making me consider a regional job. Thanks again!

What was said above is true..and bssthound knows from experience. At DAL it was very simple to drop trips for Mil leave. I just did it and the sched at my former res unit knew the gig...he would gladly talk to a CP if they called. I was indeed working every time I dropped for ML and the sched had the flight orders or paperwork to prove it. Now..I do what bssthound does and I have the letters.

Pay...ok...a "man day" an "annual tour" day and an "MPA or RPA" day are all active duty days - the diff is who pays for them. For your spreadsheet, take one month pay from Active Duty after tax (or before, your choice) and divide it by 30. Bam...there's your man day. NOW...1 exception...if you are on man days for less than 30 days you get BAH Type II - more than 30 - normal BAH (part of the morale and welfare program to pay us less).

Now..Inactive duty..what is this you say? It is a way of paying us to train and fly by NOT having us on Active Duty - that has to do with congressional funding, treaties, blah blah I guess. So...for a FTP or UTA or GTP or RMP - those are 1, NON AD period called INACTIVE DUTY. FTP (flying training period) and GTP (ground tng period) are related to air plane stuff. UTA is drill and RMP is a non flying "day". So....to figure these out - you get 1/30 base pay plus 1/30 flight pay. Thats it. No BAH or Sub Allow on UTA/RMP/etc. Most units give you two FTPs when you fly a mission. When you attend drill you get 4 UTAs.

Now.....go forth and figure.

 

[hindsight2020]

I think I found the discrepancy on the spreadsheet. I have not been figuring in BAH correctly in the man day calculations. Taking the template I have of 3 man days per week in addition to the 96 periods of UTA/FTPs and 14 days of AT, how does BAH figure into the man day calculation? Is one to prorate the BAH rate over 30 and add that fraction along with the 1/30th of base pay, 1/30 subsistence and 1/30 flight pay to make the man day pay period? Or is one to take the flight pay, base pay and subsistence pay fractions as the man day period, and then add the whole BAH for the month as an additional amount. I did it both ways and obviously adding the whole BAH into the month comes out ahead by a decent amount.

Obviously 3 man days a week does not equal 30 days worth of man days, so I wonder if said man days have to be consecutive (which 3 mandays a week would not) to qualify for BAH Type I or is it just the "time period" you're accruing man days have to be 30 calendar days+ for Bah I to apply.

For reference, my sheet came out with 26.6K for 2LT, 34K for 1LT, and 44K for CAPT assuming 96 AFTP/UTAs 14 AT and 144 man days and single rate BAH for my region ($900 1LT)for all ranks. The second set with the same number of pay periods as before but with the whole BAH for the month accounted for came out with 32.1K 2LT, 40K for 1LT and 53K for CAPT. I wonder which set is closest to being honest. Thanks for the help, I think I'm getting the hang of this Reserve pay, still a lot to learn though. I may not need the regional job if some of these numbers are honest.

 

[bssthound]

dtfl is dead on. One more thing, you can do a "TP," either FTP or GTP, with a UTA period in order to get 2 periods in one day. You cannot do any other pay period on a day where you do an RMP. It pays the same as any other single inactive period and beats the he11 out of not getting paid at all.

BAH type I is for 30 days or more consecutive orders. BAH type II is prorated. I've done two mandays this week, I get 1/15, or two days worth, of monthly type II BAH for those two mandays.

I cannot stress the importance of getting with your unit's present or former bums and going over this stuff. Those guys can explain it face-to-face a lot better than you can interpret what we're telling you. There should be some ARTs who bummed for awhile, too. That's where the vast majority of ARTs cut their teeth at most units.

What will you be flying, and at which unit, when the dust settles and you're back at home?

 

[hindsight2020]

Thanks a ton for the feedback. I have spoken somewhat generally with an ART at my unit and a traditional dude, both have been very helpful and I will take your advice and try to sit with one of them at least once and get a handle on this whole Reserve pay face-to-face, I'm sure they'll have some left-over crayons to draw it for me from their time as bums haha. I'll be local to my unit when all is said and done, buffs in N.W. Louisiana. Flying seems healthy from what I've gathered, they've told me I won't starve so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[atr42flyer]

hey guys just trying to keep up here with all the lingo, im not in the military yet. I am however working on it looking at guard and reserve units. i am already at a regional is this a wise move to try and obtain a pilot slot within the guard or reserves? not looking to leave my job just want to suppliment the income and serve my country.

 

[RedDogC130]

Get your PIC turbine time first.....Get on with a unit.....take mil leave from your airline.....go to pilot training....3 years later come back to your airline with 3 years more senority...or hopefully get on with a better airline now that you have another box checked.... Live happy ever after...works all the time.