Originally Posted by
beis77
thanks for the insight. So if I understand you correctly, does that mean one could get feasibly picked up by a major (assuming one is fortunate enough to do so), go on mil leave for the first 5 years and bypass all the crappy low pay/ on reserve time; then show back up ready to upgrade to CA a few years later; get a decent line etc.
That almost sounds to good to be true. I'll have to look into it more. Thanks for the info!
Here's the bottom line - if you're an AGR or a Technician, you're a full timer. That means that your sole job is to be a full time soldier/airman/sailor in the unit with no outside job, i.e. you're also NOT an airline pilot.
As a part timer you're called a DSG (Drill Status Guardsman). That means you have a full time civilian job and you also have a part time job with the military. Realize the full time civilian job doens't have to be an airline pilot - you could be a janitor if you so chose - however most aviators in the military are also airline pilots because the work skill sets are obviously very transferable.
If you - as a part timer - decide to pick up orders to be on full time status in the military - you can do so at anytime and the airlines can not technically challenge that. Typically those orders are referred to as "man days" or "temp AGR" orders. Obviously there are many other valid types of orders, but those two terms come to mind.
For instance - Captain John Doe flies for airline X and he also flies F-16's as a part timer (purely hypothetical obviously). One day the squadron commander comes up to him and says "can you help me get ready for a deployment? I can give you 6 months of orders." This is one instance where he would be put on 6 months of man days and take 6 months of military leave to help the squadron spin up for war.
Here's another example. Captain John Doe needs to spend some time at home based on a number of reasons (say a family member is sick and needs some extra care). In his base, there are a number of staff jobs that require a captain or major and have a 2 years of solid orders that go with them. This is a perfect fit, the dude takes 2 years of orders and gets put on the staff job's manning doc and consequently is on mil leave for 2 years from the airlines.
These are very simplified examples. Again, there are hundreds of "types" of orders with varying lengths of service for part time guys. And on top of that - some orders are exempt from being under the USERRA 5 year rule and therefore don't count against your mil leave time from the airlines. Some pay per diem, some don't. Some give you a crashpad, some don't. The list goes on and on. Hope this helps.