Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!bionet!agate!ucbvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!att!cbnews!esco@tank.uchicago.edu From: esco@tank.uchicago.edu (ross paul weiner) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Reserve/National Guard Policies Message-ID: <5587@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 12 Apr 89 03:37:40 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: University of Chicago Computation Center Lines: 146 Approved: military@att.att.com From: "ross paul weiner" In article <5518@cbnews.ATT.COM> you write: > > >From: Andrew P. Kosoresow >With all the discussion of the Reserves and the NG, I was wondering >about the following information, as well as sources for such >information: > >1) Where are regular/reserve/NG units stationed? >2) What are the enlistment/time-commitment/pay policies of the various state > NG and the reserves? What are the medical/physical requirement? Do > the vary by service or state? >3) What are the training schedules and possible duties done by reservists? >4) What are the various enlisted MOS and how is one given one? >5) How is promotion done for enlisted personnel? >6) How is one chosen for OCS? Is there a maximum age? >7) In which cases can reservists go on active duty? When can they be > requested (not required) to go active duty? When are they required > to go active? >8) What is the content of various training courses (e.g. basic, infantry, > etc.)? >Thank you, >Andrew Kosoresow >kos@polya.stanford.edu 1) There are lots of glossy displays of where our troops are, _Defense '89_ from the DoD is a start. The Navy is roughly 1/3 deployed to the Mediter- anean, 1/3 underway preparing for deployment (as in training and inspections) and 1/3 recovering from deployment or getting fixed. In addition there is a large shore establishment, not just in Washington D.C but also in the Navy ports and a few other places. The Army is, correct me if I ere, largely in Germany or Korea. The Air Force hangs out in fun places like North Dakota :-). The Guard and Reserve are just about everywhere. Aviation type units are obviuosly found around urban centers that can support a Reserve Air Base or Naval Air Station. Naval Reserve centers are not found in quit as many towns as Army reserve centers. Is there a county in America so small that it doesn't have a National Guard Armory? 2) Officers serve until they retire, quit or are fired. If you accept a commision and then quit within two years you are a cad. Differant programs, ie if money is involved, may have differant requierements. Armed forces enlistments are usually for 8 years, with varying amounts to be served on active duty or the Ready or Standby Reserve. Of course requierements vary by program. We think that they require two eyes and a lung; they think that we have a bias for gym class towel attendants. The physical for most people going for most jobs is no big deal, just turn your head bend over and cough. For some programs good eyes are important, for others you must endure the paperwork and processing of a security clearance. I believe the army sends everyone through boot camp, the Navy does not. Restricted Line or Staff corps officers can receive a Direct Commission. If someone signs an enlistment contract in which they agree to serve in the Ready Reserve (by drilling for 1 weekend a month) and then they stop attending drills, then they can be `nominated' by their command. That means they get involuntarily shipped out for active duty. 3) The reserves do about everything but not every job is done everywhere. What units are in a particular area and what they do is hard to predict. Many but not all reserve units allow former active duty people to keep up their skills and connection with the military. Most Ready Reservists in the Selected Reserve, that means people being paid to show up, recieve 48 days base pay for serving 12 weekends and get paid for 12 to 14 more days of annual active duty for training or ACDUTRA. The training can be a school or work with an active duty command (usually the reservists job in the event of mobilization) or an exercise. What you do depends on what you ask for and what your job requieres and what money is available (ask early in the fiscal year) and THE NEEDS OF THE SERVICE. 4) Enlisted job qualifications, in the Navy NECs, are certified by: a- active duty training, b- two week ACDUTRA schools, c- reserve unit OJT on the job training, d- home study courses that earn retirement points and help fill promotion requierements. Some jobs, like nuclear power specialties, demand lengthy schools and an extended active duty commitment. Reservists, officer and enlisted who get the full 60 retirement points plus 15 more gratis for filling a selected reserve billet, don't get the retirement point benefits of the correspondance courses but people waiting for a pay billet to open up can keep a good year on the books for retirement purposes with these courses. For each job or billet in the service their is a set of readiness criteria, such as attend some schools, be in a range of paygrades, complete some courses and visit your mobilization gaining command. The reserve unit Commanding Officer's fitness report depends on how ready the unit is, so he or she wants you to get fully qualified. 5) Promotion depends on similar criteria to job qualification, courses etc., and more. First is your boss's recommendation. Next after the most entry level is performance on standardized tests, in the Navy both by paygrade and job specialty. Each paygrade has a minimum time before you're eligible for promotion. Senior enlisted have their performance evaluations and service records reviewed by selection boards, just like officers. Finally if there are no jobs available in the new paygrade then sorry... Rumours are that in the Air Force someone dies and someone is advanced. 6) Becoming an officer is getting a job, you apply look good and interview. OCS is only one way of becoming an officer. Each recruiter must be approached seperately and compared with everyone else. Like most servicemen I'm still hoping to meet my recruiter again :-). Check out not just each service but seperately talk to recruiters from regular, reserve or guard units. Find a unit doing work you're interested in and ask if you can visit or talk to their unit recruiting officer. Unfortunately there is truth to Caveat Emptor, the recruiters are under tremendous pressure and have quotas. If they don't need to offer you what you want they won't tell you about the fellow across town who can do better by you. The legal limits on recieving a commission are the ages 19 to 35, some programs esp aviation are more restrictive. 7) There are actually a broad range of active duty/ reserve categories. Some reservists are on active duty just like regulars, usually for the begining of their careers. Others are on active duty in special reserve communities that rotate them between active duty commands and reserve centers, they are not counted against the limits Congress sets for active duty personnel. Some are on active duty temporarily filling a special need or gap for less than one year, this is TEMAC. The naval officers who rode with the oil tankers in the Gulf were reservists on TEMAC. In addition to the requiered ACDUTRA described above a reservist can request up to 30 days of special active duty or SPECAC. As mentioned above Selected Reservists fill a pay billet and earn retirement points, they are eligible for promotion. Other Ready Reservists are not in pay billets but may if they wish participate in training, earn retirement points and promotions. These are usually senior officers who just show up for love, in my book they are real heroes, especially compared to some senior officers holding down non-jobs on active duty. Ready or Standby reservists who have completed requierements for retirement do not recieve a pension until they are 60. Members not attending drills are in the Standby Reserve, S-1 is used by people who are usually temporarily unable to drill or in a special status, such as Merchant Marine officers or some government employees. They can apply for ACDUTRA and earn retirement points with correspondance courses. Promotion is possible if they do enough do meet certain standards. S-2 standby is an administrative deep freeze for people who have done their obligated time and are awaiting discharge. Navy enlisted personnel between retirement and the transfer to the reserve list are in something called the Fleet Reserve but the distinction is meaningless. In theory military retirement is really just another reserve category, "reduced compensation for a reduced level of service".As mentioned voluntary active duty opportunities occour but must be negotiated. Involuntary calls to active duty can occour. The President can call up to 100,000 to active duty before asking Congress for a more general mobilization. Under some circumstances the civilian service secretaries can call up reserves. Obviously the closer to active status and pay you are the more likely you are to get called. All males over a certain age are members of the unorganized militia (the National Guard is sometimes called the disorganized militia :-) but remember I'm a friend) and subject to mobilization. Bill - sorry for the length and subject but once a year this may be needed. -- Ross P. Weiner Dandy Dirks Discount Disclaimers esco@tank.uchicago.edu "You can't sue me, I'm broke!"