I see these commercials quite often. “Naval Reserve, Stay Strong”, etc. Each service seems like they really want you to join their version of the reserves. But how does that work if “you” are a pure civilian who has had no military training? It seems to me that there’s a military atitude and there’s a civilian one, and I don’t see how you can pick it up in the limited time spent on reserve duty.
I’ve always assumed the reserves are populated mainly by retired members of the appropriate service, but that doesn’t really justify the television ads, does it? Any reservists out there have enlightenment?
not knowing too much of the US but in the UK , reserves being the territorial army they train you to be a reserve each weekend and then have some long week tour after a while , all military personnel started out at the bottom
heh but then you do have to have some qualities (UK airforce you can’t wear glasses , you can after you are an officer , heh funny Navy you don’t even have to know how to swim (in the times news paper about 9 months ago)
but hey if they are doing REALLY bad in a war they will take you no matter what , even just to charge the enemy machine guns
Well, you do have to go to basic training. That’s 6 to 8 contiguous weeks right there. Then you need to go to some type of job training (in the Army, this was AIT - Advanced Individual Training). This could be any number of weeks depending on your occupational specialty in the reserves.
You can do “split option,” whereby you can have a gap of up to 12 months between the basic and advanced portions of your training (you report to the reserves during this interim).
I did split option. I went to basic training at 17, during the summer vacation before my senior year of high school.
The commercials I’ve seen for the reserves (US) state that you train one weekend every month and two weeks per year. Presumably it’s just a really really long version of basic training, or something.
I’m not a reservist but I am retired from active duty so I know a little about this based on reservists I’ve worked with. I am by no means an expret though.
If you join the reserves straight from civilian life, they’ll send you to some form of initial orientation (i.e. Basic Training) lasting at least several weeks. The exact duration depends on what service you choose and whether or not you choose to enlist or seek a commission. After basic, they’ll also probably send you to some specialized training that can last up to several months. Only after finishing that will you go into the regular one weekend a month rotation.
During the training period, you’ll get very thorough;y exposed to the “military attitude.”
BTW, the reserves ae explicitly not populated by retired members of the active duty services. Until very recently (this last summer), once retired you were not eligible to be in reserves. I was greatly surprised a few months ago to receive a letter saying that rule had been changed and inviting me to join the reserves. There is a large segment of the reserves made up of folks who served some time on active duty but left before being eligible for retirement.
I enlisted into the National Guard right out of high school because of a need for college money, but not wanting to put college off to do a 3 year active tour.
Everyone enlisting in the Army, be it Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard, attend the same Basic and Advance training courses. Basic is now something like 8 weeks and then you will attend an advanced training course. The advanced courses can run anywhere from 5 weeks to several months depending on the specialty.
Once you have completed basic and your initial advanced training you will find that you can become qualified in other skills with weekend per month classes. For example, at my last unit, you could become qualified in artillery and then follow that with the Drill Sergeant course, all with just a weekend a month and a two week training at Ft Sill.
Many reservists are former active duty troops who got out of the regular duty grind but want to continue serving. Most had about 3 - 5 yrs and are fulfilling the initial enlistment requirement or are looking to earn a little extra cash and the retirement benefits (Reservists can qualify for a military retirement. I don’t remember all the details, but it is almost the same as for spending 20 yrs active duty.)
Many others have not served on active duty, but joined part-time for similar reasons, patriotism or a desire to earn the benefits.
You may want to check the laws on that. I’m certain that for your weekend per month, and two years in the summer, your employer must allow you to leave, with no threat to any aspects of your job, except possibly changing your position if applicable (but at the same pay, seniority, etc). This also calls to being activated during government activations. Based on this (and I don’t know), your employer may be required to allow you to miss those 8+ weeks.
'Course, what’s an E1 or E2 make per month these days? You probably will miss the 8 weeks of your normal salary.
Some good companies, like mine, will actually pay you the difference between your reserve pay and your normal salary when you miss work due to reserve time.
Balthisar is correct. Federal law requires that your employer give you your job back on return from active duty or training. If you were to sign up, Smackfu, your employer would be required to let you miss work and return to the same (not just equivelant) position with no loss of seniority or benefits.
How companies handle your pay while you are off training differs. Some companies will not pay you while you are in training but give you the option of taking your vacation during that period, some will make up the difference between your reserve pay and your usual salary, and really nice ones, like my last employer, will pay you your full salary while you are on your two week duty.
For more information on the employer’s legal obligations to reservists, visit this site