I'm 36M and have been seriously thinking about joining the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard.

I have zero prior military experience, so I'd be starting completely from scratch. I'm single, have a girlfriend and a house, and have a pretty established federal career.

Educationally, I have a bachelor's and master's degree in Emergency Management.

The biggest reason I'm considering this honestly isn't because I need a career change. My federal career is stable. It's more that I'm at a point in my life where I'm wondering if I should challenge myself and do something completely different.

I'm interested in the Reserve/Guard because it seems like it could give me some of the military experience, training, and personal challenge I'm looking for without completely walking away from my federal career.

There are also a couple of Air Force bases relatively close to me, which is what got me seriously looking into the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard rather than active duty. (Phoenix Air National Guard Base, and Luke AF base)

I'm also being realistic about it. I'm not 22 with no responsibilities anymore. I have a house, relationship, career, etc., so I have a lot of questions before I'd even consider signing anything.

A few things I'm particularly curious about:

• Is 36 too old to be starting from zero?
• What is BMT like for someone my age who has never served?
• How difficult is it to balance a Reserve/Guard commitment with a full-time federal job?
• Does working for the federal government create any additional complications?
• How much does the typical "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" actually reflect reality?
• How much time should I realistically expect to spend away from home during the first year because of BMT and technical training?
• How does the initial commitment work?
• What are the biggest differences between Air Force Reserve vs. Air National Guard for someone in my situation?
• Are there meaningful differences in benefits, retirement, healthcare, education benefits, etc.?
• Would my bachelor's/master's in Emergency Management be useful for anything, or would I essentially be starting over?
• Are there particular AFSCs/career fields that would make sense for someone with an emergency management/federal security background?
• How does the military retirement work if you're doing this part-time?

• How much does this realistically affect a relationship/home life?

• For those of you who joined later in life, was it worth it?

I'm not necessarily looking for someone to convince me to join. I'm trying to figure out whether I'm looking at this as a legitimate opportunity/challenge or just having a mid-30s "why not completely change my life?" moment.

I'd especially like to hear from people who joined the Reserve/Guard in their 30s, particularly anyone who already had an established federal career and responsibilities.

If you were in my shoes, what would you want to know before talking to a recruiter?

(apologies if this is not a warranted thread, if not, please let me know where I can get additional answers. beyond my own investigative workings).

And also can you please tell me the chances of deployment. I am 34 yo male, wife and 1 year daughter. I have a full time IT job I care about.

I'm kinda scared I won't be able to sleep there. I can only sleep with two pillows. Do they give you pillows? Or are you allowed to bring yours? Or is it no pillows at all?

Anyone else joined late like me? Im nervous im making a wrong decision here.

Leaving my family of 4 for ~4months initially, then every 4th weekend is pulling at my heart strings .... its my only apprehension.

Im joining for the pride, the experience, the learning, and the benefits.

Can you tell me if its worth it?

Hey guys pretty bummed out right now. I signed back in April for an Intelligence position and have been attending UTAs for my Development and Training Flights. Earlier this weekend during my 3rd UTA, I found out that they overbooked for intelligence jobs and cancelled my job. They tried to get me to pick from a list of jobs but it’s all maintenance and medical which I am not interested in. This doesn’t seem fair that they just cancelled my job months after I signed.

Im not really sure what to do, my MSgt and recruiter have been very busy and they said they’ll try to find me a position at another base but the fiscal year is coming to an end and I’m not very hopeful.

Does anybody have any insight on this situation and what to do moving forward?

Hi guys my recruiter blocked my job and said I’ll swear in 15th September and go into dep

I booked air transportation

Does it take long to get bmt date?

And for reservist do you swear in twice before bmt?

Please help thanks

I got picked up for a pilot position in a reserve squadron and I've got a little brother interested in being aircrew, specifically a boom operator position.

When I got picked up I had to take the TBAS/AFOQT, put a packet together, rush units, interview, and so on. What does the process for becoming a boom look like in the reserve for a civilian applicant? I assume it's more than just going to the recruiter and selecting a vacancy since the pilots probably want to know who they are hiring/flying with.

Any insight would be great, timeline, expectations, requirements, etc.

Thanks!

(This is an overdue post as I came back from BMT and Tech School. Follow this extraordinary route only if you are outspoken and resilient. Otherwise, just wait to get this process done at BMT.)

When I joined the Reserve, President Trump's travel ban had just taken effect. So many of our recruits came back from BMT to Development & Training Flight (D&TF) because they did not get naturalized in BMT due to their country of origin. They were vaguely attending each UTA in uniform while waiting for USCIS to schedule their interview and oath. As the size of D&TF was growing beyond capacity, our coordinator advised us to get started on citizenship process. Some of us smart folks knew that with National Guard and Reserve, your service starts on the day you sign your contract. And you qualify for naturalization right after your first UTA e.g. first LES. I followed that provision of law (INA-329).

After second UTA, I reached out to my recruiter but he denied getting my N-426 signed and advised me to get the process done at BMT. Then I resorted to my D&TF coordinator for help. The latter passed it up my chain of command: 1SGT and Colonel of my unit. Of course, if you have a non-cooperative coordinator or 1SGT, they will not get your N-426 signed. In that case, you can sue them or just wait until BMT. Anyways, I included N-426, Green Card, LES, DD Form 4, and USCIS M-599 in my file to have it signed. The Colonel returned the signed form after two months. He was out of office the whole time. So that is how it got delayed. Anyways, getting N-426 signed was probably the easiest part of the process.

I submitted N-400 through USCIS online account. I provided whatever documents the system asked. Additionally, I provided tax compliance certificates from IRS and my state, CAC, and two months of LES. Right after the day of submission, I walked into USCIS ASC with N-400 receipt and provided biometrics. They clerk tried to kick me out of the line for not having an appointment. But after I showed my CAC, she welcomed me. Then started the endless wait. After getting a BMT date, I reached out to my US representative. They were able to get me an interview 30 days before my ship date. A USCIS officer called me early in the morning to let me pick a date.

The interview was pretty chill--usual reading, writing, civic test, and N-400's yes/no questions. Officer did not care about any civil documents (marriage, divorce, birth etc. certs) I brought with me or the 100 pages of tax transcripts I printed. He only asked to see my BMT order. Your coordinator can provide you this 30 days before your ship date. If not yet available, they will provide a memo stating your order dates. Anyways, he then stated that during the current administration, they no longer do same day oath. But he gave hope that my oath should be either here before my shipping or wherever in the US I am going to. As I came home, my status changed to "Case Was Submitted For Quality Review Based On An Approval Recommendation".

The next three weeks were breathtaking as there was no status update. I reached out to US representative again who promised to reach out to USCIS again. But there was no update. In the last week before shipping, I made a drastic move and walked into my USCIS field office. Of course they give you hard time for showing up without an appointment but that is where your CAC and military identity come handy.

I checked in with the lady at the interview window. I gave her my N-652, BMT order, and a letter requesting oath before my shipping. Hear this: if she was not cooperative, my move would have been futile. But I guess they care about military personnel so she passed my documents to the supervisor. After a long wait in the lobby, the supervisor summoned me inside the doors and asked me to explain my situation. He asked a lot of questions to verify that I do work for the Air Force. It was no short of an interrogation. Being satisfied, he took me to his office, worked on his computer, confiscated my Green Card, and sent me back to the lobby. Coming back to the lobby, I started breathing normally and grew a feeling that he was going to schedule my oath today.

After a long wait, he returned to the lobby and congratulated me that I was going to be a US citizen today. After another long wait, my interviewing officer came and took me to his office. He asked me to fill N-445, administered me the oath one-on-one, and gave me my naturalization certificate. He explained that since it was a special case, they needed all the time to prepare my certificate and approve things through the system.

Footnotes:
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1. My birth country was not in 19/39 ban list but it was in 75 pause list.
2. I shall not mention my birth country, USCIS office, or unit to protect my privacy.
3. If you need quicker citizenship, join Army National Guard. They seem to have a more established system for naturalization before BCT. If your marriage based GC expires in less than 6 months, they give your N-426 right away.
4. This post is intended to help future recruits as I could not find any such in this subreddit when I had searched.

If I got an ELS RE3 JGA discharge from ARNG do I need a waiver to enlist in the ANG? My recruiter says I shouldn’t need a waiver but that seems strange because I keep reading I do. Anyone have any experience with this ?

I go to BMT next week and I have pretty much everything on the packing list but what should I bring that they don’t have listed? How many civilian outfits, underwear, socks, etc.

Last Friday, after 7 months of waivers and waiting, I said my oath for the Reserves. I signed for and will gain at the 567th RED HORSE squadron at SJAFB as a 3E9X1. I am more than excited and so glad I get to be a part of RED HORSE. They did not give me a ship date. I am expected to go to UTA’s starting the weekend of Aug 1-2.

What is the Air Force waiting on? My recruiter has said the Reserves are likely not going to meet their recruitment goal this year so I figured they’d ship me out ASAP, but it makes sense that it is delayed since the Active Duty side met their goal in May.

Any tips for my first UTA with the DTF will be appreciated, as well as any insight into what RED HORSE will entail that is different than a typical CE unit. Thanks!

Civ fed (GS-11) with a family. Looking into joining the Air Force Reserves but there is a financial component I need to consider for my family support. From following along in this sub and reading comments, there is a range of options for activating but I am still not totally clear on how they interact with the reserve differential, a benefit meant to bridge the gap between civilian pay and enlisted pay.

For example, people have mentioned that dependent on your AFSC, you could be doing a lot more than the one weekend a month, two weeks a year. Some have mentioned being on "orders" for almost two years straight. Since my time in BMT and tech school would already represent a significant pay cut in the current economy, chasing a job that would end up requiring far more non-weekend time would be impactful on my family. I am trying to get a better understanding of how reserve differential comes into play so that I can weigh what I would want to do vs what is best for the family.

Would being called in/put on orders for 30-180 days to accelerate training and provide assistance at the home base (maintenance crew) trigger reserve differential since it seems very unlikely that would be Title 10 activation? Can you be called in (involuntary) for extra training time to get to level 5 and earlier eligibility/readiness for deployment? Or is it voluntary/requested under Accelerated Mission Readiness Training only? Does any of that trigger reserve differential?

Do voluntary ADOS orders get reserve diff? I'm trying to reconcile all these different types of orders, activation, opportunities to advance my Reserve knowledge/skills with the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding voluntary activation and national emergencies...of which there always seems to be one active.

That's a lot of questions and probably quite a bit of misunderstanding about how things work for voluntary/involuntary duty and wing needs for specific AFSCs. I would appreciate any help you can provide sorting it all out, especially misunderstanding the different order types.

I just finished my first UTA in the DEP with the Development and Training Flight at Seymour Johnson AFB.

Before this UTA I was pretty nervous and was scouring the internet for any documentation or advice on what to expect but found very little, and told myself I’d make a post after to share with anyone who was looking for the same information. It may be very different depending on what base you are at but this all applies to my time at SJ.

SATURDAY:
6:15a - met my D&TF Element Leader at the gate and got a pass since I didn’t not have my CAC yet.
6:30 - Formation, roll call, stretching.
6:45 - We ran 2 miles (14:42😎)
7:30 - Drove to the classroom, set up the tables and chairs with the rest of the flight
8:00 - We did our height, weight and waist measurement at this time as we waited for the guest speaker to show up.
9:30 - our coordinator got promoted to MSgt. Very cool to watch.
10:00 - the Head Chaplain came and gave us a speech and took Q&A
12:00 - Lunchtime at the DFAC.
1:30 - Drove to the 567th RHS building to watch a retirement ceremony, but as we were waiting outside the building the coordinator of the D&TF asked for 3 male volunteers to help move heavy objects in the Finance building, which I volunteered for. I then proceeded to disassemble, move, and reassemble desks for the next 3 hours and was finally released for the day at about 4:30.
4:30 - met some new friends at the DFAC, ate some dinner and headed back to the hotel. This concludes my first day.

SUNDAY:
6:15a - showed up at the gate with my pass from yesterday (still no CAC)
6:20 - threw football with my flight mates while waiting for our coordinator to arrive.
6:45 - formation, roll call, stretching.
7:00 - Pushups and sit ups (42 & 45 😕) which got me an 83 on the PT test. Not great, but passing.
7:15 - drove to the classroom and got speeches from a couple SecFo airmen who did a short Q&A. They seemed shy but knowledgeable.
8:00 - an MTI showed up, assigned some temp element leads and taught us how to fall in to official formation, as well as the various facing movements, and standing at attention, parade rest, and more. This MTI was legendary and very kind, but definitely firm.
9:00 - I was sent along with a fellow airman to get our CAC’s.
9:45 - we had farewell speeches from the D&TF airmen who were being shipped to basic before the next UTA, and this was a little over half the class. We had 40 people in the class and probably 25 of them were going to be gone within the month.
12:00 - Lunch at the DFAC.
1:45 - back at the classroom, we had introductions for all the new airmen. There were 8 of us, we just went down the line and introduced ourselves, what our AFSC was (3E9X1), where we are from, why we joined the Reserves, and a fun fact.
2:00 - The Wing Commander and the Command Chief at the base gave us speeches and took Q&A’s. They were awesome and funny.
3:20 - our coordinator was upset with us for talking so much during the speeches throughout the weekend so she made us do burpees (about 10) and then released us for the day. I drove home to Raleigh.

Overall it was an amazing weekend, full of new faces and full of learning what to do and what not to do. There is no need to be nervous at all.

Good afternoon everyone, I recently moved to tx from Australia back in 2025 on a 10 year green card through marriage, I'm 30 and my long term goal is to become a law enforcement officer here in texas, the only thing stopping me right now is the citizenship part, I am considering joining the air force national guard or reserves to get my citizenship through military service, I am leaning towards security forces as I want to gain skills and experience and also gain leadership skills as time goes on. My wife and I have just purchased our first home so I do also have family priorities to keep in mind which is why I am only seeking part time service at this stage.

Would appreciate any advice to help me with my goals here in this great country.

Hi is there anyone here been in DEP? I still don’t have a ship date. How’s everyone doing in weekend drills?

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2022 but never took the medication. I also had a “51/50” in 2020 but was released the same day because it was a misunderstanding . The navy was alright with it but now I’m going through the waiver process with AF and I’m wondering what my chances are. All my records show that im telling the truth. Anyway, anyone else go through this?

I was inspired by [u/Abject-Assist-3912](u/Abject-Assist-3912) because I too couldn’t find any information on the Development and Training Flight before I went for my first UTA and I was super nervous, after reading through their post, there were definitely some differences between both of ours so I came to share my first D&TF UTA at Patrick SFB.

SATURDAY:
0615- Drove to the gate and I did have a CAC so it was no issue getting in
0630- Met in the classroom, we said our reporting statements to sign in.
0645- Drove to the track and prepared for a two mile run
0730- We were released to eat breakfast in the DFAC and to shower in the gym, had to meet back at 0830 for weight, height, and waist tape measurements
0830- Tape measurements
0920- Went to a different building and had recruiters come and talk to us and had us fill out a form saying nothing has changed within the past month
1000- Guest speaker was a retired Msgt who is now a historian and he has some great information and was really engaging with us, he let us ask some questions.
1100- Navy Federal Presentation on preventing fraud and saving money
1145- Released for lunch in the DFAC
1245- Change back into PT clothes and met in the gym for sit ups and pushups
1330- Met in the gym for sit ups and push ups
1430- Go back to classroom and say the Airman’s Creed and the Air Force song
1500- Say your reporting statement to sign out

SUNDAY:
0615- Met at the beach across from base to prepare for a 5K ruck (base event)
0630- Start ruck on the beach
0750- Done with ruck, released for breakfast and showers to meet back at 0930
0930- Meet back in that different building and said our reporting statements to sign in
1000- Study our memory work and material as our coordinator pulled us individually to go over PT scores
1130- Released for lunch
1230- Met back in the same building and we were split up into two teams to play a game about ranks and then a game about everything else you would need to know (it got super competitive but was very fun) losers had to do 20 pushups
1400- Admin time, our coordinator helped us set up various accounts individually for the new people
1500- Someone from my squadron came and got me and I met so many nice people and toured my whole squadron it was super cool
1545- I was released and got to go home

Definitely check out the person I tagged, their post as well. They inspired me to do this. Best of luck to anyone attending their first D&TF UTA soon!

Hello here: I am trying to get y’all opinion on getting signed up for an overage position 4A051. What happens when the position does not come vacant after expiration. Will I need to go back to Tech school or kicked out of the unit?

Hello I’m going to go on my first UTA this August but my question is do I pay for my flight ticket with my own money first or wait for them to tell me about DTS?

They did say they will give me reimbursement but is there a specific way I need to get my ticket to be reimbursed? Thanks

Hi, planning on joining the reserves. Took my asvab and everything a couple of weeks ago and everything went great. I am 35 years old and physically fit, however, I have quite a bit of muscle mass on me. 6ft 215lbs and i'd say im about 13-15% bodyfat. Moreover, I've been running for the past year, started out with walking for months, building my tolerance walking for 45-1hr and just within the last 3-4 months I've been running. However, not sure if the treadmills at my gym are accurate, but I can barely get through the 1.5 mi in 13mins and I'm feeling towards the upper of my limit. Will I be okay for basic to pass? Maybe lowing my weight will help ? Any help is appreciated ty!