Originally Posted by TKOwnedU5

Can someone explain to me the benefits of going reserve versus active duty when joining the military as a pilot? Like many others flying for an airline after my service is a goal of mine. I've been told to go ANG or Reserve over RegAF(AD). I've been searching this site for some time now for this question of mine. I want to put in 20 years, but if I went reserve, not receiving the benefits until I'm 60 is a let down. I also want to fly as much as possible. Here's what I've found, correct me if I'm wrong.

Active Duty
- Able to retire with full benefits after 20 years of service.
- Not always in the the cockpit
- As an active duty guy, most new LTs get their first 1,000 hours within about 1.5 years or so, then as you start gaining rank you generally fly less

Reserve
- Able to retire after 20 years of service with modified retirement benefits.
- Won't receive monetary benefits or full medical until age 60.
-As a part time traditional reservist, you can fly as little as 5 hours per month, or you could be quite more active, volunteer for trips and deployments and fly 500-800 hours per year.