Looking for info on Air force Technician/ANG programs please
 

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.

No ART openings in Dover.

I am not a technician, but I in the guard. As a technincian you are the full time person that keeps the day to day stuff happening. So you arn't a second class citizen. If you join the guard as a traditional you only get paid when you are doing something. As far as flying goes, all of our technician pilots/booms fly as much as everyone else.

The competitiveness is where your problem is going lie. It is extremely competitive to get a full time job in the guard. right now the only full time position that I have heard of are at UAV bases and the are AGR positions and up in Alaska. And I am pretty sure that every unit will hire within. so you are probably going to have to join the unit first and guard bum for awhile so we know that you arnt a dirtbag. No offense to what you may have done, but we what to know what you are like first.

Every unit is different, so really your best bet is to find some guard and reserve units that you would like to go to and talk to them. They would have the real answers you are looking for. Good luck to you man, we have a F-18 guy that flys with us so I know it can be done.

Ditto. Most units hire internally. These jobs aren't well advertised, even within the unit if you can imagine that. Coming from AD, while beneficial in terms of qualification and experience, is not an entitlement to a full time position. If getting passed over for an ART/AGR jobs by a younger guy with less quals than you but with more longevity at the unit is going to cause you heartburn, the guard/reserve is not for you.

Generally speaking, most of the positions open up due to personnel attrition and unit mission expansion. Little of either happening at any given time unfortunately. So like the previous poster said, it's all about luck, timing, a lot of patience, and a general consensus at the unit that you're not a douchebag (regardless of the fact we all know some ART f%k up/douche) for these gigs. Bumming is really the conventional way to vie for a full time slot, and this takes time and presents an opportunity cost. You could go pursue a civi job and lose out on the exposure being at the unit 24/7 for the sake of the ART contention, or you could bum and struggle through the paycut, particularly if coming off the AD teet. It all depends on how much work the unit can provide you of course, some units you can do alright on mandays, some unit are slim on money and you just can't make rent at the end of the month on bum status. So that affects your options. Good luck, I'd say don't put the cart before the horse, concentrate on finding the right unit, research your options with said unit and what the future holds for in the context of the feasibility of a full time slot becoming available to you in the time frame that you can stomach, and devise a strategy of putting in your time. I'm a young guy with no kids and I can tell ya I don't expect to get an offer for full time slot for at least 3 more years, which is kinda scary and a tough sell for my soon-to-be-spouse, but it suits me and bumming beats (right now) 90% of the jobs I could be doing in town or commuting for anyways, but that gives ya an idea of how long people sometimes have to wait for a slot to become available; this may or may not be compatible with your needs/desires. Again best wishes on your search.

Thanks for the info
 

Gents,

Thanks very much for the info - you confirmed what I already suspected. I think based on timelines and the odds of ever getting selected, it's probably best to take a pass. I appreciate the feedback, and will go ahead and "manage expectations" appropriately...