What a strange direction the thread took. I can't believe how forgetful people are of the bad times, lack of stability, lack of job openings, etc. If someone is separating and taking a chance outside of active duty, that's a big leap. Units close, positions get defunded, the economy can a downturn, hiring projections can change. On the other side, we could get involved with a conflict, and as others have shown, you could end up living in a tent away from your family for a long time. Strange how anyone, especially those with a military background would look at that from the outside and think someone is making those choices with a "rolling in dough" mindset. I'd guess that most people making these choices are doing it with a family in mind, not a Ferrari. If someone can get a class date with a major, they'd be crazy not to take it, even if someone thinks the good times are permanent. They're not.

Getting a guard spot can be tricky, and timing a class date for training for certain guard jobs isn't just a matter of letting the unit know when you're going, just like you don't just let United know when you're going to Indoc.

Nobody should turn down a class date that doesn't potentially want to regret that decision for a decade stuck in a regional or findiong other work. Especially those who are serving the country (at a much lower payrate than those *****ing about their PS impact).

Guys in this position have likely been serving for 10-12 years, and have spent a lot of time in some crummy places.

If you don't take it, they're just going to fill that slot with some 20-something that isn't grateful for the job that mom and dad most likely helped get them, and starts thinking on day 1 about suing the company because he didn't get the seniority number that he was entitled to. If they're thinking about suing for that, can you imaging flying with them and trying to debrief a crappy approach or bad decision or having to stand on a carpet with them in front of a CP or jury?

For anyone thinking about the Guard or Reserves out of the gate, go for it. The only people that would negatively judge you are people you wouldn't respect anyway.