OK, I'm IN the sanctuary zone; currently have 6698
AD points.
I'm sure that other posters meant well, but they didn't necessarily give you correct information.
For an
active duty retirement from the Guard or Reserve, you need a minimum of 20 x 365 1/4 pts = 7305 pts. That's
AD (Active Duty!) points. Man day tours and annual tours count toward an active duty retirement. IDTs, ECIs, IDS, and MBR points don't count.
To be in the sanctuary zone, you need 18 x 365 1/4 ~ 6574 points.
Once you hit the sanctuary zone, it's very difficult to get man day orders unless you waive sanctuary. AFI 36-2131 spells out the sanctuary waiver process.
http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfiles/af/36/afi36-2131/afi36-2131.pdfb
I have no problem getting man days as an IMA as long as my paperwork is completed. Note that I can only be on orders for a maximum of 179 days (max AFI 36-2131 waiver) at a time until I reach 7305 points.
I switched from the Guard to an IMA position when I approached sanctuary; it's a LOT easier getting the waiver as a Reservist than with some (possibly many) Guard units.
And FWIW, I DO know someone who got an active duty retirement as a traditional reservist. He was a part time C-141 driver who got furloughed from TWA; just kept finding work & completing the waivers until he hit 20; AFAIK, he's still active in the reserves. And this brings up a very good point about invoking sanctuary (assuming your MPF screwed up & gave you orders that took you into sanctuary). If you invoke sanctuary, you're done at 7305 points. If you don't invoke sanctuary, you can continue past 20 yrs AD.
Note that 36-2131 is a bit out of date. I called someone at AFRC headquarters for the latest info.