DeltaCat

That's awesome. I'm jealous.

Clearly though you guys are the 1% exception out there for most airline/reservists. Not everyone has the luxury to move and change units year one with a new company. "It can be done" year one is about surviving and transitioning to thriving. My unit requires an average of 6 days per month, add 18 days of airline reserves and a commute or double commute and that = no days at home.

For all the pooliesworking on game plans all delta wants is the orders up front before the schedule comes out so they can schedule around your mil duties. Get through training and your 100 hour consolidation and then do what you need to do to feed the family, stay married, and keep your two part time jobs. I do 6 mil a month and get scheduled about 10 days or ~50hours around that. Add double commuting (yes, by choice) and that puts me home about 10 days a month. YMMV

deadseal

Dude, I can't help but chime in here. Ask yourself this one question. When you are 60 years old, what would you pay to have had more time with your kids? Think about this. What dollar amount? I completely cut ties after 11 years AD. And dude..... It's awesome. I am carpool dad, soccer dad, breakfast maker dad, homework dad, etc etc. tri care and 30 k and a retirement when I'm 60 aren't worth losing these moments . IMHO think about it....all of you

Gunfighter

Here is another perspective on the topic...

There is benefit in having the security of ANG/RES job as a secondary source of income, especially when you are near the bottom of the seniority list. Ask any 1999-2001 hire about it. Their families certainly enjoyed the security of a steady paycheck with healthcare and retirement when they were furloughed. Some who would have left at 12 yrs with nothing ended up with a 20yr active retirement at about the time they were recalled to the airlines.

If you fly ANG/AFRES and an airline job, the key to survival is not maximizing both careers. Acknowledge ahead of time you will not be the ace of the base, but rather a steady contributor. You aren't the WS/GS whxxx either. Put in your mil leave pre month to reduce your airline schedule. In my case, I would drop a 3-5 day trip to do my ANG duty. During the mil days, I was home for dinner with my family and was there to tuck my kids in bed. That was 3-5 extra bedtime stories from Dad they would have missed without the mil flying. It's all about having the self discipline to set a limit on the number of workdays and nights away when you have the potential to work every day of the month.

smzdavisf15

I just have to pass advice given to me when I first left AD. My Reserve unit was full of guys who MOST got furloughed after 9/11. They all kept ties with the mil and were able to make ends meet. Those who didn't, worked at Home Depot. If you chose QOL and give up the mil gig, they recommended getting 2K up on the seniority list. I finished my 20 as an AGR so not a factor for me, but I think its solid advice.

Timbo

I was doing the Guard, Delta and raising 2 kids all at the same time but living in base (BOS) at the time, still I was gone a lot and I rarely enjoyed a layover because I was on the phone to the Guard trying to work my schedule, training, TDY's, etc. around my Delta schedule.

I was on the B scale at Delta 1985-1990, so the extra money from the Guard was great. After finishing my 5 years on the B scale, I got two months of real paychecks, then was activated for Desert Storm..

Saddam Husain called it, "The Mother of all Battles!".

We guard guys called it, "The Mother of all pay cuts!".

I went from $9K a month combined Delta/Guard pay, to $3K per month AD pay at the time (1990-91).

When we were finally released from active duty, the Wife and I had to decide if I was going to stay in the Guard or get out. I was off the B Scale and the company was hiring, buying new MD88's, I got a bottom captain bid in CVG (commuting to reserve, no jump seat at Delta) so I figured it was time to get out of the Guard, too many days away trying to do both, and my wife was now pregnant with number 3.

The moment I decided to get out was when I saw Dick Cheney (Secretary of Defense then) at a press conference, asked about all the cutbacks to our military, base closures, etc. after Desert Storm, "What's the plan was if Saddam regrouped and acted up again?"

"We'll just activate the Guard and Reserves again...".

I figured it would be about 5 year until Saddam did it again and we'd be activated again, and I only had about 8 years in at the time, so I got out.

If you had told me then that I should stay in, because 19 terrorists are going to hijack 4 airplanes and fly them into the Trade Towers and the Pentagon, I would have told you to put down the Tom Clancy book and get back to reality.

If you had told me all the Majors would then go bankrupt, furlough thousands for years, flush our retirements down the toilet, and out source half our domestic flying to 50 seat RJ's, I'd have told you to put down the crack pipe and get back to reality.

"That'll never happen!".

So, yeah, trying to do both jobs and raise kids is tough, but you might want to hold on to that Guard job just in case another 9-11 happens and your airline goes TU.

Paok

Yeah living in both bases is the only way to go. Honesty it's not luck it's been my plan since college. Live in the NE where EVERY airline has a base (I can drive to all 3 NYC, PHL and all 3 DC) and there are a plethora of reserve guard jobs (I can drive to about 10 bases) I didn't know what airline I would end up at when I joined the reserves in NJ but I knew it didn't matter Bc I could pick any of them. I am gone 5 nights from my bed in May, flying a 78 hour line and doing 6 days at the USAFR. I don't think many young guys think about this when making their base/living location choices but my husband now is so thankful I brought us to this area Bc although it's expensive, we are home a lot and never have to leave...and like I said above. All the mil is on off days to maximize pay!! 👍 And we are both planning to stay in to/past 20 in the reserves. I was furloughed twice before I was 26 years old. I will never let go of the reserves bc airline life is "too good". I'll just do both 😉

crewdawg

That's some great long term planning...glad it worked out. You're right, living in base for both is the shangri-la of the airline/military crowd. I feel very fortunate and lucky that it worked out for me.


I once thought I would stay until they kicked me out of the Guard, but that was a long time ago. I'm counting the days until I have 20! I may not necessarily leave then, but it will be nice to have that trump card. My most recent "deployment," was a real turning point for me. "Deploying" to non-combat zones to fly normal training lines gets old fast. Sitting through my 5th "green dot" training or being told I'm a sexual assault waiting to happen, gets old. Support agencies can't/won't support because we are temporary and "it's not their job to support us." Road block after road block trying to get home from a deployment. Dealing with outright incompetence or people purposely dragging their feet because they didn't like being told by a bunch of Guard guys, that they are wrong (they didn't know their OWN regs!). Multiple instances of commander to commander calls, just to get them to do their dang job. LRS having to unpack and repack pallets because of this petty BS about made me lose control. Outright disrespect from NCOs (I was a prior-e/NCO and this crap was bad), but you can't "address" the situation, without fear of retribution and apologies. Instances of having to walk into an office and tell them you're not leaving until you get what you need because they won't do it otherwise. When we try to help them, help us, they take it as having their toes stepped on and they lose their minds. Travel cards that get declined because DTS hasn't paid your bill (while we're still deployed)...then being accused by finance of using your personal card to "get points." Finance that forces you to use rental cars an hour across town from the base, because it saves them a few pennies...never mind the logistical nightmare of returning 20+ vehicles when our people are leaving at various times spanning a week. DTS...doing someone else's job, ARROWS...doing someone else's job, the list goes on and on. Ever increase requirements that have nothing to do with the mission/flying. What used to take 1 minute filling out a pay card by hand, has turned into 15-30 minutes on the computer, minimum. Every "improvement" that has come out in the last 10-15 years has made it harder and harder to be a part timer and get paid. Forget trying to log into this system on an active duty network...apparently that's a bridge to far! Don't get me wrong, I still love the flying and I love the security of having a job "just in case," but all the extra bs is starting to make it not worth it anymore.

[/soapbox]

By the time I can retire, barring another horrific incident/economic downturn, I should have ~4-5,000 number below me. It's going to be hard to stay in and give up the money and the days off to deal with the bs. Only ~1,800 more days...

DeltaCat

I hear you. Nobody wants to be a better husband/father than me so I get your point.

I'm not at 11 but at 17.5 mil time so no way I'm hanging up my mil spurs until I hit 20 AND there are 3k below me on the senority list.

This is just like1998-2000 all over again in regards to hiring. I was a young Air Force instructor when 9/11 happened. I watched all the bottom 2000 dudes at every airline in our reserve squadron get furloughed for years and a ton of guys come back on active duty.

Think about that before you hang it up. Just finished a trip with an all civil background guy. He even said the mil Ret and medical is huge. If you don't have it he claimed there is no delta medical retirement plan. All you have is Medicare and whatever else you pay for.

Everyone has a different story and plan but think about all that before you punch from guard/res.

The world and economy can crash again...never hurts to have a plan b to put food on the table. I'd rather keep mil flying than work at Home Depot.

WhatNow

He is correct. There is no retirement medical plan at Delta.

deadseal

I feel like I've spent more time with my kids in the last 2 years at big D than the 11 on active duty combined. I guess to each their own. I'm going to roll the dice and not look back. Part of it too was the absolute ridiculous eye gouging ass pain the shoe clerks would put the warfighters through. I just couldn't take it anymore. If I had 17 years in I would absolutely stick it out, But for the first time I feel like I am a real dad to my kids and not just some dude that comes home tired as hell from working too much. With retirements coming and almost 2k below me, I'm willing to take that risk for my family life. Again this is just my opinion. Life is like Burger King...have it your way