I’ve experienced all three. I served 12 years as activity duty in the U.S. Air Force, and my last eight 8 in the U.S. Air Force Reserve before I retired with a total of 20 years. While I was active duty, I did my F-15 training with the Oregon Air National Guard, which was a great experience. Here, we’ll explore these ways to serve and how they differ.
What is active duty?
Think of this as full-time military service. It’s usually your primary job (though some also have part-time jobs) and you serve at the discretion of your branch of service and the President as commander in chief. You are the main defenders of our country.
What are the reserves?
Joining the reserves essentially means you’re signing up for part-time military service — though some reservists are full time. Often, reservists will serve full time for three to four years and then go back to part time. The reserves are funded by the federal government, just like other U.S. armed forces, and the President is the commander in chief.
What is the National Guard?
The National Guard is a little bit different. During peace time, members of the National Guard work for the governor of their state. For example, you may see National Guardsmen responding to natural disasters like floods, hurricanes and at times civil unrest when local authorities need their support.
But the National Guard can also be activated to federal service and serve alongside active and reserve military forces. In those instances, they answer to the President.
If you are considering joining the National Guard, check out this article where I list some things that are important to know before joining the National Guard.
How much time will I serve?
Usually, those in the National Guard and the Reserves serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year. But that’s not always the case.
When I was active duty, I served with part-time and full-time reservists. Some would serve their minimum time, but others would pick up orders and serve more.
When I was deployed to Afghanistan, some in my squadron were reservists and National Guard members serving in unfilled jobs.
What about family life in the military?
There’s a reason people say serving your country is a sacrifice not only for the service member, but also for their family. When I was active duty, I was gone about 25% of every year — and that was with only one deployment.
As a reservist, while I did have more family time, it’s not as much as you would think. I essentially had two jobs: My civilian job at USAA and my job in the Air Force Reserve. That required some delicate balancing and time management.
When I was working my Reserve job, I was actually busier than when I was active duty. But I wasn’t doing my Reserve job all the time, that’s the benefit. Many times, my reserves work was during time I’d usually spend with family, meaning less time with my loved ones.
Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about my USAA job while I was serving with the reserves. USAA supports the military as part of its mission, including its military employees. Regardless of your employer, your job is protected during your military service under the USERRA, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. See note 1
That’s not to say both jobs weren’t stressful. When I came back to USAA after my time in the Reserve, I had to work hard to catch up on work that piled up while I was out. That meant even more time away from loved ones.
Another way that serving can take time away from family is travel. For example, it’s not uncommon for members of the reserves to travel. They might drill as a unit in California but live in Florida. Traveling back and forth can also eat into family time and add stress.
How often will I go through a military move or permanent change of station?
On average, active-duty members move or PCS about every three years. In the National Guard or reserves, you aren’t going to move unless you really want to.
The reserves and National Guard offer a more stable lifestyle, which is what many people want. It’s what I wanted when I left active duty. I wanted to establish roots and let my kids grow up in one location, which the Air Force Reserve enabled me to do.
What are some of the differences in benefits?
TRICARE
It’s important to protect your family and ensure you have the benefits you need. Things like medical, dental, vision, and life insurance are the core of your financial security.
Active-duty service members have those available to them as part of their service. Members of the National Guard and reservists face a choice, however. They can have certain military benefits available to them, but they also probably have benefits through their civilian employer. They need to consider which policy is better and consider when they are covered and who can be covered.
For example, the Active Duty Dental Program, which is available through TRICARE, is an option for National Guard and Reserve members but only under certain situations, such as being on federal-funded orders for more than 30 days. And it’s only for the military member, meaning the family is not covered. In that case, using civilian benefits for dental might better fit your family’s needs. To learn the basics and value of dental and vision insurance, check out this article.
There’s also TRICARE Reserve Select, and in some states, National Guard members can qualify to have their TRS premiums paid for by the state. These benefits can be great, but it’s still important to compare them against civilian insurance policies. I wrote this article to help reservists make the decision between TRICARE Reserve Select and civilian health insurance.
Life insurance
Active-duty members have SGLI available to them. But it might not be enough. I suggest reading this article to know if it’s enough for you and your family.
While SGLI is available to members of the National Guard and Reserves, there are requirements, which you can find here. See note 1 There may be periods where you’re not covered by SGLI, so you’ll need a private policy to protect your family. Check out how you can protect your family through life insurance.
Another option to consider is spousal life insurance. Here’s a complete guide to military spouse life insurance.
Retirement
When you retire from active duty, you get to keep TRICARE and begin to receive your military pension.
When you retire from the National Guard or reserves, like I did, you also get the pension and TRICARE benefits, just not at the moment you retire — generally, it’s when you turn 60.
National Guard and Reserve retirement can be confusing so check out this article where I explain it in more detail.
Can I swap among National Guard, reserves and active duty?
For the most part, you’ll stick with what you originally start with. But the opportunity to transfer back and forth is becoming more available. In fact, many reservists and National Guard members were once active duty.
For example, during Operation Enduring Freedom, I had a buddy who was a reservist and his civilian job was in an industry that was struggling. The Air Force needed pilots, so he hopped back into active duty for four or five years. The same thing happened to a National Guard buddy, but he didn’t come back to active duty, he just went full-time National Guard.
You can use the Reserve or National Guard as a job anchor. If you find yourself in between civilian jobs, it might be a perfect time to advance your military career by going to NCO Academy or taking a year of orders for that dreaded staff position you’ve been needing.
If you’re interested in joining the military and unsure what actions to take, USAA has information and resources to help guide you through the process and even allow you to create a personalized timeline.
Want to learn more actions to take as you join the military?