I've never understood that logic. Reserves don't take food out of the mouths of AD- they're supposed to be the proverbial cavalry, helping to reduce the active component's workload. If anything, that should be an aid to retention.
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USN AD to SELRES Transition
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I've never understood that logic. Reserves don't take food out of the mouths of AD- they're supposed to be the proverbial cavalry, helping to reduce the active component's workload. If anything, that should be an aid to retention.
Favorite reserve quote, "Don't yell at me, I've already quit once."
And if you think people bail because SELRES offers a better deal than the AC . . . maybe look in the mirror and ask how/why you’re fucking people over so much they want to leave a job that’s their childhood dream? ?♂️
Novel concept in some areas of the fleet, I know . . .
Simply put, the AC is overworked. That's particularly scary, given that we're a "peacetime" military that is supposed to be able to scale in the event of a major conflict. We've done "more with less", for so long, that it's been normalized: the only way to progress in one's career field is pushing until (and past) burnout.
Even dyed-in-the-wool patriots get sick of that.
I'll just say this much. If an active duty JO pulls me aside to ask about the SAU, it isn't the first time he/she has thought about walking. I also try hard to not sell them a false bill of goods. Lord knows we need those smart ones to stick around, and I want them to more than anyone in millington. But by the time it gets to my level, they've already made up their mind. The irony is that CNAFR is one way to retain people, albeit not in the billets PERS wants......but it is literal retention (and IMO a lot of value added, across many more generations than an active LT IP/IEWO)
On the aviation side, Reservists can be seen as taking flight time away from the AC people when it's an augmented unit. There are times that does happen, especially if the Sked writers haven't been educated on the overall value and process of effectively augmenting Reservists. But if the schedule writer can take one step back from their tiny day+1 myopic world, they'll start to see the value...especially on Grad School or JPME days.
I've usually found OpsOs "get it" pretty quick, but it was the new schedule writers that initially wouldn't. This can be made even worse if it's a new unit (like a fleet SAU). I think because the RC has been at the TRACOM for so long, and there's so many flight hours to go around, it's a non-issue there.
As an aside, this isn't specific to Reservists. I ran into the same thing at the FRS as a Wing Staff IP guy (who happened to be a TAR, but that wasn't the issue). The CO and the OpsO would welcome my help, but the schedule writers (especially the new ones) wouldn't work to keep me current even when I would try to be as flexible as I could. Once skeds realized they could cold call me to fill in a spot, they realized it made their life easier and I'd be getting calls several times a week asking for help. And eventually, just calls trying to give me a good deal hookup flight because I wasn't a douche JOPA.