Julio

Join the AF reserves. Problem solved

Julio

My A-10 unit requires 8. They are extremely flexible though and are handing out AGR spots like candy. Non deployable unit as well so that helps. Never gone.

crewdawg

Even better, join the ANG. I've been in 16 years now and have never met/heard of an ANG pilot who has been involuntarily, individually mobilized. Find a squadron that is a stand alone guard squadron (i.e....not attached to or on a AD base).

8 days or 8 pay periods? 8 days/month is a lot...even for an airline guy. 4...maybe 5 days a month is about my max.

*For reference...F-16 Guard guy.

hindsight2020

yeah, AFRC is AD lite these days. Also very difficult to find non-TFI (aka stand-alone aka non-associate) units anymore in the AFRC. The aggregate requirements for basic currency seem to be the highest on the fighter units. A lot of the heavies have requirements that can be knocked out in the sim and thus they can pull the sub-5 day a month participation average.

6-8 days of average participation is where we sit on our UPT trainer units, so it's really not out of the realm for a fighter unit to expect 8. On the high end, but not really surprising to me. Do recognize some units allow for quarterly average in lieu of hard monthly average. So you can bundle your way into an average that doesn't physically require the amount of commuting that would otherwise be required to meet said monthly average if you had to commute every month.

In the end it all depends on what stage in life you are regarding your mil/civ transition and what are the geographic particulars of your household. It would be sincerely uphill to fill all the fighter beans on less than 5 days.

Julio

8 days but that's not hard and fast by any means. Our CC is an airline guy and he gets it. I don't mind the extra work as I'm a first year guy and the extra income helps.

crewdawg

That's great to hear...always helps to have understanding leadership, and why I think the SQ/CC should always be a part time position. I would consider 8 days to be unreasonable. 4-5 (5 being my max) is more the sweat spot. However, to go more than 4 would require us to use 1 pay card per day (not happening), or for the Guard Bureau to cough up more pay days (also not happening). It might be easier in a non-deployable, FTU/UPT squadron, but the ops tempo in Alert tasked/deployable fighter squadrons has become almost unsustainable.

Ha, I can appreciate that! Wait until year 2 or 3 and see if you still feel the same.

hindsight2020

Well, maybe if the ARC was reverted to the strategic reserve model like they're supposed to, and out of the whipped mule expeditionary legionnaire model, these indignities wouldn't be as chafing. Just thinking out loud. But big blue is still in the mindset this is 2004 and pilots have no options for lucrative flying work on the outside. Combine it with the typical arm twisting "because we let you fly a fighter" and there ya go. But strategic reserve reeks of old guard flying club, and we can't have that sarc

Things IMO will continue to deteriorate on the manning front, until the airlines hiccup again and stop hiring or resume furloughs. Then we'll all be back to the trough. The circle of life.

tunes

i average 2-3 days a month and a 7-10 day trip every 6 months in my heavy reserve unit.

HoursHore

In my heavy AFRC unit I was doing 2-3 days (all dual) a month and one tdy a year. I'd turn back in 5-7 AT days a year. Unless I had to deploy, which was every 15 months or so and would wipe out all my AT days.

Julio

We are an FTU.