Originally Posted by MAGNUM!!

It will be very tough getting a Guard/Reserve job in the current environment, at least for fighters. With BRAC, the airlines on their azzes, and the current opstempo, fighter units are being flooded with applications from current and qualified pilots. You should realize "go and get a Guard or Reserve job" is much, much easier said than done.

I flew AD for 9+years and have been Guard for almost 4. Three F-16 tours on AD and then punched. Great commanders, great flying, great friends, great assignments. I have zero complaints about it. Sure, there's politics, but there's politics in EVERY job, including the Guard / Reserve. My unit has the sq/cc succession line planned for the next 10 years.

If you can get an AD slot, I say go that route. You may not fly what you THINK you want to fly, but what you THINK you want to fly right now may not be what you really wanted to fly all along. That makes perfect sense to me, but it might sound like crap to you. AD will give you a solid background, a good flying base, a good paycheck, and more options in the long run than being a Guard baby. Just my opinion. Good luck.