As a parent I have until recently had the incorrect idea that:
- Active Duty Army stands 24x7 in a deployed or preparing to deploy mode
- Army Reserves stand ready to mobilize when:
1) The US is involved in a declared war, AND
2) the active duty army is in need of additional war fighters
- The National Guard belongs to the State and doesn't deploy overseasy
What I am understanding from these and other posts is something much more complicated. That the Army Reserve can deploy not in time of war... is that correct? And that during time of declared war, the Reserves might spend as much time in the war zone as the regular Army. Is that correct?
I'm almost getting the feeling that Active Duty is like a Dr. doing his/her shift each day in a hospital Emergency Room, but that the Reserve component like a list of Doctors always on call and go into the ER a lot.... Is this close?
Or that the AD Army is like a school teacher, and the Reserve is like a Substitute Teacher who is always available and in fact in some years works amost as many days in the classroom as a full time teacher. Is this close?
If this is anywhere close to correct, wouldn't that cause employers to avoid hiring newly commissioned Reserve Officers, knowing there is a good chance that employee would be gone for anywhere from 25% to 75% of a year's operation? And if that is the case, wouldn't the Reserve officer have just as much war fighting responsibility, but possibly nor nearly as much income? I'm thinking that choosing Reserves could in fact be a really unstable, and possibly financially difficult, position to be in for a young officer.
Where would a parent get much more detailed information about these three components?
To add to Bruno's excellent explanation in answer to your other questions.... Yes, going Reserves or Guard can make it tough to land or keep a job. In theory there are laws to protect you from this and folks can file "discrimination" law suits etc. Also, when called up, there is supposed to be a job for you when you get back... maybe not the same job, but a comparable job. In practice, at least some folks had difficulties in these areas when repeatedly called up over the last 10 or more years. I think the vast majority were OK though.
Also, as I recall, and you may, even during Iraq I (Gulf War to drive Saddam out of Kuwait) massive numbers of Reserves and Guard were called up. These folks frequently lose the pay from their civilian jobs while deployed (depends on the company... some very large corporations often pay the difference). Makes it difficult on the family back home whose financial obligations were based on the assumption of the civilian pay. Nevertheless, that's what these selfless folk signed up for.