To answer the first question: Sometimes you can get lucky...my buddy commuted to AL from DTW for over a year and sometimes he'd be done with an assignment by, say, 5pm and he'd have more than enough time to get home that day and not worry about traveling on an off day. It didn't always work out that way though. Other times he'd get done around 10pm and then he'd be SOL and have to commute home on a day off, get there that night, and then leave the next afternoon to come back...wasn't pretty to watch. If you're senior enough on reserve you can bid for RRL (ready reserve late); it starts at 1900 and they usually give it to you on day 1 of 5. It's almost like having an extra day off. I know a reserve guy who commutes to DTW from Seattle, and he'll catch the early flight out of SEA and arrive in DTW in the afternoon...not too bad considering...