Posted on Jan 4, 2019
As a reservist, am I required to work 12 days straight during training?
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I'm going to start my on-the-job training soon for my job, and I have spoken to my unit a couple times about what I'll be doing. I have roughly six months of training where I'll be working full time, and I have a few concerns I was wondering about.
Firstly, my NCO told me to bring lunches to work as I won't be allowed to take full ones. I've heard of this happening in dire situations, but is this normal? I just got out of tech school so I'm unaware of most of the norms on the flightline but this seems pretty crazy to me - I've always been allowed to have a lunch at any job I've worked (even the really bad ones).
Secondly, they told me I will still have to work my UTA weekends while I do my full time status. In addition, since I am working full time I won't be paid for my UTA weekends! Essentially I'll have to work 12 days straight once a month, and I won't be getting paid for the weekend duty. They justified it by telling me "when you work normally in the reserves you do 5 days a week at school/job anyways with a weekend duty, so think of it that way".
After I spoke to my unit I was pretty shaken, and I wonder what I've gotten myself into by agreeing to do my follow-on training. Is this normal for on-the-job training, and should I even bother speaking to my NCO about this? I'm brand new so I don't want to cause much trouble but it seems like my job is going to be miserable for the next 6 months and I'm pretty concerned about it.
Firstly, my NCO told me to bring lunches to work as I won't be allowed to take full ones. I've heard of this happening in dire situations, but is this normal? I just got out of tech school so I'm unaware of most of the norms on the flightline but this seems pretty crazy to me - I've always been allowed to have a lunch at any job I've worked (even the really bad ones).
Secondly, they told me I will still have to work my UTA weekends while I do my full time status. In addition, since I am working full time I won't be paid for my UTA weekends! Essentially I'll have to work 12 days straight once a month, and I won't be getting paid for the weekend duty. They justified it by telling me "when you work normally in the reserves you do 5 days a week at school/job anyways with a weekend duty, so think of it that way".
After I spoke to my unit I was pretty shaken, and I wonder what I've gotten myself into by agreeing to do my follow-on training. Is this normal for on-the-job training, and should I even bother speaking to my NCO about this? I'm brand new so I don't want to cause much trouble but it seems like my job is going to be miserable for the next 6 months and I'm pretty concerned about it.
Posted in these groups: 
On-The-Job Training (OJT)
On-The-Job Training (OJT)
Edited 6 y ago
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 13
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If you were a typica M-Day reservist who had full time civilian employment worked M-F then had a drill weekend. You would then have to work M-F again with no day off so it is essentially the same. AGR reservists don’t get paid for the drill weekend that they work.
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SrA (Join to see)
Not sure if I agree with those statements sir, but I appreciate the reply. The active reservists at my unit don't work drill weekends (they just have to check in saturday morning with the UTA supervisor), my main concern was that during training they don't allow us to have this same option.
Regardless I appreciate the input and I see your point of view from the civilian side. Thank you for the response sir.
Regardless I appreciate the input and I see your point of view from the civilian side. Thank you for the response sir.
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CW3 Kim B.
AGR reservists get paid whether they work the weekend or not since they are on AD. TPU or M-day reservists receive 4 days of pay for a normal drill weekend (MUTA 4). IMHO A1C Parks should try to make up his drill weekends every month while he is on, what appears to be, 12 day AD orders per month.
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Sure, it won't be easy, but yes, this is not really that uncommon. I remember starting my career after law school thinking, "Oh my goodness, I won't get a summer vacation now??" Of course, now I chuckle at how naive I was then, and have adjusted to civilian and National Guard life.
This is good preparation for high optempo environments where you might be working every day, like a deployment. The military is tough, but you are compensated fairly, and have a very important duty. A lot of us have eaten many a lunch "on-the-go", at our desk, or whatever it took to get the mission done. (Even in our civilian jobs). It's all part of a challenging and rewarding career. Good luck, and stay positive - may I suggest saving a little of that tax-free BAH you're probably getting and take a little vacation when your orders are up?
This is good preparation for high optempo environments where you might be working every day, like a deployment. The military is tough, but you are compensated fairly, and have a very important duty. A lot of us have eaten many a lunch "on-the-go", at our desk, or whatever it took to get the mission done. (Even in our civilian jobs). It's all part of a challenging and rewarding career. Good luck, and stay positive - may I suggest saving a little of that tax-free BAH you're probably getting and take a little vacation when your orders are up?
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SrA (Join to see)
Thank you sir, I appreciate the help and the positive outlook. I'm used to working 6-7 day weeks juggling school and full-time work, so I'm sure it will end up being fine. I was just wondering how normal it is to work 12 days straight or not take a lunch during a 10-12 hour shift. It seems like this happens more regularly than I thought, I just wasn't aware of that. During tech school we worked 12+ hour days but we always had weekends off and pretty regular breaks, so I wasn't sure how different it is on the flightline.
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