Air Force Reserve....anyone in?

[Kaneman]

I've got a buddy trying to talk me into it, he's about to sign his paperwork and is pumped. He just had a lil' girl and wants to have like 5 more kids....so he's going for those benefits, :lol:

I live about a mile from the local Air Force Base so we wouldn't even have to move. We're constantly up there watching the jets take off and land. Wanted to see if anyone her had experience with it.

[goof2]

From an outsider's perspective make sure you would be able to go active duty. It seems they do that on occasion now. How is your buddy's wife going to react if he gets deployed and she is alone with 6 kids?

[derf]

Air force reserve, part time = part time benfits. Part time benefits = to medical and dental cheap, but you do have to pay for them, for a family of 5 kids it will cost you more than your average reserve makes, not by much though. Basically he will work for free to get the med benefits. Yep there is the college and retirement benefits, plus countless others.

Also the AFR deployments are typically between 4 and 6 months, and more often than not (unless he has a specialty like being a doctor) he will be deployed to backfill an active duty guy who goes overseas.

My guess is that the bennies look good to him now, 6 years from now they wont look as good and he will get out, not that there is anything wrong with that, he will only get out of it as much as he puts in.

[Captain Morgan]

I was active duty for 7 years. Was thinking about going guard or reserve, but wanted to go to school full time with no worries of getting shipped out since the guard and reserves were taking more and more of the TDY duties overseas. My plan was to wait until after school, then my daughter came along. I wouldn't want to be away from her for 3 months, let alone 9, so I chose not to go back in.

[Cutty72]

Biggest disadvantage of Reserves is that you can get called to fill ANY unit that needs another warm body.
Guard you only go with your unit, unless you volunteer or have a unique special MOS that is needed.
not sure about air force, but in Army Guard as just a "weekend warrior" you can pay for tricare coverage, and it's very affordable, even for a family, and the same benifits as the active duty guys.

[racedoll]

I considered AFR when Erik and I got together, but never did it. Considered it again a few months ago. Still is in the back of my mine. I have 1.5 years until I'm too old.

I don't think Erik would like me being gone for however long for basic and whatever else. So that holds me back a bit.

[psychochild28]

I have a few really good friends in the AF and they love it. One's a pilot and the other's currently stationed in Germany with his wife. I thought about it a lot but it's not for me.

[SteveP]

Why be a pussy and do PT military? Go active or don't go at all.

[racedoll]

Why be a pussy and do PT military? Go active or don't go at all.

Not sure about Kaneman, but for me it would be because I'm too old for active duty.

[ericr]

I did my 8 years in the AF Reserves. The biggest benefit in reality is a retirement if you do your 20 yrs.

As far as being a mile from an AF base...which one is it? It has to have a Reserve unit on it if it's an active duty base and they have to have a slot available for you to join that unit. When you sign up that way for Reserves you really ARE guarenteed that slot though.

Yes you almost certainly will be activated to the big sandbox if you join. The tour can be 3months to a year or more, just depends on what they need, it's not your choice ;) If your civilian job has health care, it will probably be better than you can get through the Reserves and you can pick your docs, another choice you don't get with the military.

Now if you want to serve your country, learn a new trade, or can get a unit with a job thats similar to yours it can be beneficial. You can get the GI bill if you want to further your education and it pays quite a bit if not all of it now even for Reservists. The pay isn't much until you make E-6 or higher but if you stick it out you can get a pretty decent retirement with med benefits after retirement. Do some reserch, talk to a recruiter if you want but remember his job is to sell it to you. Some of them are "used car salesmen" so dont take everything as gospel.

I was almost 33 when I joined. I enjoyed it until my unit had some leadership issues that I got tired of dealing with and decided it wasn't worth staying in. I probably could have moved to another command on our base and should have checked into it but I was ready to be done at the time. I got to spend some time in Germany and Italy that was more vacation than work and that part was awesome, Kuwait wasn't as much fun, but it was an experiance :p

[Cutty72]

Why be a pussy and do PT military? Go active or don't go at all.

:gofurslf:

[Quick281]

Why be a pussy and do PT military? Go active or don't go at all.

:wtfru:

[SteveP]

:wtfru:

Just stirring the pot. :lol

[Homeslice]

Not sure about Kaneman, but for me it would be because I'm too old for active duty.

Not necessarily. I believe the Army still lets people in up to 42.

[Kaneman]

Eric,

I live about a mile from NAS JRB, which is cool. But I'm not considering joining really, its my best friend...and I'm kinda trying to talk him out of it because I think he'll be miserable if he gets deployed and his family will suffer.

BUT, I'll admit, it does sound like a pretty good deal.

[fatbuckRTO]

Eric,

I live about a mile from NAS JRB, which is cool. But I'm not considering joining really, its my best friend...and I'm kinda trying to talk him out of it because I think he'll be miserable if he gets deployed and his family will suffer.

BUT, I'll admit, it does sound like a pretty good deal.
In that case, tell him for me:

Join to serve, or stay the fuck out.

[Kaneman]

In that case, tell him for me:

Join to serve, or stay the fuck out.

No, not gonna do that either. :lol:

[racedoll]

Not necessarily. I believe the Army still lets people in up to 42.

I know for the AF I'm too old. AF Reserve I have until I'm 35. If I can't go there, I won't go at all. But this thread isn't about me.

[ericr]

I'm pretty sure all branches are the same for the age limits, under 27 to go active duty and under 35 for Reserves or Guard. I was almost 33 when I went in the AF Reserves.

Kaneman, if your friend is young and doing it more for the service than the benefits (short term) it could be a good deal for him. He really needs to think about it though, like I said the short term benefits aren't much so he needs to be doing it because he's wanting to serve.

[derf]

I'm pretty sure all branches are the same for the age limits, under 27 to go active duty and under 35 for Reserves or Guard. I was almost 33 when I went in the AF Reserves.

Kaneman, if your friend is young and doing it more for the service than the benefits (short term) it could be a good deal for him. He really needs to think about it though, like I said the short term benefits aren't much so he needs to be doing it because he's wanting to serve.

The max age for the army is 42, but realize it is a young mans game

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin/a/enlage42.htm

[ericr]

Wow, is the Army that desperate for troops now? I didn't know they had raised their age limits!

[101lifts2]

I'm 37, but can run circles around those 20 year olds.

Just got done doing a 43 set lifting routine...squat, bench, flies, weighted pushups, squat and good mornings. Yeeeeeeaaaaah.

Real men put weight on their back when doing pushups. lol

[Cutty72]

I'm 37, but can run circles around those 20 year olds.

Just got done doing a 43 set lifting routine...squat, bench, flies, weighted pushups, squat and good mornings. Yeeeeeeaaaaah.

Real men put weight on their back when doing pushups. lol

But can you run? :idk: