Personally, I enjoyed my first 10 years of active duty. Let me start by agreeing that people should stay on active duty as long as they find it challenging and fulfilling. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. In addition to, Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. Its also important to understand how the pay and benefits work, especially if youre focused on the retirement benefits. One of the Reservists on our staff had even been a shipmate on our first submarine. I will say with Guard cut backs, many soldiers are given multiple jobs on AGR. 
The large staffs are chronically short-handed (and on short notice) while Youre. Drill for Reserve Retirement Points Only (IRR Only)., United Services Organization. The Military Wallet is a property of Three Creeks Media. At that chronically-fatigued time in my life,the fog of work made it easier to keep dragging my sorry butt into the staffs classified concrete bunker to either scramble a submarine or write a point paper. If you are called to active duty or deployed, there is a good chance that you will have to move. We might even have had to leave Hawaii for a few years. In the reserves, you will usually serve within a 90-minute drive of your home at least one weekend a month for unit training, plus a two-week field service exercise per year. However, one may apply to the Reserves and/or National Guard for a "conditional release." The content offered on The Military Wallet is for general informational purposes only and may not be relevant to any consumers specific situation, this content should not be construed as legal or financial advice. This sounds great. How Long Is a Military Deployment?, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Advertiser Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the authors alone. Active Duty vs. Reserve, 5 Things You Need to Know About Military Families, Drill for Reserve Retirement Points Only (IRR Only). Deployment does not necessarily mean going into combat. How often you get deployed, where you are deployed, and what you do during deployment depend on your military branch, your skills, and the militarys needs. I do realize my impressions are not standard for everything e.g., there are military careers that are 60-80 hour weeks and there are corporate jobs that are very worker/family friendly. The money wouldve worked out about the same, and we wouldve reached financial independence within a year or two of when we did, but our quality of life wouldve been way better.. Back then, financial independence was still traditional Social Security planning for 65-year-olds. We were perpetually overwhelmed by real-world crises with submarine missions or by the inevitable paperwork crisis du jour. National Guard companies deployed overseas may see combat, but are more often building schools and hospitals, training local peacekeepers, or teaching local farmers more efficient farming techniques and better ways to use of their land. The content on The Military Wallet is produced by Three Creeks Media, its partners, affiliates and contractors, any opinions or statements on The Military Wallet should not be attributed to the Dept.
Student loan forgiveness is a release from having to repay the borrowed sum, in full or in part. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. 2021 Monthly Basic Pay Table., U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our life immediately got awesome.
Prior-service recruits don't get all the enlistment incentives available to non-prior-service applicants (Exception: Some services offer prior-service re-enlistment bonuses for prior-service who are already qualified in certain acute shortage jobs). With very few exceptions (mostly for medical professionals), one cannot simply transfer from the Reserves/Guard to active duty. Your preferences do matter somewhat, but ultimately your specialty will be based on what the service needs, which jobs are available, your ASVAB test score, and the jobs physical requirements compared with your physical ability. References to third-party products, rates and offers may change without notice. Read this article on National Guard and Reserve retirement benefits for a full overview of how retiring from the Guard and Reserves works, how it impacts your pay, which benefits you are eligible for, Gray area benefits, and more. This post gets personal. In general, you must maintain a neat, professional, and natural appearance. Join the Military., Todays Military. You can make the finances work. That was also years beforethose researchers at Trinity University replicated Bengens results and popularized the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate. Neither The Military Wallet nor Three Creeks Media are associated with or endorsed by the U.S. (Even thats negotiable during peacetime, based on your career priorities and on federal funding.). My spouse was working alongside Reservists, too, but we only saw them once a year for their two weeks of active duty. Reserve. If an extension is required, an additional three months may be granted. When scheduled to deploy, they may have extended drill in preparation, resulting in a greater time commitment on behalf of the Service Member.
I was grossly wrong, and if Id talked with enough Reservists for a while then I would finally have figured out my errors. You will also get time off, called liberty, of 24, 48, 72, or 96 hours for weekends and holidays.
These are thing to think about for 2022 in the AGR program. But as you write, as long as you enjoy the career, know all of the options and aspects of those options, what one wants in life, save, and be debt free then youre good.
I was surrounded by Navy Reserve officers on the staff. For example, to join the Air Force, you cant be older than 39, and you must pass the Air Force Basic Military Training Fitness Test. Here is how to get student loans forgiven. I thought that if I retired from the Reserves in my 40s then my pension (at age 60) wouldve been eroded by two decades of inflation. The Guards, Reserves, and Active Duty components are all different. We wouldve had more quality family time together. Can you expound on that, or point to a place you have already expounded on these statements? I might have been mobilized to support contingency operations in Kosovo or the Middle East, and certainly after 9/11. Read your contract before you sign it. Right. This may be in times of war, in a national emergency, or as the need occurs based on threats to national security. The military will train you.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a law aimed at protecting service members financially during the time theyre serving the country.
Editorial Disclosure: Editorial content on The Military Wallet may include opinions. Im also basing this post on 15 years of forum threads and reader e-mails. We wouldve kept about the same expenses and eventually recovered our savings rate and a much higher quality of life. The Reserves and National Guard offer similar challenges & fulfillment of active duty, yet with less of the sucky parts of active duty. Thats also inthe Financial Management Regulation (DoD 7000.14-R) section 030205.A.2. We would have reached FI (at 25 x expenses) a few years later than we did, but at a half-marathon pace instead of a 1500-meter sprint. If Id joined the Reserves then I wouldve drilled until 20 total good years (active + Reserve) to earn the pension.
I could have used my graduate degree to teach at local high schools or colleges, and I couldve easily moved into the state or federal civil-service systems. The National Guard consists of the Army National Guard and the Air Force's Air National Guard.
Youll get the unrefuseable offer from the chain of command or your assignment officer. I was not just ignorant about the Reserves and National Guard but even more ignorant about building a civilian career. Its tough thinking about sticking it out to 57. Deployment often lasts six to 12 months. Now you should track down those Reserve & Guard members in your area (of any rank) and learn how they do it. Im confident about this because those are the same job offers that I received when I retired from active duty, and a lot of the offers came through those same Reservists. My last 2 positions we were also understaffed and worked 50 to 60 hour weeks. What Is the High Year of Tenure in the U.S. Military? Three Creeks Media, LLC 2022. If the applicant is certified in a job that is not currently in need by the active duty service they are trying to join, or if they have a job that does not cross-relate to the service they are trying to join, only then may they enlist into a different job.
2. Back then the bookYour Money Or Your Life had just been published. It is an auxiliary of the Navy and during wartime can be called to deliver troops and war material. As with the Reserve, the National Guard requires training drills one weekend a month and two weeks per year. Active Duty vs. or National Guard agrees to release you from the remainder of your commitmentif you are accepted for enlistment or appointment to an active duty service component. It is not the bank advertisers responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I asked them a few questions about their billets, pay, & pensions yet I never really made the time to learn about the system. Sick time must be approved by medical personnel but is not counted against your leave time.
Its more likely that they will be activated, which means filling in for active-duty service members who are deployed. You cant easily break your commitment, and doing so has serious consequences.
Topics include: Posted In: Active Duty Guard/Reserves Military Careers.
But they are working long weeks with limited time off, their pay is impacted by health care and not realizing that $130k in CA is the same as $70k in Denver with a better lifestyle But they get great discounts on Apple products. Exception: Some Army Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers who are currently activated can apply for direct transfer to active duty. Both part- and full-time duty offer many benefits, but these come with the potential for major sacrifices that will affect both you and your loved ones, so its a decision to consider carefully. According to Blue Star Families, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening military families, being deployed or called to active duty from the reserves can result in job loss, reduced hours or pay, lost training or promotion opportunities, and other negative consequences in spite of federal laws that are supposed to protect service members against these negative consequences. Please switch auto forms mode to off. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. I dread the slog that years 12 through 20 will bring and the separation it will cause from my family.
Make sure you understand the full scope of your commitment. Noordman retired in 2002 and wrote "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement" to share the stories of over 50 other financially independent servicemembers, veterans, and families. No tables, rankings or lists are fully comprehensive and do not include all companies or available products. A typical active-duty service term lasts eight years: four years of active duty and four years of inactive duty. Military Grooming Guidelines: Know Before You Go., Military OneSource.
What happens If You Go AWOL from National Guard and Reserves. OIF/OEF/OND have been the largest and longest lasting mobilization of the Reserve and National Guard since the Korean War.
Active duty is full-time service in the U.S. armed forces; reserve duty is part time. Today I know that within five years after leaving active duty, my total compensation (Reserve/Guard drills + civilian earnings) wouldve been higher than my active-duty pay & benefits. We learned all of these details when (a year before I retired) my spouse hit a career speedbump and left active duty for the Reserves. This is what I wrestle with the most. Unfortunately, prior-service candidates are among the lowest on the recruiting priority totem pole. My question has to do specifically withone of the closing paragraphs in your last post on the BRS: I shouldve left active duty for the Reserves at the 12-year point (when we started a family and my career priorities changed). You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. So you want to join the military. Retirement Saving and Investing for Military Personnel, Personal Finance Guide for Military Service Members and Families, Joining the Military: Active Duty vs. Reserves, Financial Challenges for LGBTQ+ Service Members and Their Families, What You Need to Know About Military Family Finances, Special Tax Breaks for Members of the Military, Financial Planning Tips and Resources for Veterans. The best time to save for financial independence was yesterday. For some servicemembers, the National Guard might be a better deal than the Reserves. Military Leave: What It Is and How It Works., ASVB Program. You will live on or near a military installation. In retrospect, a real job wouldve been straightforward even easy. Our commands were also filled with active-duty junior servicemembers who were separating at 8-12 years of service, and older ones who were retiring at 20-30 years. Regardless, the official process is still long. If a ranking or list has a company noted to be a partner the indicated company is a corporate affiliate of The Military Wallet. I might have struggled to figure out what I wanted to do with my life as the Navy bounced my spouse from one homeport to another. (Today, Im on Bills side.) Noordman donates 100% of the revenue from his book sales to military-friendly charities. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides education benefits to military veterans who have taken part in active-duty service after Sept. 10, 2001. (Theyre not based on the pay tables in effect when you apply for retirement.). The first couple years would have been a big dip in paychecks and a huge disruption on the homefront, but we wouldve figured it out. Some Guard billets work with state civil-service and government staffs. Departments of Defense or Veterans Affairs. You can expect to move every two to three years. Today Ive been retired from active duty for over 15 years and Im still getting a job offer every year or two and these offers are coming from outside of my robust network of personal-finance bloggers & entrepreneurs. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). Dont Gut It Out To 20: Leave Active Duty For The Reserves Or National Guard. On active duty, you may have a say in where you live, but ultimately, the government will station you wherever it needs you, which could be in the United States or overseas. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. When I realized how the pension actually worked, I knew that gutting it out to 20 on active duty had been a mistake.
You also earn base pay for basic training. Is It Possible to Enlist Again If You Have Prior Service? Here are the major requirements and benefits of each. Sure, life would have still been complicated. I have owned your book for a few years and dig into the blog content on occasion. I didnt know it back then, but (like many Pearl Harbor submariners) when I showed up at my drill weekends I wouldve eventually been offered a contractor or civil-service job on that same staff as a tactical development officer. IRS Publication 3 Armed Forces' Tax Guide covers how and when active U.S. military service personnel should file their tax returns. Reserve-duty service members have much more say in where they live and what kind of work they do full time than active-duty service members do. Thats when I started reading everything I could find about Reserve pensions & benefits. Specifically: How would the money have worked out the same in the Reserves vs active duty? There are still deployments, but theyre at a slower cycle (perhaps one-out-of-five) instead of every other year. Even if youre still feeling challenged & fulfilled by active duty today, its worth learning about the alternatives now. You have skills. Any opinions are those of the author alone, and not those of an advertiser to the site nor of The Military Wallet. What's the Minimum Amount of Time You Can Enlist in the Military? You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our. But if it becomes too much, consider joining the National Guard or Reserves to continue your military career and earn your retirement benefits. But would Reserve life have been as stressful as the dual-military active-duty life that we dealt with for another decade? Then they offered me jobs with their civilian employers.
Whether you sign up for active duty or the reserves, youll be legally bound to complete your minimum service requirement. Joining the Military as a Reservist: Eligibility, Obligation and Benefits.
Enlisting in the Military., Military OneSource. I wouldve had other opportunities to go back on active duty for 30-179 days at the submarine staff or Pacific Fleet headquarters or PACOM. How Old Can You Be to Enlist in the Military?
The base pay for the lowest level officer, 0-1 ensign, is almost $3,400 in 2021. "What's the Difference? I was familiar with inflation and healthcare expenses but I didnt make the time to learn how the Reserve pension handled those issues. You could then attend Officer Candidate School or advanced individual training if your job requires it. Doug Noordman is a United States Navy submarine force veteran with 20 years of service. National Guard members are given Veteran status if they have served for 30 consecutive days in a war zone. National Guard armories are generally closer to home (for drill weekends) and there are opportunities for state-funded orders as well as federal ones. Reserve-duty service members (excluding individual ready reservists) earn partial benefits. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. You could leave active duty straight to total civilian, too. Its way more nuanced than that. On the civilian side I would have networked my shipmates for nuclear work at shipyard or an electrical utility career at HECO. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. We sacrificed some dollars but up[on retirement we chose where to live and I was able to take a job that didnt pay much but allowed me to do things like coach my kids, drive school team buses, etc. Take some time to learn more about the service requirements. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts.
The large staffs are chronically short-handed (and on short notice) while Youre. Drill for Reserve Retirement Points Only (IRR Only)., United Services Organization. The Military Wallet is a property of Three Creeks Media. At that chronically-fatigued time in my life,the fog of work made it easier to keep dragging my sorry butt into the staffs classified concrete bunker to either scramble a submarine or write a point paper. If you are called to active duty or deployed, there is a good chance that you will have to move. We might even have had to leave Hawaii for a few years. In the reserves, you will usually serve within a 90-minute drive of your home at least one weekend a month for unit training, plus a two-week field service exercise per year. However, one may apply to the Reserves and/or National Guard for a "conditional release." The content offered on The Military Wallet is for general informational purposes only and may not be relevant to any consumers specific situation, this content should not be construed as legal or financial advice. This sounds great. How Long Is a Military Deployment?, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Advertiser Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the authors alone. Active Duty vs. Reserve, 5 Things You Need to Know About Military Families, Drill for Reserve Retirement Points Only (IRR Only). Deployment does not necessarily mean going into combat. How often you get deployed, where you are deployed, and what you do during deployment depend on your military branch, your skills, and the militarys needs. I do realize my impressions are not standard for everything e.g., there are military careers that are 60-80 hour weeks and there are corporate jobs that are very worker/family friendly. The money wouldve worked out about the same, and we wouldve reached financial independence within a year or two of when we did, but our quality of life wouldve been way better.. Back then, financial independence was still traditional Social Security planning for 65-year-olds. We were perpetually overwhelmed by real-world crises with submarine missions or by the inevitable paperwork crisis du jour. National Guard companies deployed overseas may see combat, but are more often building schools and hospitals, training local peacekeepers, or teaching local farmers more efficient farming techniques and better ways to use of their land. The content on The Military Wallet is produced by Three Creeks Media, its partners, affiliates and contractors, any opinions or statements on The Military Wallet should not be attributed to the Dept. Student loan forgiveness is a release from having to repay the borrowed sum, in full or in part. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. 2021 Monthly Basic Pay Table., U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our life immediately got awesome.
Prior-service recruits don't get all the enlistment incentives available to non-prior-service applicants (Exception: Some services offer prior-service re-enlistment bonuses for prior-service who are already qualified in certain acute shortage jobs). With very few exceptions (mostly for medical professionals), one cannot simply transfer from the Reserves/Guard to active duty. Your preferences do matter somewhat, but ultimately your specialty will be based on what the service needs, which jobs are available, your ASVAB test score, and the jobs physical requirements compared with your physical ability. References to third-party products, rates and offers may change without notice. Read this article on National Guard and Reserve retirement benefits for a full overview of how retiring from the Guard and Reserves works, how it impacts your pay, which benefits you are eligible for, Gray area benefits, and more. This post gets personal. In general, you must maintain a neat, professional, and natural appearance. Join the Military., Todays Military. You can make the finances work. That was also years beforethose researchers at Trinity University replicated Bengens results and popularized the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate. Neither The Military Wallet nor Three Creeks Media are associated with or endorsed by the U.S. (Even thats negotiable during peacetime, based on your career priorities and on federal funding.). My spouse was working alongside Reservists, too, but we only saw them once a year for their two weeks of active duty. Reserve. If an extension is required, an additional three months may be granted. When scheduled to deploy, they may have extended drill in preparation, resulting in a greater time commitment on behalf of the Service Member.
I was grossly wrong, and if Id talked with enough Reservists for a while then I would finally have figured out my errors. You will also get time off, called liberty, of 24, 48, 72, or 96 hours for weekends and holidays.
These are thing to think about for 2022 in the AGR program. But as you write, as long as you enjoy the career, know all of the options and aspects of those options, what one wants in life, save, and be debt free then youre good. I was surrounded by Navy Reserve officers on the staff. For example, to join the Air Force, you cant be older than 39, and you must pass the Air Force Basic Military Training Fitness Test. Here is how to get student loans forgiven. I thought that if I retired from the Reserves in my 40s then my pension (at age 60) wouldve been eroded by two decades of inflation. The Guards, Reserves, and Active Duty components are all different. We wouldve had more quality family time together. Can you expound on that, or point to a place you have already expounded on these statements? I might have been mobilized to support contingency operations in Kosovo or the Middle East, and certainly after 9/11. Read your contract before you sign it. Right. This may be in times of war, in a national emergency, or as the need occurs based on threats to national security. The military will train you.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a law aimed at protecting service members financially during the time theyre serving the country.
Editorial Disclosure: Editorial content on The Military Wallet may include opinions. Im also basing this post on 15 years of forum threads and reader e-mails. We wouldve kept about the same expenses and eventually recovered our savings rate and a much higher quality of life. The Reserves and National Guard offer similar challenges & fulfillment of active duty, yet with less of the sucky parts of active duty. Thats also inthe Financial Management Regulation (DoD 7000.14-R) section 030205.A.2. We would have reached FI (at 25 x expenses) a few years later than we did, but at a half-marathon pace instead of a 1500-meter sprint. If Id joined the Reserves then I wouldve drilled until 20 total good years (active + Reserve) to earn the pension.
I could have used my graduate degree to teach at local high schools or colleges, and I couldve easily moved into the state or federal civil-service systems. The National Guard consists of the Army National Guard and the Air Force's Air National Guard.
Youll get the unrefuseable offer from the chain of command or your assignment officer. I was not just ignorant about the Reserves and National Guard but even more ignorant about building a civilian career. Its tough thinking about sticking it out to 57. Deployment often lasts six to 12 months. Now you should track down those Reserve & Guard members in your area (of any rank) and learn how they do it. Im confident about this because those are the same job offers that I received when I retired from active duty, and a lot of the offers came through those same Reservists. My last 2 positions we were also understaffed and worked 50 to 60 hour weeks. What Is the High Year of Tenure in the U.S. Military? Three Creeks Media, LLC 2022. If the applicant is certified in a job that is not currently in need by the active duty service they are trying to join, or if they have a job that does not cross-relate to the service they are trying to join, only then may they enlist into a different job.
2. Back then the bookYour Money Or Your Life had just been published. It is an auxiliary of the Navy and during wartime can be called to deliver troops and war material. As with the Reserve, the National Guard requires training drills one weekend a month and two weeks per year. Active Duty vs. or National Guard agrees to release you from the remainder of your commitmentif you are accepted for enlistment or appointment to an active duty service component. It is not the bank advertisers responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I asked them a few questions about their billets, pay, & pensions yet I never really made the time to learn about the system. Sick time must be approved by medical personnel but is not counted against your leave time.
Its more likely that they will be activated, which means filling in for active-duty service members who are deployed. You cant easily break your commitment, and doing so has serious consequences.
Topics include: Posted In: Active Duty Guard/Reserves Military Careers.
But they are working long weeks with limited time off, their pay is impacted by health care and not realizing that $130k in CA is the same as $70k in Denver with a better lifestyle But they get great discounts on Apple products. Exception: Some Army Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers who are currently activated can apply for direct transfer to active duty. Both part- and full-time duty offer many benefits, but these come with the potential for major sacrifices that will affect both you and your loved ones, so its a decision to consider carefully. According to Blue Star Families, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening military families, being deployed or called to active duty from the reserves can result in job loss, reduced hours or pay, lost training or promotion opportunities, and other negative consequences in spite of federal laws that are supposed to protect service members against these negative consequences. Please switch auto forms mode to off. We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. I dread the slog that years 12 through 20 will bring and the separation it will cause from my family.
Make sure you understand the full scope of your commitment. Noordman retired in 2002 and wrote "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement" to share the stories of over 50 other financially independent servicemembers, veterans, and families. No tables, rankings or lists are fully comprehensive and do not include all companies or available products. A typical active-duty service term lasts eight years: four years of active duty and four years of inactive duty. Military Grooming Guidelines: Know Before You Go., Military OneSource.
What happens If You Go AWOL from National Guard and Reserves. OIF/OEF/OND have been the largest and longest lasting mobilization of the Reserve and National Guard since the Korean War.
Active duty is full-time service in the U.S. armed forces; reserve duty is part time. Today I know that within five years after leaving active duty, my total compensation (Reserve/Guard drills + civilian earnings) wouldve been higher than my active-duty pay & benefits. We learned all of these details when (a year before I retired) my spouse hit a career speedbump and left active duty for the Reserves. This is what I wrestle with the most. Unfortunately, prior-service candidates are among the lowest on the recruiting priority totem pole. My question has to do specifically withone of the closing paragraphs in your last post on the BRS: I shouldve left active duty for the Reserves at the 12-year point (when we started a family and my career priorities changed). You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. So you want to join the military. Retirement Saving and Investing for Military Personnel, Personal Finance Guide for Military Service Members and Families, Joining the Military: Active Duty vs. Reserves, Financial Challenges for LGBTQ+ Service Members and Their Families, What You Need to Know About Military Family Finances, Special Tax Breaks for Members of the Military, Financial Planning Tips and Resources for Veterans. The best time to save for financial independence was yesterday. For some servicemembers, the National Guard might be a better deal than the Reserves. Military Leave: What It Is and How It Works., ASVB Program. You will live on or near a military installation. In retrospect, a real job wouldve been straightforward even easy. Our commands were also filled with active-duty junior servicemembers who were separating at 8-12 years of service, and older ones who were retiring at 20-30 years. Regardless, the official process is still long. If a ranking or list has a company noted to be a partner the indicated company is a corporate affiliate of The Military Wallet. I might have struggled to figure out what I wanted to do with my life as the Navy bounced my spouse from one homeport to another. (Today, Im on Bills side.) Noordman donates 100% of the revenue from his book sales to military-friendly charities. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides education benefits to military veterans who have taken part in active-duty service after Sept. 10, 2001. (Theyre not based on the pay tables in effect when you apply for retirement.). The first couple years would have been a big dip in paychecks and a huge disruption on the homefront, but we wouldve figured it out. Some Guard billets work with state civil-service and government staffs. Departments of Defense or Veterans Affairs. You can expect to move every two to three years. Today Ive been retired from active duty for over 15 years and Im still getting a job offer every year or two and these offers are coming from outside of my robust network of personal-finance bloggers & entrepreneurs. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). Dont Gut It Out To 20: Leave Active Duty For The Reserves Or National Guard. On active duty, you may have a say in where you live, but ultimately, the government will station you wherever it needs you, which could be in the United States or overseas. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. When I realized how the pension actually worked, I knew that gutting it out to 20 on active duty had been a mistake.
You also earn base pay for basic training. Is It Possible to Enlist Again If You Have Prior Service? Here are the major requirements and benefits of each. Sure, life would have still been complicated. I have owned your book for a few years and dig into the blog content on occasion. I didnt know it back then, but (like many Pearl Harbor submariners) when I showed up at my drill weekends I wouldve eventually been offered a contractor or civil-service job on that same staff as a tactical development officer. IRS Publication 3 Armed Forces' Tax Guide covers how and when active U.S. military service personnel should file their tax returns. Reserve-duty service members have much more say in where they live and what kind of work they do full time than active-duty service members do. Thats when I started reading everything I could find about Reserve pensions & benefits. Specifically: How would the money have worked out the same in the Reserves vs active duty? There are still deployments, but theyre at a slower cycle (perhaps one-out-of-five) instead of every other year. Even if youre still feeling challenged & fulfilled by active duty today, its worth learning about the alternatives now. You have skills. Any opinions are those of the author alone, and not those of an advertiser to the site nor of The Military Wallet. What's the Minimum Amount of Time You Can Enlist in the Military? You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our. But if it becomes too much, consider joining the National Guard or Reserves to continue your military career and earn your retirement benefits. But would Reserve life have been as stressful as the dual-military active-duty life that we dealt with for another decade? Then they offered me jobs with their civilian employers.
Whether you sign up for active duty or the reserves, youll be legally bound to complete your minimum service requirement. Joining the Military as a Reservist: Eligibility, Obligation and Benefits.
Enlisting in the Military., Military OneSource. I wouldve had other opportunities to go back on active duty for 30-179 days at the submarine staff or Pacific Fleet headquarters or PACOM. How Old Can You Be to Enlist in the Military?
The base pay for the lowest level officer, 0-1 ensign, is almost $3,400 in 2021. "What's the Difference? I was familiar with inflation and healthcare expenses but I didnt make the time to learn how the Reserve pension handled those issues. You could then attend Officer Candidate School or advanced individual training if your job requires it. Doug Noordman is a United States Navy submarine force veteran with 20 years of service. National Guard members are given Veteran status if they have served for 30 consecutive days in a war zone. National Guard armories are generally closer to home (for drill weekends) and there are opportunities for state-funded orders as well as federal ones. Reserve-duty service members (excluding individual ready reservists) earn partial benefits. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. You could leave active duty straight to total civilian, too. Its way more nuanced than that. On the civilian side I would have networked my shipmates for nuclear work at shipyard or an electrical utility career at HECO. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. We sacrificed some dollars but up[on retirement we chose where to live and I was able to take a job that didnt pay much but allowed me to do things like coach my kids, drive school team buses, etc. Take some time to learn more about the service requirements. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts.