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OP, any reservist is at the whim of the government to be activated. Although there are currently less activations than there have been in recent times as our commitments in the middle east have been scaled back, there are still some needs for activations and anything can happen tomorrow. It's not like things have truly settled down.
Activation is done by need too, not what someone is doing in their civilian life. Him going to school will not be a factor in determining if he gets activated.
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Originally Posted by engineman
G.I. bill is for Veterans, not reservists.
The rules are subject to change by politicians who have no personal risk.
I joined the Naval Reserve a very, very long time ago. When I went on active duty I spent 2 years on a ship. No foxholes, no marching with a weapon. I had 3 meals a day and a clean bunk to sleep in.
There is also the Coast Guard Reserve.
GI Bill is for soldiers, veterans, and reservists.
Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserves, Chapter 1606. To be eligible, a reservist has to be in a drilling status with the selected reserves, remain drilling, and be under a 6 year commitment to be in the drilling reserves. Currently it pays $367 per month for full time training.
**My experience is being in the Army National Guard**
Joining the military has many benefits and it really does help a person bring out the best in them. I'll start off with saying that if he just wants to join for "something to do," make sure he understands that he COULD be deployed and that something to do will most likely involve being in a hostile environment. Not trying to scare you, it is just the reality of it. His Basic Combat Training will be around 10 weeks, and then immediately following those 10 weeks, he will attend his Advanced Individual Training school, which the length depends on what MOS (job) he chooses, and that could be anywhere from 3 weeks to over a year.
Education: Unless he deploys and receives Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, it will not pay for all of his education, as the federal tuition assistance is only covering up to 13 semester hours a fiscal year now. If education benefits are his main motivator, he should look into your states Army or Air Force National Guard. Most states have additional educational benefits for Guardsmen. I live in the Florida National Guard, and here we have the Education Duty for Dollars (EDD) program that pays 100% of your tuition excluding Doctorate programs. Unfortunately, his status as a student will not mean anything if his unit gets activated. Also, his tattoo may be a problem, or at least a hurdle, for joining as the military is trying to seem more "professional." At least in the Army, they have just passed new regulations concerning tattoos (They took pictures of all of us with tattoos and measured it to make sure we are not adding to it). Like someone has said, the best bet is to go to the recruiters office and see what slots they have available and for what jobs.
** Reservists/Guardsmen are most definitely Veterans LOL..... We are able to receive the same benefits as Active Duty personnel.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Thank you so much, your input has been incredibly helpful you've diffidently given me some questions to add to my list for the recruiter and I will be looking into the State's Army and National Guard.
The Army recruiter has already expressed that this is a problem for them but he referred him to the Naval Recruitment office and expressed that the branches all have different policies. Since his tattoo has clean content, it's two coy fish swimming, he could be eligible for waiver. Essentially it's up to the recruiting officer, or at least that's the impression I have gotten.
Why is a tattoo a problem? Is it a rule that the reservists have to be free of tattoo's?
I
There are now increasingly stringent policies on tattoos...size, location, design, and ability to be concealed by various uniforms are all factors on whether or not it would be disqualifying.
Reserve v. Active Duty doesn't enter into it.
OP, these are the Navy's uniform appearance regulations:
Waivers are given out much more frequently during periods of active combat than they are during periods of troop reduction.When there are an abundance of eligible would-be enlistees, it's far less likely to see people grant waivers than it is to just go with other candidates who don't necessitate additional paperwork.
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