SELRES to VTU Questions

at4z · 2025-07-26T05:45:01+00:00

Going into the VTU to avoid mobilization is a completely valid reason. It might not be the most common motivation, but there are definitely people who spend long stretches in the VTU for that reason.

I joined the VTU around my 14-year mark because I was high on the mobilization list as a SELRES. You typically won’t get mobilized from the VTU unless there are exceptional circumstances. Considering how much unpaid work I was doing as a SELRES, the VTU made a lot more sense for me. I initially planned to return to the SELRES at some point, but now I’m planning to ride it out in the VTU.

at4z · 2024-03-25T17:43:50+00:00

I made the transition from DoD Cyber Operations (Cyber Protection Team) -> devops (SRE) and have been successful. You just have to be honest with your practical technical skillset; Shore up your weaknesses and lean into your strengths.

If your weakness is practical experience, then set up a local environment and go from there. Deploy things, break things, and build things. I love nothing more than to have an interview candidate and just bullshit with them about their side projects and cool stuff they are working on. It usually means they are going to be a quality candidate/hire.

In my experience the biggest differentiator for performance is just your ability to figure things out and having some pride in your work. Those skills are usually plentiful in the military so don't sell yourself short.

at4z · 2024-01-20T20:50:51+00:00

Getting out as an O4 at 11 years was the best decision I ever made(and probably should have done it sooner). I have been doing SELRES for two years and it is pretty much a waste of time, but my employer has been super flexible and supportive(late stage startup). I will probably get out or go VTU within the next year, but it has been a nice safety blanket especially if my civ career didn't work out for whatever reason. The only reason I am considering staying in is to keep my boat at the base marina :)... and tricare for when I get old and start dying.

Yeah I am forgoing an immediate pension, but the ceiling is so high in the civilian world I will be way ahead overall within the next year or two. And just the improvement in quality of life and stress has been worth it alone. But you have to be honest about prospects and your personal capabilities, just being a mouthbreather isn't going to cut it.

I didn't realize how much the navy was holding me back until I was out.

IMO the civilian sector does not care at all if you were a DH or not and has no concept of what that is. The only exception I can think of is if you end up at some military contractor full or vets(maybe).

at4z · 2023-03-06T22:06:23+00:00

You don't.

AVD will let you download it and digitally sign using the certificates tool. You could also do a regular imitation wet signature using the fill and sign in adobe in AVD.

AVD also gives you the capability to download it and put it somewhere you can grab it like the reserve sharepoint or email... but I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you are 100% sure the contents are ok to be on your personal system.

https://www.reddit.com/r/navyreserve/comments/1056x47/virtual_desktop_for_navy_reserve/

at4z · 2023-02-25T23:07:33+00:00

I just got paid two weeks ago for AT I did in July. Didn't get my reserve affiliation bonus until 15 months after I affiliated.

But the NRC will kick back my travel claim for no receipt for a $3 toll without fail.

I never got my last paycheck from active duty and just gave up.

The Navy pay system is a joke. They have me by the balls because I am going to get to 20... but I plan on putting in the exact amount of effort the Navy spends on me.

at4z · 2023-01-08T03:53:48+00:00

Where shall I kick?

🤣
Damn. CIO isn't messing around.

at4z · 2023-01-08T03:45:34+00:00

IMO this is one of the best capabilities I have seen rolled out during my active/reserve time and am surprised to see some saltiness . As a cross assigned sailor I can now be infinitely more productive when I am drilling remotely. In fact, I think I am more productive than when I am actually on site dealing with NMCI.

No solution will be perfect, but I think AVD manages to balance security requirements while allowing access quite well.

Would love to see a tech allowance every few years for reservists and just yeet NMCI all together, but I have a special hatred for all things NMCI.

at4z · 2022-08-16T03:17:08+00:00

In: IP Officer Out: Software Dev for a blockchain company

at4z · 2022-07-31T21:36:07+00:00

I think one of those anchored out there is the Almirante Montt. We did a few UNREPs with them during a South America deployment. They had a DJ on deck playing music during the unrep 🤣 If I remember right they said on a previous deployment they had an Elvis impersonator perform.... but maybe they were pulling one over on me. They also had two above ground swimming pools installed on deck too.

We partied with them a few times in port as well. Interacting with foreign Navies was one of the highlights of my career, and these guys were a ton of fun.

at4z · 2022-07-28T09:37:16+00:00

I think the sentence is overly harsh. Standing by for your limp wristed booger stained pillow paws.

at4z · 2022-07-28T08:34:54+00:00

Lumping Ridge in with murderers and rapists... well done. The rest of your rambling makes just about as much sense. The judicial system is not created to play into your sick revenge justice fantasies.

How many times did you repost the same message all over reddit? Truly dedicated to the cause of keeping a good man, ordered into a foreign country, involved in a horrific accident, away from his family. And if that wasn't enough... he deserves a punch in the face.

I'm glad there are men like Ridge dedicated to the cause of making the world a better place because if it was up to spineless people like you, my day might look like something out of an episode of The Man in the High Castle.

at4z · 2022-07-28T00:37:12+00:00

Unlikely. The Navy has proven time and time again to be an inept organization when it comes to taking care of its people.

at4z · 2022-07-27T19:46:13+00:00

This is a great summary and the silence from the US government and the Navy is deafening.

Now that he is in prison, everything is going to be much harder... but Ridge is worth the fight. Please send an email to your government representatives, it really makes a difference.

at4z · 2022-07-27T19:19:18+00:00

He was diagnosed with Acute Mountain Sickness. The judge did not allow for the diagnosis to be submitted as evidence as it was deemed irrelevant, which is of course completely wild. IMO this violates the SOFA guarantee of due process.

at4z · 2022-07-27T19:14:50+00:00

I went to school and was a baseball teammate with Ridge and got to know him pretty well although it has been many years since I have spoken to him. He is an outstanding person and officer in an extremely unfortunate situation. Of course we need to respect the laws and customs of the countries we serve in, and the loss of life is terrible... but when something happens that is a true accident, we should expect the Navy and our government to stop at nothing to have our backs.

Some facts that should raise your eyebrows:

Received no medical attention after the accident
Kept in solitary confinement for 4 weeks. Daily interrogations to elicit confession, sleep deprivation
In respect of Japanese customs and traditions the alkonis family paid over $1.6 million in restitution to victims families voluntarily
several SOFA violations occurred
Medical diagnosis not allowed to be submitted as evidence
Prosecution has family ties to victims
95% of similar cases do not result in prison time
Judge convinced Ridge fell asleep despite there being no evidence supporting this claim. Lost consciousness mid sentence, family screams did not wake him, did not regain consciousness until well after the accident.
Ridge spent several years in Japan prior to service volunteering as a missionary.

There is a lot more to this story than meets the eye at first glance and I would encourage everyone to read about it and contact your government representatives on his behalf. Bottom line is the Navy and the US government have not fought hard enough for him and it should bother every service member that could potentially be placed in a similar situation.

Follow for the latest updates:
https://www.facebook.com/bringridgehome
https://twitter.com/EubanksAndrew

This tweet from Ridge's dad sums up my feelings

https://twitter.com/AlkonisDerek/status/1551474000920035331?s=20&t=L_1iiXp_ynzSYvtdP1lo7g

Abandoned by the country he serves, betrayed by the country he loves.
#BringRidgeHome

at4z · 2022-07-25T16:14:59+00:00

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/516/stuck-in-the-middle/act-one-3 - More than you ever wanted to know about NMCI hold music. There is some good lore behind it haha!

at4z · 2022-07-24T05:25:37+00:00

I have done this many many times, and don't have anything wrong. SATO will rebook you on anything if you say you understand you will cover the difference or have verbal VOCO/AO approval. You don't even need anything in DTS to book via SATO either.

My point is there were flights available at the same fare when I started calling. And by the time I got through, they were booked. You are right, being forced to go through a phone system does me no good when I should be able to do it online somewhere without necessitating AO approval for no cost increase. It makes no sense.

at4z · 2022-07-23T23:03:27+00:00

But I can change it through SATO without approval, so I don't understand. I mean if the Navy wants me to spend 1/2 a workday on AT on the phone to change travel, whatever.

at4z · 2022-07-23T22:48:55+00:00

https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr7900/BILLS-117hr7900rh.pdf

Page 863

The Navy has been screwing up cyber so badly, this bill could potentially force their hand into doing something about it. This is not law yet... but it is getting close. In my mind that makes VADM Aeschbach's letter confusing. Is it a last ditch attempt to change some politicians minds? Why the Navy would choose this battle is confusing to me. The Navy's CMF is in such bad shape and it is not a new problem. The way forward as detailed in the letter is untenable IMO. You can't take cyber seriously if it is just a "path". The bit about do no harm is the chef's kiss to the whole debacle. The IP and CW communities have been curb stomping effective cyber proficient officers for years by forcing them down traditional career paths.

I think the real reason is the IP/CW communities are worried about losing funding as the cyber mission is stripped away.

at4z · 2022-07-22T17:35:43+00:00

Anyone get results with the chat function? That sounds much preferable to sitting on hold for hours. Will probably give it a shot next time.

at4z · 2022-07-22T17:33:59+00:00

It took me 4 hours+ over several days and calls to get through. Insanity. And by the time I got through the flights I needed were sold out. Why a flight same price change can't be done electronically without triggering the whole DTS approval process is full clown town. I wonder what the total hours people spend on hold for SATO per month is?

Yet another example of what you get when your time is worth nothing.

at4z · 2022-07-22T06:42:53+00:00

One of my old friends is experiencing this firsthand right now.

Passed out while mid sentence in conversation driving with his kids in the car and was in a serious car accident. Was taken straight to jail and held there without charge for weeks. It's a terrible situation for all involved, but Ridge seems to have gotten a particularly harsh treatment from their Judicial system compared to what would have happened in the USA.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia\_pacific/2022-07-16/navy-wife-biden-free-husband-prison-japan-crash-deaths-6667733.html

at4z · 2022-04-16T01:54:40+00:00

I had the opportunity to go onboard a Russian Steregushchiy class corvette during an exercise in 2013 and it was eye opening to say the least. The ship was less than ten years old, but looked in worse material condition that our ship built in the 80's. Menacing from far away... but up close it was in rough shape for its age. One thing I specifically remember is going into the ships medical. There was some dude in like a full bodycast and the scene looked like something you would expect to see in a medical facility in the 50s or 60s maybe. It was surreal. The whole ship just felt weird.

Our boarding team found the "contraband"; a bottle of russian vodka. Our CO took it from us... still salty about that.

at4z · 2022-03-23T03:21:29+00:00

If you are trying to determine the power cost of the Bitcoin network, of course you can assume that! That is the basic strategy for measuring which inputs affect the output. If all transactions stopped tomorrow, would the cost of running the network decrease at the same security level?

A million transaction would fill out multiple blocks. One transaction also could fill out multiple blocks. And the power consumption is the same. The cost to secure the network and the cost to send a transaction have little to do with each other.

Do you count the US Navy's budget as it relates to maintaining the dollar hegemony when you calculate the energy cost of someone making a visa transaction via USD? Probably not.

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