| You might want to try your State National Guard office. Most have
WATTS (800) lines.
Often, Reserve and National Guard units are full. Some are allowed
to exceed their authorized strength in lower grades by a few percent,
but even then they often fill up.
One reason for hesitation on the part of some recruiters might be
that "older" folks with stable jobs have difficulty getting away for
the several months which might be necessary to accomplish basic and
advanced individual training courses.
Another might be that the units no longer have the funding to support
sending you to training. I know several of the units here have had
their budgets reduced quite a bit, and much required local training
is being done "for points" rather than pay. (points=retirement points)
Good luck!
John B.
|
| In my 20+ years in the Air Force, most of which were in the USAF
Reserve, I learned that recruiters are not a homogeneous lot. Some
tackle their jobs aggressively while others, frankly, do not.
Did the recruiter find an assignment for you? If so, contact your
gaining squadron or a recruiter on that base. If the right person is
there and not presently deployed on Desert Storm, you should be OK.
Did the recruitor imply that he/she found an assignment for you? If
so, call back to the recruitor's office. This person owes you the
courtesy of a returned phone call. Ask: 1) If you have an assignment,
2) What base, 3) Name of unit, and 4) Your supervisor's name. This
will tell if your recruitor has really gotten you an assignment.
If you really want to join the Air Force Reserve, it's in your best
interest to visit the base. I'm sure security is strict right now, but
you should be able to get a pass if you've made an appointment to see a
recruitor. Ask ahead of time to visit some squadrons. Bring a resume
and don't be afraid to mail it to units you think you may like.
Kurt
USAFRes Retired
|
| This may be a bit late to answer your original note but
it may shed a little light on the reasons you had a hard
time trying to get in.
1. To start you were trying to come in during a time of
"conflict" War. From what I understood during that time
a recruiter could not sign up a person into the reserves,
he/she could only enlist a person into the active forces.
The reasoning behind this was because alot of the reserve
forces had been activated. I don't understand this but it
is what I had been told.
During DS I was activated and remained at my home station
at McChord AFB, WA. I had friends that were in my unit
that wanted to re-enlist because their ETS was "very" near
and they wanted to serve for the duration. They were told
that they could not re-enlist in the Reserves at that time
but could switch from Activated Reservist to Full-time
active duty with a Re-enlistment. I said "HUH"
When their ETS came of course they were not released due
to the militarys "Stop Loss" program and then upon
de-activation and the coming of peace they were finally
allowed to re-enlist in the reserves.
I hope this didn't confuse you.
Did anybody else hear anything similar?
Later
Steve
USAFR
|
| This may be a bit late to answer your original note but
it may shed a little light on the reasons you had a hard
time trying to get in.
1. To start you were trying to come in during a time of
"conflict" War. From what I understood during that time
a recruiter could not sign up a person into the reserves,
he/she could only enlist a person into the active forces.
The reasoning behind this was because alot of the reserve
forces had been activated. I don't understand this but it
is what I had been told.
During DS I was activated and remained at my home station
at McChord AFB, WA. I had friends that were in my unit
that wanted to re-enlist because their ETS was "very" near
and they wanted to serve for the duration. They were told
that they could not re-enlist in the Reserves at that time
but could switch from Activated Reservist to Full-time
active duty with a Re-enlistment. I said "HUH"
When their ETS came of course they were not released due
to the militarys "Stop Loss" program and then upon
de-activation and the coming of peace they were finally
allowed to re-enlist in the reserves.
I hope this didn't confuse you.
Did anybody else hear anything similar?
Later
Steve
USAFR
|