Sorry if this has been asked before, I haven't goine through the Sub with a fine-toothed comb haha.

I'm a Civilian with a professional corporate gig looking to join the Reserves. Before I talk to a recruiter, I want a reality check first.

Me:

• Turning 40, no prior service
• Bachelor's + MBA
• 15 hours into my PPL
• Single, no dependents, based in South Florida
• Good shape, haven't taken an official PFT yet
• No ASVAB yet
• Keeping my civilian job, want this for structure/purpose/aviation exposure

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. Is the pilot track fully closed at my age, or does prior civilian flight time ever factor into a waiver, RPA or otherwise? Assuming it's a long shot, but I want the real answer, not the internet-forum version.
2. Looking at enlisted aviation-adjacent jobs: loadmaster, aircrew, aircraft maintenance. Realistic at 40? What am I actually eligible for?
3. Has anyone commissioned or enlisted around my age and can speak to how it went?
4. Anyone familiar with Homestead ARB specifically, what's open there right now? Not geo-locked to it, but it's the most convenient from a location standpoint.

Not trying to talk myself into or out of it, just want holes poked in this before I sit down with a recruiter. Brutal honesty is welcome and appreciated

Hi everyone,

I never would have discovered any of this if I hadn’t been actively trying to commission into the Army National Guard.
On April 26, I completed my final drill weekend and finished my wing out-processing checklist. I went to FSS to turn it in. When I arrived, the MSgt who was the POC told me, in a very rude manner, to go away because he was about to leave for a meeting. Since it was near the end of the day on a Sunday during my final drill weekend, I politely asked if I could turn in my completed checklist. He told me to just leave it on his desk.
Something didn’t feel right, so before leaving, I made a copy of my completed wing out-processing checklist, before placing the official one on his desk as instructed. I also went back to my shop and informed both my supervisor and shop chief about the interaction.
Fast forward to now: I’m trying to commission into the Army National Guard, and the process has come to a complete halt because my separation was apparently never processed. I never received a character of separation document.
I also have a copy of my PCARS, which shows I attended every drill, fulfilled all of my obligations, and everything on my end is “green.” There is nothing that should be preventing me from receiving this.
When I contacted FSS for assistance, they became combative and refused to help. Today, I reached out to my former commander, who gave me a new POC. She told me she would try to work with FSS on my behalf since they have been unwilling to assist me.
I also spoke with my former MXG CSS, and they told me I am still showing in the personnel system. When I relayed that information to FSS, they denied it and insisted I was no longer in the system.
I’ve also spoken with several people who told me I absolutely should have received separation orders by now. I contacted both the State IG and the base IG, but so far I haven’t received a call back as I simply left my name and number. I also verified everything with AFPC/ARPC, and they confirmed that my base never completed my out-processing.
At this point, I’m at a loss. I fulfilled my service obligation, served honorably, and simply want to move forward with commissioning into the Army National Guard. I’m not in the IRR or any similar status because I’m prior service.
Has anyone dealt with something like this before? What options do I have? Is there any legal avenue I should consider if the base continues refusing to correct what appears to be an administrative error? Thanks 🙏

Are wigs allow in basic training

Any insight on the current Reserves MTI life and also if anyone has done the process coming straight over from ANG?

Hello here: I am trying to get y’all opinion on getting signed up for an overage position 4A051. What happens when the position does not come vacant after expiration. Will I need to go back to Tech school or kicked out of the unit?

Started the ELS process back in June to separate because I’m a single dad to a daughter and child care became hard after my mom passed. So I talked to my squadron but they didn’t give me much time to make a decision on separating, so I did on the spot. After consulting with an attorney, talking to my pastor, and being able to find child care. I told them about 48 hours after that I didn’t want to go through with ELS separation, after hearing back from my childcare provider and now having secured childcare moving forward. They had already sent it to the group/wing after but haven’t heard anything back from either level yet. I’m a 1N2 so a pretty niche field but I also haven’t went to tech school yet but completed bootcamp. Whats the likelihood it gets approved? If so do I have any course of action?

Hello I’m going to go on my first UTA this August but my question is do I pay for my flight ticket with my own money first or wait for them to tell me about DTS?

They did say they will give me reimbursement but is there a specific way I need to get my ticket to be reimbursed? Thanks

I'll keep it brief, I already work as a gov contractor and my work-life balance is pretty calm, but I want more security (in terms of both benefits and pay). I have plenty of downtime that I use to up skill, relax, workout, or anything that is urgently needed, I don't take that time for granted. I possess a clearance already, a bachelors degree in Computer Engineering, 4+ years of IT experience, and I already travel (sometimes up to a month or two at a time) for my job. That being said, I would rather put that time and energy towards a bigger picture (i.e. joining reserves to keep civilian job, education assistance, VA loans as I look to purchase a home soon, etc.) rather than doing so strictly for a subpar biweekly check. I am heavily considering USAF Reserves as I've been told they have a good cyber sector (I assume they were referring to 17S/17D) but I am also open to the USN Reserves being that I've lightly brushed over their CWE and MCWO roles. Either way it goes I hope to expedite my journey by going in as a officer (just due to what I already possess), my main concerns are:

-With the state of our current Gov, would it be ideal to enlist now?

-Are the benefits worth the headaches that are bound to come?

-Being that I already work in GovTech, this would be my next closest line of work rather than just applying to other various IT roles, whether private or public sector

-Does the branch truly matter or should I go off best package available (job role, sign on bonus, etc.)

-To those with kids or those that enlisted in their late 20s, do you regret the decision?

I understand the possibilities are at random and what may be suitable for one person may not be for the next but would like advice from people actually living it as well.

I have recently decided that I want to pursue a nurse practitioner role for the Air Force Reserve and just want to get some clarification on a few things. First, I know I would have to interview with other NPs. What does that usually entail? I have over 5 years of experience as a NP but I’m not currently working as a NP. (I had a travel position and my son is a senior and accepted a remote RN role to be at home his senior year). Is this going to hurt my chances? Should I wait to apply when I’m working as a NP again? And when I do work as a NP again, do I need to stick with primary care or can I work in a specialty and still be considered? I am a family nurse practitioner but have previously worked doing palliative care and primary care.

Also, I’m in decent health. I was diagnosed with mild fatty liver disease a few years ago but I have never had to take medication for it. I also had extremely mild sleep apnea due to tonsils but I had a tonsillectomy and have not had any issues. Are these past issues going to prevent me from passing my MEPS physical?

Thank you all for your help!

I am retired Navy (and a history geek) and curious about AROWS-R and its history & lineage.

to wit: what was TBAS ?

I have found that AROWS-R (Air Reserve Order Writing System-Reserve) replaced three legacy systems:

WOTS (Web Orders Transaction System)

TBAS (ukn acronym)

(a third ukn system)

I’ve also found that AROWS-R (and perhaps the predecessor systems?) were developed by ‘DFAS-KC, Technology Services Organization’.

Its relevance is that the Air Force Reserve initiatives in this regard directly led to the adoption of the same platform by the Navy & Marine Corps: NROWS and MROWS, respectively.

TIA for any insights you may have.

After Meps gotta congratulations call from Flight Cheif then was posed a question, “do you want to try out special forces” i declined but he insisted seeing as i passed the DFT and told me i could do a “60 day commitment “ and decide at the end of it whether i wanted to commit or not. Well i ended up staying with my original choice at the end of the 60 days only to find out from my SW recruiter theres no such thing now im waiting to be transferred back to reg air force pipeline. Has anyone else dealt with this or have an idea how long it may take to get transferred back?

Hello, My ANG contract is up in about 2 months and I wanna go into the Air Force Reserves. Does anybody currently in the Reserves have any experience with this? Is it easier to just get out and join the Reserves or extend for like a year in the ANG and just put my transfer paperwork in after my extension goes through? Seems like getting out would be less paperwork in that I wouldn't have a loosing unit, but also more "risky" in that if something falls through with the Reserve recruiter Im screwed. Thank you.

I should’ve done active duty. Didn’t know how fast I would fall in love with the military after BMT and tech school. I am air transportation. Does anyone have any experience or know how soon or fast I could get put on active orders / deployment ?

Hey folks, I'm a linguist over 19 years now and exploring all the options I had previously disregarded. I'm curious about joining the reserves after 20. I know some of this is specialized towards my afsc so i'll be looking to talk with a recruiter in the future as well.

I'm seeing a lot of mixed information regarding AD pension & VA rating and drawing reserve pay. Some people say it can't happen, others say it can. Title10 says I'd have to choose between AD pension and drill pay for those weekends but what's on paper and what happens in real life differ sometimes. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title10-section12316&utm

I do get $1K/mo in language pay currently which my research so far has shown I could keep with the right job. Standard Reserves pay + $12K/yr makes it a bit more interesting for me. I don't think I'd really even consider it for just $400-500/mo.

I guess my main questions are does anyone have experience with going Reserves after 20AD? worth it financially? Any linguists able to confirm they kept their FLBP? Anything vastly different on the Reserve side of linguists? Would I be entitled to and activated for the the annual 4-week language training I currently get while Active?

So I was prior active duty security forces for 10 and a half years and transferred to the IMA program back in January right after separating. The only reason I decided to join was because I hadn't found a job yet and wanted to make sure I would still have access to healthcare for my family. Despite my reservations, my recruiter told me to just try it for a bit and if I decided it wasn't for me, I could just cancel it and get out.

Fast forward a couple months and not only did I end up landing in a phenomenal career, but those 10+ years of security forces started presenting themselves on my body. I'm now dealing with some physical ailments that will 100% impact my ability to be back in uniform wearing gear, doing pt tests, etc. I have reached out to the RIO detachment multiple times, the IMA program manager at the base I'm assigned to, and even my own recruiter and have been met with total radio silence.

All I'm looking for is information regarding the separation process and where to begin but no one is helping me. What happens if I just literally never show up? Obviously that's not the route I want to go down but I haven't even scheduled my AD days for the upcoming fiscal year so I feel stuck at the moment. Any advice is appreciated!

I've tried sending my IDT schedule out to my supervisor a few times but it never shows up on their end. They mentioned their may be some kind of glitch with an invisible submission button. Does that ring a bell for anyone?

Anybody here a full-time college student doing ALL IN-PERSON classes? If so, how do you juggle doing that but may have long-term orders coming up? I start college as a full-time student this fall semester and I decided to do all classes in person (I cannot function doing distance-learning).

Thanks in advance.