arbalist1

I'm a UH-60 Army guy leaving active duty to start at PSA in June. I've made contact with a -60 ARNG unit, but I'm completely torn about whether or not I want to go guard. I'd love to be able to fly the Blackhawk again, but I'm really tired of playing Army. Anyone here have any insights into flying ARNG while at PSA?

Thanks.

chrisreedrules

I’ve flown with a couple guys who have done just this. Doesn’t seem to be too difficult/too much added complexity to their lives.

foumanchu

Try for the Knoxville ARNG unit and be based in Knoxville with PSA.

arbalist1

I'm already looking into the NC ARNG in Salisbury. But what I'm wondering is how does it compare to active duty? How much nonsense is there in the guard versus active duty? I'm just tired of things like: formations, eight page leave packets, inventories, being told we're "replaceable", treating everyone like they're 10...

Buuut I absolutely love the flying, working as a team, and military benefits.

I'm currently squarely on the fence about it. Is it worth it? Or should I just put all my efforts into making the best of PSA?

WhiteMorpheus

PM Sent...

StickPig

Some of the nonsense will go away. You won’t have formations and things of that nature, but it’s all dependent on how you value your time. A few months before I got out, I had a four day trip (Tuesday through Friday), commutes to drill (Saturday and Sunday), and then had a four day trip (Monday through Thursday). I flew diced wing in the Army Reserves, so my airplane knowledge was easy to keep up with. As a former -60 guy, I couldn’t imagine trying to keep up with my -60 knowledge AND company stuff. It’s just a lot. Sure, you have Mik leave to drop when you want to, but better have a good credit month or you drop below guarantee. Personally, I like my time off, and my world has been unimaginably uncomplicated only having to work one job. And God help you if you commute to both. That’s a different kind of hell.

Ski Bird

^^ This. Live in one place or the other for sure.

For my money, I would live near the guard base. On your days off from the regional, you can pop in, burn some drill periods, maybe fly a local training sortie on an AFTP (or whatever the flying periods are called on the army side).

There is some portion of the month that you may drop mil leave and still get guarantee. I don't recall what it is exactly, but take more mil leave than that published number and the guarantee drops in a pro-rated fashion.

Making the jump to the guard will be awesome, believe me. Totally different cultures. There will still be some things that might be worth griping about, but the sheer amount of active duty stuff that is simply not present will give you a warm, fuzzy feeling for the first few years at least.

Oh, and Tricare Reserve Select is nothing to shake a stick at. It is definitely worth looking into the healthcare options available to you and your family.

WhiteMorpheus

We even have a crew base that shares a runway with an ARNG -60 unit (TYS).

AH64Retired

I've got some perspective to go with the unimaginative user name. PSA is really, really easy to deal with on mil leave compared to some others. TYS would be great, but I think any of our existing bases would be OK. (Haven't looked into PHL or ORF). I had a CVG / Ft. Knox combo, with a 140 mile drive to drill. Not ideal, but I did it for years.

I was very hesitant to get into the USAR for reasons like your own, but found the level of flight experience and overall aviator professionalism to be much higher on the Guard/Reserve side than on active duty. Collecting USAR retirement and medical in a couple of years is going to make a huge difference to my life.

Message me if want to hash it out. I can put you in touch with the Ft. Knox -60 unit, too.

Blackheart

I will also be transferring from active duty and currently qualified in the UH60L/M. I am looking for a guard position and would love any contacts that might be available.