I left the Navy after 11 years with what I thought was a good (non-flying) job lined up in the D.C. area that would be compatible with flying for the Reserves. As this economy continues to fall apart, it appears my civilian job is looking less secure by the day, and I may find myself in need of a new one to feed the family.
While bumming around the internet, I came across a program I never heard of before: ART. I'm probably missing something, but from what I can gather as an Air Reserve Technician:
- You can pick where you'd like to be based out of
- You get to continue to fly as a civil servant (GS 12 or so)
- You earn points towards a military pension and a government one
- No 6 month deployments or IA's
- No night landings on aircraft carriers
This seems like a pretty good deal, but without knowing anyone in this program, I'm sure I'm missing some of the drawbacks. If there's anyone out there that knows and is willing to share with me their knowledge about this program, I'd really appreciate it. Specifically:
- How long can you expect to continue to fly for?
- Are you treated as an equal in the squadron or relegated to second class citizen status?
- How does the pay compare to joining the ANG?
- How does the program overall compare to flying for the Guard?
- How competitive is it?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm specifically interested in flying for the ANG out of Andrews AFB or possibly Dover, DE in case anyone has knowledge related directly to any opportunities there.
Thanks in advance for the help. I can make my personal e-mail available if anyone would like to write me there as well.