Patrick Bateman wrote:Based on Howell’s post a bit back, and that I am actively procrastinating at work, I wanted to jot down a couple thoughts for those AD folks considering the reserves. This is going to be pretty Air Force specific.
1. Should I be thinking about the reserves: 100% yes, you should. It is a great form of supplemental income, allows you to stay plugged into the JAG Corps (you will likely miss it more than you realize), and can provide some nice balance from your civilian work (sick of your boss? Need a break? Get on orders and go do something different for a few weeks/months – USERRA has your back). For me it has also had the benefit of continuing to develop my resume – as a reservist, I’ve served in the appellate shop, as a trial litigation instructor, and now in a leadership position. That both adds to and diversifies my skill sets, something that has been helpful for me.
If you become a Fed on the civilian side, you get 15 days of Military Leave each year in addition to annual leave and sick leave. This amounts to a minimum of 3 weeks of “double dipping” in which you get your Fed AND Military paycheck. That is a solid chunk of money each year.
Feds can also “buy back” their military time for their Federal retirement (FERS) – that means you can retroactively contribute to your retirement from your military years and get retirement credit for those years. For example, I bought back my six years on AD, meaning that after I serve as a Fed for 20 years, I am actually going to retire as someone with 26 years of service. That can add up.
Also, all of your PCS going-away gifts and other military SWAG will look really impressive to civilians in your office. So, there’s that.
2. How does actually being a reservist work? There are three flavors of reserve service (the technical term of AGR – Air Guard & Reserve):
i. Category A: You are likely a DSJA or SJA that is attached to a dedicated reserve Wing that is very likely going to be in some form of driving distance from where you live. You function a lot like folks in the Air Guard in terms of having a drill weekend each month and then your two weeks. You are never totally off the clock, even if not drilling, but the benefit is that you are serving close-ish to home. Another big benefit is that you are going to be doing leadership things, which looks really good for promotion boards. While most of the regular Air Force reservists are Cat A, it is the minority for JAGs – I will admit I am not as knowledgeable about the actual day-to-day life of Cat A.
ii. Category B (a/k/a IMA ): This is the type of reservist that most AF JAGs are going to be familiar with and how most reservists serve (me included). You are attached to an Active Duty unit and are there to help them out when needed, e.g., during the summer PCS season when there are gaps in manning or someone gets deployed and they need a body for a few weeks.
You end up owing 24 total days a year – it will depend on your unit and SJA on how these days are actually used. 12 of them (your Annual Tour, AT) has to be served all together. The other 12 (Inactive Duty Training, IDTs) can be broken up or served consecutively with your AT. You can also telework IDTs, depending on your office.
You can also do more days, known as MPA tours – this can be at your assigned unit or any other unit that needs assistance and can be for days or months. Generally, the more days you serve is what makes you more competitive for promotion compared to folks that serve only the minimum.
Most new reservists are going to be attached to a base legal office – that can be a mixed bag in my experience. Some SJAs use reservists well, which enables the reservist to get good experience, that leads to good OPR bullets, which leads to good OPRs, which leads to promotions. Some SJAs , however, do not and that can make things more challenging.
Unlike in the past, due to AFJAG Reserve manning being at over 100%, we are now moving assignments every 2-3 years like the active duty folks – being able to homestead at a single base is no longer an option. This means you need to be prepared to be attached to some unit that may not be convenient or desirable – you may also get attached to somewhere really fun and nice.
iii. Air National Guard – like Cat A, but you are part of a state Guard. There are no doubt folks on this board that can speak far better on the Guard but one thing I will note is that you obviously get to stay in that state for your duty. The other benefit is that promotions can be much faster – rank is assigned to a particular position, meaning if you take that position, you get that rank. You, a junior Major, get selected to replace your current boss, who is a Lt Col. You, suddenly, are now a Lt Col. That cuts the other way however as well – if the folks above you are not moving out, you may not be moving up quickly.
3. Promotions?
At least for Cat A/Cat B, it is every 7 years. You will meet promotion boards like when you are on AD. I put on Major in the reserves 7 years to the day after I put on Captain on active duty and if selected for Lt Col down the road, will put on 7 years from my DOR for Major.
There are opportunities for what amounts to “below the zone” as well – I know folks that have promoted around the 5 year mark. Promoting to Major and Lt Col is competitive but attainable if you are checking the right boxes (ACSC is #1, along with making sure you meet your minimum required service each year – as mentioned, doing additional MPA tours is always a plus but that can be hard depending on professional and personal circumstances). Selection to O6 is both a shitshow and a general mystery to me – I think the 2017 board selected 3 of 22 “in the zone.” That is mitigated by the fact that you can keep competing “above the zone” for multiple years (the up and out rule does not really apply).
4. Deploying?
I can only speak to Cat Bs but not likely – you can get put on the volunteer list but there are only like 3-4 spots each year, all forecasted and filled well in advance. Every now and then they need a backfill that allows for a short-notice opportunity, but I have only seen a few of those.
5. Anything I hate?
All of the annual requirements – all of those headaches from active duty like fitness testing, CBTs (which seem to keep growing), and all the other flavor of the month trainings that spring up are still in your life in the reserves. As I noted above, most of the Air Force Reserves are Cat A – that means there are set dates to drill in which everyone is together at their reserve base. This makes it easy to do training X, medical appointment Y, and all the other requirements.
However, when you are a Cat B, your unit may be far away (let’s say, Germany) and you may or may not be close to another installation. HQ will invent some training that must be conducted in person on a short notice suspense – but you are not going to be on orders at your unit for months. Because almost everyone outside of the JAGC is not Cat B, no one seems to remember the Cat Bs and the challenges we can face. Things work themselves out eventually but headaches never the less.
Also, completing your PME (ACSC, etc) is a massive time suck for which you do not get compensated – you get points for all of your coursework, which contributes to your retirement, but it is still a significant burden.
That all said – the things I enjoy and appreciate about my reserve service vastly outweigh the headaches.
Hopefully that helps some of you out.
A little late for this but thank you, PB! Great stuff as always.