Reservations about reserves
August 17, 2010 9:41 AM Subscribe
Navy Reservists filter: How often and how long do you deploy? Have the reserves "interfered" in your formerly civilian lives?
I'm toying with the idea of entertaining a notion of considering the possibility of looking into the Navy Reserves as an officer. I am a Navy vet-- honorably discharged as an E-5 eight years ago. I have a college degree now, and am < 39. The money and benefits are the draw for me. Going overseas for a year tour is not attractive, though. I have been there and done that as an active duty member, but I don't have a real strong desire to repeat it, and my wife would not be terrifically happy about it either. I'm not naive, though, and know it is a distinct possibility.
What are your experiences with being "called up" to go out for a year or more? Can you describe your typical routine (as far as weekly/monthly/annual drills, etc.) when not deployed? I know the recruiters sell the reserves as a few hours a month, and 2 weeks a year of training, but I want to get an inside scoop of what the actual commitment is, and how much it has affected your previously non-military lives and routine.
I'm toying with the idea of entertaining a notion of considering the possibility of looking into the Navy Reserves as an officer. I am a Navy vet-- honorably discharged as an E-5 eight years ago. I have a college degree now, and am < 39. The money and benefits are the draw for me. Going overseas for a year tour is not attractive, though. I have been there and done that as an active duty member, but I don't have a real strong desire to repeat it, and my wife would not be terrifically happy about it either. I'm not naive, though, and know it is a distinct possibility.
What are your experiences with being "called up" to go out for a year or more? Can you describe your typical routine (as far as weekly/monthly/annual drills, etc.) when not deployed? I know the recruiters sell the reserves as a few hours a month, and 2 weeks a year of training, but I want to get an inside scoop of what the actual commitment is, and how much it has affected your previously non-military lives and routine.
My stepfather was a Navy reservist and they wouldn't let him change his rating. He switched to the Army reserve (he was in the Army and then the Navy in Vietnam,) and they were more flexible. He got his medical retirement a few years back, was a DBA at the state headquarters till then, and after almost 20 years of being a reservist was never called up. But he was an old computer guy. The drills were a breeze (same goes for the Coast Guard reserve drills my Sea Cadet unit participated in at Camp Perry;) my info is 5-10 years old now. It was one weekend a month, show up around 7pm on Friday and dismissed around 4pm on Sunday. Often a barbecue for the families or something on Sunday.
For the Army stuff, everyone seemed to either do your boring "sit in a room and be lectured to" classroom stuff or the kinds of jobs/training they'd do on deployment - my stepdad filled in as a weekend systems admin at the state headquarters, for instance (the handful of reservists who were with him actually worked as DoD civilian employees at those same desks during the week.) That's kind of what the Navy guys did in Connnecticut, too. The Coast Guard Port Security people did PT tests and shot at targets and sometimes pretended Ohio was Yemen, on their boats. I believe they may have been allowed to leave the area and go to bars; it always seemed like there were cadets and three grumpy Coasties around after dark. My stepdad didn't have to stay overnight on weekend drills; the Coasties did it because we were actually at a place they could do it.
I can't remember a single 2-week drill that didn't consist of my stepdad doing a class somewhere, alone, except in the years where there was no money, and they just went to the reserve center every day instead of on the weekends. Some reservists did their 2-week training by working with Sea Cadets at our camps. A few times, my stepdad got out of 2-week training by doing training books. By the day he retired, he'd done the books for almost every rating (and maxed out his retirement points.)
I think your experience is going to involve more dirt and fewer family barbecues. And, since my stepdad isn't here, let me say what I know he would: the Army Reserve is way better, it is worth it to switch.
(He's pretty vehement about it.)
posted by SMPA at 12:16 PM on August 17, 2010
For the Army stuff, everyone seemed to either do your boring "sit in a room and be lectured to" classroom stuff or the kinds of jobs/training they'd do on deployment - my stepdad filled in as a weekend systems admin at the state headquarters, for instance (the handful of reservists who were with him actually worked as DoD civilian employees at those same desks during the week.) That's kind of what the Navy guys did in Connnecticut, too. The Coast Guard Port Security people did PT tests and shot at targets and sometimes pretended Ohio was Yemen, on their boats. I believe they may have been allowed to leave the area and go to bars; it always seemed like there were cadets and three grumpy Coasties around after dark. My stepdad didn't have to stay overnight on weekend drills; the Coasties did it because we were actually at a place they could do it.
I can't remember a single 2-week drill that didn't consist of my stepdad doing a class somewhere, alone, except in the years where there was no money, and they just went to the reserve center every day instead of on the weekends. Some reservists did their 2-week training by working with Sea Cadets at our camps. A few times, my stepdad got out of 2-week training by doing training books. By the day he retired, he'd done the books for almost every rating (and maxed out his retirement points.)
I think your experience is going to involve more dirt and fewer family barbecues. And, since my stepdad isn't here, let me say what I know he would: the Army Reserve is way better, it is worth it to switch.
(He's pretty vehement about it.)
posted by SMPA at 12:16 PM on August 17, 2010
You might want to talk to a recruiter to see if they know something about the Intelligence Augmentee program. I was an air force linguist a little over 10 years ago, and I remember considering it because the program was much more flexible than standard reserve enlistments.
posted by lemniskate at 7:26 PM on August 17, 2010
posted by lemniskate at 7:26 PM on August 17, 2010
My brother signed up for the Naval Reserve after he finished his Active Duty requirements out of the academy. They guarenteed him the first 2 years he wouldn't be called up, so he hasn't had to deal with that yet.
So far as an officer out of Great Lakes, he's been given 'flex duty' where he doesn't have to show up on base to perform his 2 days a month, he can do it from home. However his assignments have been such that he's got a duty deficit and owes them 11 days worth in two months now so it hasn't worked out well for him. He believes (rightly or wrongly) that the other people in his group who don't have a deficit are, lets say, being liberal with their assessment of how much work they've done and what qualifies.
posted by garlic at 3:39 PM on August 26, 2010
So far as an officer out of Great Lakes, he's been given 'flex duty' where he doesn't have to show up on base to perform his 2 days a month, he can do it from home. However his assignments have been such that he's got a duty deficit and owes them 11 days worth in two months now so it hasn't worked out well for him. He believes (rightly or wrongly) that the other people in his group who don't have a deficit are, lets say, being liberal with their assessment of how much work they've done and what qualifies.
posted by garlic at 3:39 PM on August 26, 2010
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posted by ehamiter at 11:55 AM on August 17, 2010