Transitioning to USAR. Advice?

Be prepared for a culture shock

Don't have to shave every day!

The only true challenging part is finding the right civilian job the rest fell into line after that part was worked out, it took several attempts to find a right fit for me. The reserve is a different animal ingenuity is valued over experience and most weekends are just boring. Expect to make small changes over time not a dramatic revolution when you transition and you'll do great.

Sir, I've always been Reserve. Done a few mobilizations, had some fun, then gone back to TPU land. The one complaint from guys that come off of active duty that I hear frequently is that there is nothing to do. Most of what we do is just mandatory training unless you're being deployed. The Reserve is a good way to keep serving, make some extra cash, get the benefits, but it is generally just two days a month, two weeks in the summer.

Sir, I think it entirely depends on the unit you are going into. It was very difficult for me to make that transition.

Pros:
-Supplemental income to civilian pay
-Missions, training, military structure
-Continuing to serve
-Buyback option for active time for federal civil service
-2 retirements/pensions
-Potential for mobilizations (if you want to mob)
-No late nights or early mornings putting out fires

Cons:
-Most of my unit's Soldiers don't have the same mentality as the AC
-Everything the command wants/needs is pushed as something that needs immediate attention
-Though it is reserve duty, the expectation is to be available constantly
-Most unit members aren't regularly available/responsive
-Communication could use improvement
-Balancing duties with civilian job
-Easy to gain weight if you don't PT regularly and eat well
-Potential for mobilizations (if you don't want to mob)

All that said, I belong to a Legal Operations Detachment, not an imbed unit, so some of these may not be issues for those that are assigned to an imbed unit. Given the opportunity, I would definitely transfer to an imbed unit. Unfortunately, slots are few and far between for senior NCOs in my MOS.

Find a good unit, ask questions. Go to a BA weekend and see for yourself. If you are in the SW, I'm in the 301st MI BN (Phoenix) should you be interested in becoming an MI officer. We are the cream of the crop in the MI world, active or reserve.

The biggest thing is to keep an open mind sir. Regardless of the fact that we are suppose to be one army (AD,NG, and USAR), all do things differently. When I came out of active in 1989 and joined my reserve unit I thought I was reliving the 60's. Long hair, earrings while in uniform..etc..Well a year later we were mobilized to Ft McCoy for Desert Shield and to my surprise the unit cleaned up and did the job exceptionally well. You will have more work than you can handle and will spend a lot of time doing stuff at home. Its not just a weekend a month, two weeks a year gig anymore although there are units that are not very effective. My suggestion is to visit the unit and try to get a sense of the morale and just exactly what they do on a drill weekend. Talk to the Commander and CSM and any 1SG's and gather as much info about the unit and its history. Also try to take a look at their metrics to see what their biggest issue might be i.e.(Schools, MOS Qual, no shows).

You will have much more control over your career, and much more discretion over when you move to a new unit and where that unit is. Of course it is all subject to vacancies, but they are easy to search through HRC's Army Reserve vacancy search tool. It is also easy to acquire new MOSs.

Your level of participation must meet minimum standards, but it can be high or low depending on what you want to do with your career. It is still a highly competitive component among those who care to put in the effort.

Don't get disenchanted by the amount of Soldiers who are just here for a paycheck. More diplomacy, versus direct confrontation, is necessary interpersonally but you should never completely lose the "edge" that your active duty time has given you.

If you are not already a subscriber to S1Net, I would advise it.

CPT Mullen, looks like you have a lot to offer the Army Reserve as a prior service engineer officer, so I would definitely look for a unit where you can continue to use and develop your skills. I would first off look at where you plan to live and work after you leave active duty. Once you decide on your new AO start looking for reserve or guard units within a conformable commuting distance. Check with your transitioning office for unit and job openings that look like they will work for you.
I came off active duty as a successful Bradley company commander and hoped to transition into the guard as an infantry leader. It was my experience that most officer billets in the NG were ruthlessly guarded from 'new outsiders' like I was. I spent couple of years trying to secure a combat arms slot with no luck.

I did find a home in a Basic Combat Training (BCT) battalion and absolutely loved it. I served as a BCT company commander, S3, XO, MTT team leader in Iraq, and finished up as a BCT battalion commander. I had a great time because I served incredible people.

Don't let any active duty prejudices taint your view of the 'weekend warriors' of the reserve components. These folks will be some of the best Soldiers you will have the honor of knowing.

Thanks for your service and best of luck to you in your future endeavors! !

Be prepared to cram a lot of work in to a few days an do a lot of work in your personal time while maintaining a civilian full time job.

As an EN officer there are many great opportunities for you to serve in the RC. The Reserve component seriously lacks mentorship and can always use a great officer to bring their experience and provide that coaching and mentorship that is needed.

As a side note I am sick and tired of Soldiers saying it is boring and they don't do anything. If you are bored ask yourself this question, What have I done to plan training or keep myself engaged? Many of those who complain could be doing hip pocket training. Even during mass SRPs you could be going over things like landnav, commo, casualty care, ect. Remember even if you are a super soldier I am sure not everyone in your unit is and you could be training them. In the Army as a whole you are in charge of your career however in the RC you will have to be much more proactive.

I think the best part is that you can continue to serve the military and pursue an entirely different career. It is a second career though. You will not just do one weekend a month and two weeks a year. You will need to maintain the same standards with physical and educational requirements.

If I did not go into the Reserve Component after my initial active duty tour, I would have ended my career as a SGT/E-5 and would have missed out on a lot of opportunities.

The other benefit is you will maintain those ties with the military. If your situation changes down the road, you may decide to go back to Active Duty, but that could be Active Component, or Active Guard and Reserve (AGR). Staying in the Reserve Component during that time will insure you do not have a break in service, and will make the transition easier. It also is a great fall back in case something happens with your civilian career. If you get laid off your civilian job, you still have an income from your Reserve assignment.

You will still be able to qualify for a retirement so all the years put in on active duty will still count. You can check out the retirement pay calculator at https://www.hrc.army.mil/Calculators/RetirementCalc.aspx. You get 365 points for every year you did on Active Duty, so that adds up quickly.

Good luck!