TBoneF15

To answer the question about why it's "fair" or cost-effective to get paid 2 pay periods in one day of work:

If a guy is getting paid 2 pay periods, it doesn't include BAH or benefits (Tricare, etc). Plus that dude is only getting paid for days worked, unlike an active duty guy who gets paid on days off. Plus, said guardsman or reservist is likely not going to bank a full retirement starting at age 42 or whatever.

So as a reservist, if you work and get paid for 2 pay periods in one day, yes your paycheck for that one day will be more than an active duty guy's monthly paycheck divided by 30 (but not even close to double the active duty guys pay). But if you divide the active duty guy's paycheck by the number of days worked in a month, you just narrowed that gap (I'm not going to look up the numbers to see exactly where they lie, but you can find that yourself with some minor Magnum PI work). Now add in that the reservist/guardsman is paying for his own health insurance, has a higher retirement savings burden (than a dude who will retire off active duty), etc, then the gap is pretty much gone if not negative.

I've been on all sides of the TFI/guard/reserve battle. I've been active duty in a TFI wing, I've been reserve flying TFI in an active duty squadron, I've been a pure traditional reservist, I've been AGR, I've been decently high up the management ladder in all of those cases, and I've also been a minion in all of those cases. I've seen the guard/reserve integration piece work beautifully and I've seen trainwrecks. I can tell you from having had to work closely over many years with the active duty O-6 level, that they just don't truly understand the guard and reserve. They expect the ARC to be as responsive as the active duty...which it will never be and can't be. Here's are a couple reasons why:

1. It's a volunteer force, just like the active duty. But UNLIKE the active duty, guys are not chained to a contract. You can punch out at will. So if being in the guard/reserve is as painful as being on active duty, you won't have a guard/reserve to call on any more. Dudes will leave and that is the worst case scenario. By this I DO NOT mean that the guard and reserve should get all the good deals and leave the crap for the active duty. That is not and will never be the case. ARC guys are still serving because they want to keep serving They'll eat their share of the **** sandwich and they do all the time. But there are many in the active duty who want to pawn off a lot of crap deals to the ARC and then can't understand why guys aren't standing in line to get kicked in the junk. After all, we're all on the same team right? Dudes got out for a reason.

2. The bulk of Guard/Reserve guys have civilian employers. Not everyone is an airline guy who can take mil leave with little/no notice and not worry about severely screwing over the folks they work with. Guys are project managers, bankers, students, etc. So when the active duty asks the ARC for help with little/no notice, the answer is frequently going to be "no". Guys cannot risk alienating their other boss all the time because the active duty doesn't plan properly with respect to lead time...which happens all the time. Active duty O-6s just can't seem to understand why the ARC can't always pick up that great deal 179 that starts in 3 weeks. It's not the same as tasking an active duty guy with that deal.

I'm tired of typing so that's all you get. I realize there are plenty of guardsmen and reservists (and units) who don't pull their fair share and aren't the shining examples. But for every one of those, there are 10 that are pure bargains...in all aspects: cost, experience level, etc. I'm not saying there are no problems. I'm saying that time and time again I run into the "active duty O-6" types who just don't understand the issue and expect the guard/reserve to be as flexible as an active duty guy/unit when that will never be the case.

tankertoadau92

The Weapon Systems are paid for and manpower is a recurring cost with long term implications. Hard to compete with the breadth and depth of experience in the ARC.

Albief15

There is also an intrinsic value in having your warriors embedded in communities around the country. When your local cop, pharmacist, real estate agent or doctor is also serving as a Reservist/Guardsman, the local community sees the military as "us", and not "them". Part of the reason the Guard grew so much after Vietnam was Congress wanted to make sure each community felt the pain when the military activated. Why? With the anti-war anti-establishment feeling at the time, the politicos realized that the American People WOULD NOT STAND for losing their own friends and neighbors for stupid, unrighteous wars. Now, the same rationale ties those communities to the military in a good way--by putting ambassadors for the military in every nook and cranny of American society.

The active duty folks who believe if the ANG/Reserve went away they would simply get every dollar spent on those organizations. That's is a fool's bet. Part of the reason the ANG/Reserves are so well funded is they are popular with their hometown politicians and the people they serve. In many areas, the active duty has BRAC'd and downsized, and fewer and fewer Americans serve a smaller military. Expecting the goodwill, the dollars, and the political support currently garnered by the Total Force guys to just automatically flow to the active duty is classically naive. "They just don't understand!" is what the active duty brass will cry about the American Public. And...they will be correct. Not all Americans will understand the who, what, and why's of military service. That is just one more reason the Guard belongs....to keep Americans tied to their own defense forces.

tankertoadau92

With less than one percent of our population having served in the military we (AD/ANG/AFRes) need all the help we can get!

Atlas Shrugged

At the risk of ranting, Guard pilots don't get flight pay on a monthly basis either (it is prorated) but we are expected to perform exactly like our AD counterparts.

And many of us have been to war several times and not for short tours either......

Pakagecheck

As Albie stated, the Guard/Res is a militia, much like the minutemen of past. 9 to 5ers neighbors, co-workers, friends. Their initial purpose was not to be used for current operations but to be in a semi state of readiness that if the flag went up, units would be fully capable within 2 weeks. Obviously things have changed over the years and now have a significant role in the worldwide operations of our military. Requirements now keep units mission ready. So simple math, a unit with 40 pilots, 10 full time, 30 part time, fly the same amount of hours as their AD counterpart. Experience is almost double in the guard unit. As a chief of stan eval, I made 35k, part timer. My counterpart on AD as a young major made about $125,000 with the bonus. Take all of the positions and the correlation is the same. So how is it more expensive?

As far a the guard/res always screwing off, every command has their percentage of screw ups, much like the active duty. I will say that I have been on joint operations with AD units and there was a preconceived notion that we were less than stellar performers, and when we wouldn't play the silly reindeer games, it just ****ed them off more. One needs to realize, that the bs is severely cut because it is a completely voluntary job and most don't need it. So if it is too painful, people tell them to pound sand.

Agree or disagree but the guard/reserve is here to stay. It will always be more experienced and cost less the their AD counterparts and people that don't understand the workings will always dislike it and find reasons to complain.
Cheers
Pakage

Mink

From an infrastructure cost standpoint, I've never understood why some ANG units are based at civilian airports while a perfectly good AF base is just down the road (OR ANG at PDX - could easily go to K Falls, CA ANG at FAT - could go to Beale or Travis, etc.). Seems like pretty low hanging fruit in terms of streamlining logistics, parts, training facilities, and so on.

I get the whole "state militia" thing, but in the end, it's all under the Big AF umbrella, no? I'm sure there are politics involved, but with Fed and State finances being what they are, this seems like a pretty easy way to save a few bucks.

Just curious. Retired Navy guy, so no dog in the fight...

Pakagecheck

Very true statement. My unit was 8 miles as the crow flies from a big AF installation. However, Our unit was established 3 yrs after WWII at it's current location. I am sure if you look, the majority of the guard units have been in place since the early 50's. The facilities at the base did not support our type aircraft, ie no hush house etc. Not to say they couldn't be built there but they had been in place for years already at their current location. (not making it right). It doesn't effect the flight operation but where it did effect was the support, military police, admin, etc. But, again the purpose is to have ready reserves to be able to step up if called up and the state didn't want to "merge" with the active duty. Local politics always play a part also. It is huge revenue to have any military installation on your doorstep, even 8 miles makes a difference!
So if the facilities are in place, the majority of the money is covered. Now, when 80% of the unit is being used at a fraction of the cost. It still is less. Overall it would save in the big pocket but the AD and the guard/reserve gets its coin from different pockets. But to compare apples to apples, one unit at base x vs another (say guard unit) at base z, even with the extras, the militia is less expensive.
Pakage

Vito

I remember sitting in a crashpad at my airline job and talking to a F-14 pilot who left the Navy for the Airlines. He said he'd love to fly in a reserve/guard situation but the navy had very few F-14 reserve slots, so essentially all the money and training that this pilot had went down the drain when he left the Navy. I, on the other hand was able to transition to the reserves, which were co-located on the same base and all my training and experience were still accesible and available to the Air Force at a fraction of the price! I usually flew with the active duty since they lacked any experience in certain specialties. The Guard and Reserve are a great asset to this country and a great value as well. In the last 10 years I've been 100% current, flew numerous missions downrange and have averaged about $30,000-$35,000 a year salary which as a UPS Captain is about 1 and 1/2 months pay!!! So anybody who thinks the Guard and Reserve is a "waste" needs to look at the numbers..

nwaf16dude

Part of the problem with TFI, at least in the fighter business, is that it got started mostly after 9/11. There were lots of out-of-work airline pilots that were willing to work their butts off as part-timers because they were laid-off from their civilian jobs. Also, the money was available to keep them working at full-time or near full-time rates. Therefore, their active duty leadership developed an unrealistic expectation of what a reservist could do for them. I don't think we'll ever be able to recover from that expectation.