Air Force Reserve IMA

C

chris54321

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2018
Messages
16
hey guys,

As an AFR Lt, hopefully in security Forces, how often would it be possible to volunteer for service? I want to be in the reserves, but I’d like the freedom to volunteer pretty often.

I specify security forces because I know they are understaffed, so that may promote my ability to volunteer.

And could I volunteer to work on bases in countries like Japan or Germany, or only for actual deployments to the Middle East?
 
Last edited:
Moving the thread to "Life after the academy." Hopefully this may result in more views.
 
No offense, but I am not following your thought process.

As an O1 I would think you know these answers, since you took the oath of office, as an AFR officer. Or you saying you want to become an officer in the Reserves?
 
Pima said:
No offense, but I am not following your thought process.

As an O1 I would think you know these answers, since you took the oath of office, as an AFR officer. Or you saying you want to become an officer in the Reserves?
Click to expand...
Yes, I am not currently in the reserves or Air Force.

I have tried reaching out to a Receuiting Officer but have not heard anything.
 
I think what he is saying is that he wants to be in the Air Force reserves and besides doing the minimum, 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year, he wants to be able to do serve more. He doesnt do AD because he wants to have the flexibility to choose when he goes in (not saying that negatively)
 
Yes that’s exactly it. I really want to serve but for family reasons want to have flexibility.
 
My assumption would be you could volunteer for some TDYs, but that is an assumption, and we all know what the word ASSUME means!

The thing is if the Reserves are like ADAF, those things (Japan, Germany, UK, AK, etc., would be considered good deals, thus, many will volunteer for those TDYs. Not many are going to volunteer for the Sandbox or a remote to Korea.

The thing to be careful about when it comes to going Reserve is nobody can predict the future. Nobody saw 9/11 occurring even the day before on Sept. 10th. However, within weeks/months many Reservists were deployed for months at a time.
~ I had a friend that was a Reservist when we were stationed in the UK. She did her 4 yrs ADAF, and decide to go this path thinking it was the best of both worlds. She would do a weekend a month, and 2 weeks a yr right down the road at another AFB, making a few bucks, but at the same time she could now be a stay at home Mom too. The day Kuwait was invaded she turned to me and said I made a deal with the devil. Her DH was an ADAF pilot. He obviously was deployed immediately to Turkey. Within days of his deployment she was told to expect deployment orders for her to drop within a few short weeks to go to Germany. She had to buy airline tickets from the UK to NJ immediately to bring her children to her folks to care for during that deployment. This was on top of shutting down her house in the UK for the unforeseeable future. If my memory serves me correctly from the day of the invasion to when she reported to Germany it was about 3 weeks. She was in Germany for 6 months. Her kids were 2 and 4.
~~ Just like 9/11 we all went to bed on 8/1/90 and the world was fine. We woke up the next a.m. to see on the news the world had changed.

Just saying, I get your desires, but even in the Reserves, mission comes 1st over family obligations. If that unit is tasked with an operational deployment, than you need to realize they can send you since you signed a contract.

OBTW, my friend is not the only one I have seen this happen to regarding deployments. My boss's DS went Reserves (Navy) after completing his commitment as a JAG. He entered Reserves in 2002. 2004 rolled around (we still were in the thick of it for OIF aka Gulf II) and his number was tagged. He spent 6-9 months in the sandbox. He had to basically go on a sabbatical at his law firm, and financially lost money, because in the Navy he was an O4, and that pay was much less than his salary at the law firm. He was married, and had 3 young kids (all under the age of 8). However, when he returned the marriage disintegrated and they divorced within a yr. Why? Because, impo it was in part due to the fact that during those months he was deployed, she had to be a single Mom, juggling work and the kids. They grew too far about as a couple and could not find their way back. I bring this up, bc I don't know what your family issues are, but just like my friend said back in 1990 regarding making a deal with the Devil and the price she was now paying. He felt the exact same way 15 yrs. later.
 
IMA is not the same as a traditional Reservist. There are differences in the way that you get your service days, they way that you are paid, and the way that you earn retirement points. IMA positions are not common and you would need to find a unit with a specific IMA vacancy in your AFSC. My guess as a new Lt you would be at a disadvantage for being considered.

Your best bet would be to go into the Reserves where you will have about a year on active duty for security forces. Then, find a Reserve unit to hire you and volunteer for additional deployments if you want. Units looking for additional help post it on the internal AF sites so you can look them up. Keep in mind that your unit has the final say on your volunteering because the extra deployment cannot interfere with the times that they need you.

Stealth_81
 
Thanks for the reply - it is my understanding that as a traditional reservest, one can choose to become an IMA if they can find a vacancy on an internal portal. I was wondering how often I would be likely to find IMA spots - since Security forces are undermanned, I thought it might be fairly easy.

Why would I be on active duty for a year my first year in the reserves? Do you mean, go on active duty for a war and then transfer to the Reserves?
 
You will be on Active Duty orders after commissioning while you are going to the schoolhouse to learn your job. I am not sure exactly what it is for the 31P AFSC but it is between 4 and 9 months. After the schoolhouse you may stay on orders for a few other TDYs for training, which is why I said about a year.

Stealth_81
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top