Originally Posted by
Slice
The guard is no longer a weekend flying club. Heavies fly a lot and have more opportunities to get deployed. Fighter currency requirements will have you at the squadron 7-10 days a month. So, if you think you're gonna do 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer forget it. You'll also have 2-4 years of full-time training and seasoning in the guard before you become a "part-timer".
Slice - very good point people need to realize. More and more we're getting the buzzwords of "total force integration." ANG and Reserve units are stepping up to the plate as much or more than their AD counterparts. You go over to Iraq or Afghanistan right now and you're going to see a plethora of ANG/Reserve fighter units (Tulsa, Ft. Worth, Homestead, DC, Syracuse, Willow Grove, Montgomery etc...) right along with their AD brethren. Bottom line: if you want to join the ANG - especially in the fighter world - be ready to bring it with your game face and provide the unit a good week or more each month of days to fly. If you want to build time so you can get a decent airline job...well, take a hike.
The one unfortunate thing that you're off on is the seasoning days. We're broke...especially in the AF and Navy. I think 2 years maybe the max you'll see...and anymore than that of orders is really pushing it.