A couple of thoughts...

It is important to note that although federal law protects a reservist's civilian employment, I know of no such protection afforded to students. If your military service conflicts with school, the school is not required to grant you extensions, late exams, refunds, etc. They can even fail you for not completing classes, or drop you from a program for lack of attendance/progress.

Various states and schools might have specific policies, but there a no broad protections that I am aware of.


Also, what are you career aspirations? This is very important because you need to prioritize these two opportunities...

If you want to be a career pilot, military flight training is the equivalent of an advanced degree in that industry. The slots are generally not easy to get, and you should consider it your golden opportunity. In this case I would consider the guard my priority and try to fit in the masters where you can.

If you want to do something else, and this master's program will start you in that direction, then you have to decide whether to join the guard for fun now and defer your education and career, or just get started on your real career.

Generally it would probably be easier to do the guard first while you are young and have a slot in hand. There are no age limits in education, so you can come back to that...but you have to decide your priority.

The reserves do offer a GI Bill program for reserve personnel, including officers. It doesn't pay as much as active-duty GI Bill, but it's something. I assume guard guys get this also.