To join a reserve component, should it be a required to serve X amount of active duty time first?

I would have to disagree with this. I am a retired National Guard member. I spent over 30 years in the Guard in a Artillery unit. During my time I was not called to active duty but during that time I saw some well trained soldiers in this unit. After I retired the unit I served in was called in to service in Afghanistan. Some of them did not make it home. I would never have considered them any less a soldier then someone who was full time active duty. I currently have a son who is a Captain in Germany and a daughter who is a LT in the National Guard. I consider them both good soldiers in the Army.. There is times that a person cannot serve full time but can still serve their Country

I would have to say NO. I spent 10 year AD before I went to the NG for a year and then to the reserves. I had a lot of biases when I first transitioned and it is very difficult to shut off the military mind, but when I depolyed with the reserve unit I realised that they do know their job and so have the discipline to perform. Like many others have said the m-day or TPU soliders bring their civilian experience to the work place also. Now are they all the best disciplined soldier no but I do know I had more issues from my AC soldiers than I have ever had from my traditional reservist. I am now AGR and have been for 6 years and I love it. The reservist have the experience and deployments needed to perform the same if not better than the AC counterparts. As for the mentality some are just more laid back and as long as the mission is getting accomplished there is nothing wrong with that leadership style.

I have served on Active Duty 12 years and currently have 5.5 years as a Reservist. Realistically, to truly understand the reasons why Reservists and National Guardsmen have the reputation, you would have to be a member. It would not be feasible and truly defeats the purpose to have a mandatory active duty requirement. It is extremely difficult to maintain a unit of part time military members with the exact same medical, physical and training standards as and active duty unit. Coming from the active side can give you a solid knowledge base however, that does not guarantee that you wouldn't be an oxygen thief and or dirtbag. I have met extraordinarily professional and knowledgeable individuals who have 100% reserve duty but would hold up to any active duty member and I have met Active Duty members who don't meet the standard. I have reduced and removed individuals from both Active and Reserve. There are reservist who have multiple deployments and active duty members who have none. It is not fair to compare and then denigrate them. The balance of the reserve requirements, family, school and work wears very heavily and there should be more respect given to them. It's the responsibility of the leadership and individual Soldiers to uphold the standards and provide clear mentorship to Soldiers in both active and reserve. It starts from the top. To be absolutely honestly, if I had stayed active, I'd probably still have the perception that most active duty have about the reserves.

My respect factor has skyrocketed substantially.

Fully agree w/ SMSgt posting. Reservists bring civilian skills that only-ever-been-active-duty folks can't hope to replicate. I commanded a USAR Supply Company, under a Supply & Services Bn HQ. The Bn Cdr was VP Technical Services for California Portland Cement & a PhD p/t prof at a college, the XO was a City Planner, the S3 a Support Functions manager for a manufacturing company the SP4 Legal Clerk had just graduated law school & passed the bar exam... And so it goes. The active-duty CPT who was my unit evaluator was blown away.

First of all, what experience do you have in the reserves? Or did you mean this post for reserve and national guard?

I don't feel you have truly been exposed to what the Reserves has to offer. On drill weekends a month of active duty training has to be shoved into 2-4 days. Leadership has a lot to do with motivation, urgency, and training. Different units have different priorities and mission functions. If you are not comfortable in your current unit put in a request to transfer - try another unit out. There are some very high speed, capable, and competent units out there.

I've been in the Reserves almost 12 years and have worked with some great people. I have served in a few units that were a little more relaxed on customs and courtesies, but they made up for it in skill sets.

A rule to be active duty prior to reserve/guard membership would significantly reduce our forces. The reserve/guard purpose is a on-call/backup for active duty; in a way preventing the draft. These individuals that serve a Citizen Soldiers are provided the same initial training as active duty and are on standby in the even more troops are needed. The added benefit is education and hands on experience in a vast variety of jobs. 1 reservist/guardsman may be the equivalent of 2-4 different active duty jobs.

I'm not quite sure a mandatory Active Duty period would do much in regards to discipline or experience. Many Reservists and Guard have deployed numerous times.

Disciplinary problems and lack of experience aren't exclusive to the reserve components. Actually, the most lazy soldiers I have ever had the displeasure to meet were in my AD unit. I'd take one reserve component SM over three of those guys any day.

I think the problem lies in the lack of enforcement of standards. It's a leadership fail, no matter what the status. Throughout my career, I have known soldiers who have never served in a traditional "full-time" unit, but they knew their stuff and I'd bet my retirement on the fact that no AD soldier would know the difference.

That PVT, right out of Basic and AIT won't know either, so we have a choice to teach him or her how to be one of those soldiers.

I've spent 7 years in the Army National Guard. I started as an Intel Analyst. I went on to deploy with 20th SFG. I went to Airborne School after the deployment. I later transferred to an Infantry unit. I got reclassed to Infantry. I graduated Army Sniper School and became a team leader in the Sniper Section. I'm back in Intel right now. I must be undisciplined. I must have no respect for superiors or traditions. Yup, I should've gone active duty first.

No the Minute Men were founded on a reserve based force.

I say one full term

I know plenty of guys who've been in the guard their whole career who are every bit of job competent as the active duty soldiers I worked with. As with anything it just depends on the soldier in question.