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I've been out of active duty air force for about 3 years now and am now considering going into the air national guard.
My question is, what will I be doing on that weekend? What is it the weekend guys actually do? Does everyone have to come in on the same weekend or is the schedule spread out. The recruiter made it sound like it'd be just like active duty. Working on jets, launch and recover. I just wonder if he's leading me along and in all reality, we just scrub toilets, listen to breifings, and train. I suppose that wouldn't be bad for just a weekend thing. I just have no idea what to expect.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
I retired in April from the ANG after 17 years, with 11 years of AD Air Force before that so I have some insight into what happens on "Drill Weekends".
The first thing I'd like to say is that our Guardsmen were our most important resource, and we did everything possible to ensure that every minute that they were at Drill was as productive as we could make it. Recruiting and retaining highly trained personnel was the #1 priority in our state, and each Wing Commander was held accountable to the Adjutant General (2 Star General in command of all the state's Army and Air Guard units) for hiring the right people and keeping them on once they were onboard. If we had our Guardsmen scrubbing toilets, or doing things that they didn't see as increasing thier technical proficiency and professional knowledge, they would have left (and rightly so). We're a nation at war with an all volunteer force, and it's the responsibility of the ANG leadership to keep our highly trained professionals in the fight. The only way to do that is to treat our Airmen right.
I take it from your post that you're a maintainer (Crew Chief?). Your skills are sorely needed in the ANG at every unit I know of... In fact at my last unit the AFSC's that we needed most were all maintenence. What you would be doing at Drill depends a lot on variables like your AFSC, rank, status of your training, unit, etc. As a very broad generalization, I'll say that about half of your time will be spent doing your AFSC duties (working on jets, launch and recover), and the other half will be spent doing other career development (CDC's) and "Ancillary Training".
I put the "Ancillary Training" in quotes because that's the part that our Guardsmen usually complained about the most and understood the least. This is the training that is required to keep you a deployable, ready-to-fight military professional. Remember all that stuff from Active Duty like Chem Warfare, Self aid and Buddy Care, Force Protection, Sexual Harassment awareness, Intel briefings, Small Arms, Information Assurance... etc ...etc... etc...
Well, every Guardsman has to meet the same training requirements as thier Active Duty counterpart. The AD folks have 365 days a year to get that done, and the typical Guardsman has 39 (12 Drill weekends plus 15 Annual Training days). We try really hard to make it as painless as possible, but the reality is that you won't be doing your AFSC duties 100% of the time. Just not enough time available.
As to your other question, most units have 1 drill weekend per month and everyone who's not previously excused is expected to be there. However, my unit was extremely flexable when someone couldnt be at Drill because of personal or job conflicts. In that case we would allow them to make up that missed drill at another time. Again, it's all about retaining our highly trained professionals. Ask your recruiter about your unit's RUTA (Rescheduled Unit Training Assembly) policy.
With respect to the recruiters... they may not always have the best info on what's happening with the section/flight/squadron you're looking at. My strong recommendation is that you drive out to the base and talk the people who are doing the job that you're applying for. Meet the Bubbas that are turning wrenches and launching the jets. That's where you'll get the best information.
A little more information (Unit, AFSC, rank, prior service time, etc) and I may be able to get more detailed.
Thanks for your service, and kudos for looking into serving again.
You had also better see about their deployment schedule. Your unit could be activated; then you'll be recovering jets full-time in another country...Go for it!
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