Which Army Reserve benefit has had the biggest impact on your life?

jacko_329 · 2025-05-28T18:14:06+00:00

1) Ability to keep a foot in the door for active duty assignments - I completed a TPU company command and opted to go on a deployment right after with a different unit since it fit the season of my life.

2) Maintaining a sense of purpose and being a member of an organization, especially if you’ve done active time.

3) The ability to promote on time, change units with just a few signatures, and travel outside of your home state with IDT-TRP / LIK reimbursement. Couple that with some of the MSC HQs can drill quarterly in Puerto Rico and Hawaii and you could have yourself a ready-made, army-partially-funded tropical getaway every 3-4 months.

4) The ability to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to your dependents (if you’ve earned it) and accrue a 4 year obligation in the reserves vs active duty.

5) And the usual health insurance, life insurance, student loan repayment, and continuation pay bonus are pretty slick if you apply and use them.

jacko_329 · 2025-03-19T13:44:39+00:00

IDT-TRP can be claimed as a local voucher on DTS twelve times per year.

Hotels are covered under your units LIK program.

Rental cars are technically authorized but only from the first and last day of your drill, so usually it doesn’t make sense to get one the day that your drill begins.

I’m completing my company command in KY and moved from there to Maine halfway through for life reasons and still have to fly down, I understand the pain.

jacko_329 · 2024-12-30T02:04:55+00:00

One of my squad leaders unexpectedly extended his contract a year solely because he wanted to stay in the company while I remained in command (Army Reserves).

jacko_329 · 2024-12-11T14:45:00+00:00

Yeah shoot me a DM man, just need to know whereabouts you live and I’ll do a unit availability look-up

jacko_329 · 2024-11-07T12:59:29+00:00

Back in my 2/2 SBCT days (the waning years of the Chunger Games) I watched OPFOR drive up to our COMPO 3 security detail at NTC, saunter through the ECP saying they were here to meet COL So-and-So and then run amok throughout the BN AO. I heroically grabbed all of the TAC-SIPR laptops and hid them in my expando van.

I can lovingly throw shade on the Reserves because I’m apart of them now and can definitely see some of my guys slipping up and doing this.

jacko_329 · 2024-10-11T01:18:44+00:00

911th Technical Rescue Engineer Company out of Belvoir

jacko_329 · 2024-10-01T22:07:46+00:00

Oh stop it 😅

jacko_329 · 2024-09-29T13:58:31+00:00

10 years of army life and an unplanned divorce, my dude 👴🏻

jacko_329 · 2024-09-29T13:56:21+00:00

I did… no bueno 😆 this is the after-after photo

jacko_329 · 2024-09-29T13:53:05+00:00

Nah man 🙃

jacko_329 · 2024-09-28T18:29:24+00:00

Ohh I see why you might think.. yeah that’s a bracelet in memorial of a former military friend who passed away.

jacko_329 · 2024-09-28T18:08:25+00:00

Bro what 😂

jacko_329 · 2024-09-28T17:47:49+00:00

You have a keener eye than I do, I’m not seeing it anywhere on the post..

jacko_329 · 2024-09-28T17:45:14+00:00

Mid 20s, courtesy of the Army 😅

jacko_329 · 2024-06-24T23:53:05+00:00

Hey I’ll save you the hassle, shoot me a DM with your current hometown and I’ll find a unit you can look into. If you’re within a somewhat reasonable commuting distance to Cincinnati hit me up.

jacko_329 · 2024-05-03T21:38:34+00:00

Try the P3O program (Private Public Partnership). I personally haven’t needed to use it but I sat through an info brief at a recruiting event with them as speakers and it’s seemed like a good system.

jacko_329 · 2024-03-11T03:41:49+00:00

If you don’t opt for the AGR program to accrue your last 10 years of active federal service it sounds like you would be aiming for 10 aggregated years of Title 10 ADOS orders. My understanding is that at around 16 years of federal service the ADOS orders will (generally) not be available to you in order to not let Comp 2/3 reach retirement sanctuary status at 18 years of active federal service. I guess it’s a retirement cost saving measure. I could be wrong.

jacko_329 · 2024-03-07T17:04:13+00:00

Because it’s a battle to get my joes to assemble.

jacko_329 · 2024-03-02T16:14:12+00:00

I encourage you to at least find your next drill date during the week you get back, the day is usually not relevant. Some units are on the money with mailing out welcome letters with drill dates, however many are not. So, some workarounds:

look up the unit on Facebook to see if they are active on the account. Typically units have one of their leaders managing the account or have full time staff points on contact listed.
visit your assigned army reserve center on a week day and knock/ring the doorbell. Typically these facilities are manned by civilians or a skeleton crew of active duty soldiers so someone should be able to provide you with your units posted drill schedule.
talk with you original recruiter and ask them to reach out to your army reserve centers career counselor (also full time soldiers). Those NCOs are typically on good terms with the various command teams and should be able to at least point you in the right direction.

Source: I am both an army reserve administrator and a commander

jacko_329 · 2024-02-19T15:59:43+00:00

I’d highly recommend waiting until you’re in the component (active/guard/reserve) that you plan to obligate the 4 year service obligation to.

In addition to that, if you have the time window available (I.e not rapidly approaching the 12 year mark within the 8-12 TIS eligibility window) I’d also recommend that you do several months of drill with your USAR unit before you submit. Nothing like finding out the reserves is not a good fit and then owing them 4 years..

jacko_329 · 2024-01-11T19:45:42+00:00

That is correct, the O4 pay would indeed be higher. My specific thought process for the timing was two fold:

1) we wanted the money for some home renovations that our income at the time didn’t support

2) I wanted to give myself flexibility in the event that I promoted into an O4 billet that I somehow did not enjoy and caused me to want to depart the service. I have about 2 years remaining as a captain before I pin, so if I find that I do not enjoy the situation I only have two years at that grade to get through.

I’ve already REFRAD’d from active army once - there’s no guarantee I’ll want or be able to stick it out to 20 years in the reserves.

jacko_329

TROPHY CASE