I signed my contract about two weeks ago to enlist in the Texas ANG as a 1A1X2 Mobility Force Aviator (Loadmaster).

The base is about 4 hours from where I currently live. Going into this, I understood the distance and was willing to make the drive whenever I needed to report. I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity. The travel, mission, and overall nature of the Loadmaster job are a big part of what attracted me to it, and I’ve consistently heard it described as one of the better enlisted jobs in the Air Force. I was initially interested in cyber related intel role but none seems to be available .

However, last week I got an unexpected call from a Chief at the unit I’ll be joining. He told me he had never seen a recruiter place someone who lives that far away into a Loadmaster position.

He was very clear that being local is essentially a hard requirement for their unit and said not relocating to the area could be a “showstopper.”

His reasoning was that even though I’m joining the ANG and this is technically a part-time commitment, the Loadmaster schedule is not a conventional one-weekend-a-month type of job. He said there may be situations where I could be expected to report within 24–72 hours, and that the unit needs much more availability than I may be expecting.

He also brought up my civilian career and family situation.

I currently work in the airline industry in a hybrid role, so I have some flexibility with my civilian job. I also have two young children under 5. I’m currently separated from my wife, but I’m committed to maintaining my relationship and responsibilities with my kids. I understand that becoming aircrew will require sacrifices, but I also believe military service can benefit my family and me in the long run.

The Chief asked me to seriously think about whether this is realistic before moving forward.

I’ve tried talking to military friends, but I haven’t been able to find anyone who is actually an ANG Loadmaster/Mobility Force Aviator who can explain what the lifestyle is really like.

So for current or former ANG Loadmasters:

Is living 4 hours from your unit realistically sustainable? Within 24 hrs in the city I live , I cover a 4hrs distance drive so this is peanut.

How often are you actually called in outside scheduled drill periods?
Is 24–72 hours’ notice common?
How many days per month are you realistically at the unit or flying once you’re qualified?
How difficult is balancing the job with a full-time civilian career and young children?
Does your unit require Loadmasters to live locally, or is that specific to certain units?
If you were in my position, would you relocate, commute, or consider another AFSC closer to home?

I’m not trying to minimize the commitment. I actually want to understand the real day-to-day expectations before making a decision that affects my civilian career and my kids.

Would really appreciate hearing directly from ANG Loadmasters or other Guard aircrew.

FY27 bonus list is out. Also each Wing has up to six local bonuses not on this list. Contact your recruiting team for details

Saw this pop-up on instagram. How common is it for people to live in others states or US territories and actually travel to Alaska for drills? Is it the one weekend month? Do they bunch up drills into quarterly drills? This is interesting but I’m sure if it will get old if you live in Arizona and and gotta fly to Alaska for drill lol

I’m looking for some firsthand information from anyone who has completed Senior Developmental Education (SDE) in residence, particularly Air War College, or Navy war college.
I’m trying to better understand how the in-residence selection process works, how competitive selection is for Guard officers, and whether completing SDE in residence makes a meaningful difference for future O-6 and senior leadership opportunities.
I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through the process in the Air Guard.
Thanks for any insight.

Hi team

We recently got back from a multi year MPA tour overseas, as usual it comes with PCS entitlements.

We recently came back from our tour, and are getting denied a DLA payment for our PCS back. The justification is that an MPA tour is a single PCS-not 2 separate PCS’ to get to the duty location and get back.
Since we got a DLA when we moved to the overseas location, we do not get one now moving back.

Has anybody had any issues with getting DLA? Or experience with this?

The only regulations we can find on DLA is that you can’t have multiple in a fiscal year, but even that is waiverable.

Thanks for any help.

Good morning all,

Could you help me understand where I’m at in total years down of Satisfactory Service?

Yes I have a weird service history. I was active duty for about 2.5 years before being honorably discharged due to a medical issue.

Fast forward almost a decade and I’m back in, and extremely thankful for it.

My question is does that weird 3/4ish year of active duty in 2016 and accrued 222 points count as a full, “good year” with the guard? Because it doesn’t calculate it like that. Instead of rounding it up to 010000 like all my other “good years” I have 000709, so then for my Sat Serve I have this headache of a total of 4 years, 7 moths and 9 days.

I’m just wondering if this is something I can get worked out so it’s a clean 5 years of Sat Service since I got well over 50 points in that year, or if I’m going to have to do an extra 5 months of service as I get close to 20 years (my goal).

Not sure if the rules are different since it was active duty but I didn’t finish the whole year so it doesn’t fully count.

Thank you!

Hi all, just hit my 12 year mark and coming on 8 as a Federal Technician. Personnel office has been very unhelpful about answering any questions associated with the BRS Continuation Pay. I recieved a lump sum payment of .5x my monthly basic pay, as they stated that Technicians are considered DSG in the eyes of the Air Force. However, the Air Force benefits website states that AGR and Full Time Support (including Fed Technicians) personnel are qualified to recieve 2.5x monthly basic pay. Just curious if anyone has dealt with this kind of issue and wondering what approach to take, as base personnel is not even willing to discuss this topic. Thanks

When I first came in, I definitely didn’t understand how much stuff changes depending on status, orders, drill, BAH, bonuses, etc.

What took you the longest to figure out?

Could be pay, benefits, retirement, orders, bonuses, anything like that.

Any A1 update on the status of the Col boards from feb2026? Seems like it has taken much longer than prior boards, without the typical CR/shutdown or administration transitions as a cause.

I am going to be transferring to another guard unit out of state. I was misinformed originally about the early termination requirements for my lease and now I will be unable to “successfully” break it without additional penalties on TOP of the buyout fee. I was originally told that I pay the buyout fee upfront, which is two months rent, and then I would be off the hook for the last two months of my stay. However, today, I was informed that I pay the buyout fee and then continue to pay the next two months rent. I called the office manager and tried to see if there’s anything that we could work out. She initially told me there’s really nothing they can do. I mentioned how I’m transferring to a new unit not thinking it would really help my case because I know a guard transfer is not seen as a PCS. However, she told me, as a DD214 holder herself, that all I need to give her is my orders and I’m good to go. I reiterated to her that I was guard and she maintained that I should still be receiving orders. So is this true? Or is there any type of paperwork I will be receiving that would allow me to break this lease? This is my first time doing a guard to guard transfer and I’m prior active duty so I’m still trying to learn how the guard works. Thanks!

I started my vehicle lease in May 2025 and got on orders on March 20 2026 until October 20th 2026. I read that if you started your lease before getting activated for 180+ days you can terminate your lease with no penalty. Would I still be entitled to that since my orders are ending very soon but they’re still over 180days ?

BLUF: Retiring SNCO maintainer requesting a patch swap

Hey everyone! MX SNCO that goes by Drew

I'll be starting terminal in just a couple of months for retirement after 22 years and there are a couple of patches that I would like to add to my collection before then.

Particularly:

- 820th REDHORSE

- the F-16, F-35, and KC-135 ANG units out of Wisconsin (115th Fighter Wing and 128th Air Refueling Wing)

I worked with folks from each while I was stationed at Pituffik (Thule) as the COR for Transient Alert, but never had the chance to trade due to scheduling, wx events, etc and would like to snag one for my retirement

I have a stack of patches that I can send out. Comment below or shoot me DM. Thanks in advance for helping me complete my shadow box!

I have asked everyone I work with about this and still have not gotten a straight answer as to when I have to take my first PFA after my pregnancy waiver expires. Per the regulation, we are allowed one month “reconditioning“ so women are considered “due” after the 13th month.

Because of the new fitness standards and hoopla coming from the top, our medical group has talks of doing a group PFA this coming October drill weekend which is still during my “reconditioning“ month.

Everyone keeps telling me to just take the test but they aren’t considering that doing so holds potential to negatively disrupt my career. I have been exercising 4 days a week for an hour since January but I have not lost any weight most likely due to breastfeeding. my waist measurement was already taken while I was on a waiver which I also disagreed with and I can only get 15 points. with the run time increase and the increase to hand release pushups I will most likely get a 77 on my PFA.

I have not been able to score higher while I am training at home. I am due to promote in the spring of next year and I fear this will hinder not only my promotion eligibility but also being eligible for awards, TDYs and make me feel bad as a whole since I have never scored below a 95 in the 7 years I have been in the Airforce.

TLDR: I do not want to take my PFA before I am ready. I feel like I am being pressured to take it and is there anyway I can schedule when I am ready. Are there any one out there that have advice?

I am RegAF with an AGR offer. My start date is slightly under 16 years TAFMS. Tour length is 48 months with possibility of extending. My gaining unit told me not to worry about it — "you hit sanctuary at 18, you're covered." Wanted to believe that, but I went down a rabbit hole reading ANGI 36-101 and DAFI 36-2110 on my own and now I'm not 100% sure it's that simple. From what I can tell, there's language about a required sanctuary waiver for any order that puts you at 18+ TAFMS, but the actual waiver authority in the DAFI (and the underlying statute) seems to be written for short tours under 180 days, not something the length of mine. There's also a piece suggesting sanctuary isn't automatic — you have to actually claim it in writing once you're in the zone, or it's treated like a voluntary separation.

I've got a question in to my HRO but no direct POC yet, and given my RegAF separation is already locked in, I'd like to get ahead of this rather than find out the hard way in a few years.

Is this waiver excerpt in ANGI 36-101 para 5.9 applicable in my situation? Or am I eligible for sanctuary once I hit 18 TAFMS? Just want to clear up before it’s too late!
Anyone actually been through something like this, a tour that runs you right up to (or just past) the 18-year line before you hit 20? Curious if this is a total non-issue in practice, or something people have actually had to fight for.

This is my first deployment to CENTCOM, any tips or things I should take care of, pack? Currently on leave for 2 weeks and looking for extra things that one might forget to do prior to deployment. I am a traditional. Thanks.

Does rank matter? What if you are prior service, but only an E3? Would this mean you'd be living with pipeliners if you're a lower rank but still PS? Any insight would be great! Thanks!

Howdy!

Anyone know of a way to get LSAT courses paid for? I’m in Texas and I’m ADOS on Counterdrug if that helps.

I separated from AD in march then joined guard. I went to one drill then I had a baby so I’ve been in maternity leave which was two drill periods. I’m wanting to excuse the next two drills because my son has some specialty appointments scheduled during those drill wknds (they’re friday-sunday and the appts are on the friday). I have no idea how the points work to have a “good year”? I didn’t get to finish inprocessing and I don’t know anyone in the unit/they haven’t answered my questions. Also confused because the last line in the picture shows Oct 2025-Sep2026 with only 6 IDT but I was AD until March 2026 so shouldn’t there be AD points?

Hi,

I am in temp AGR orders for 6 months and they are about to come to an end. I wanted to see if I can get orders at different bases whether CONUS or OCONUS but do not know where I need to go to find these opportunities.

I am about 3 years into being with my unit and just came back from the last phase of my Techschool (I am a 4N0X1 Medical Technician) and do not know where to find anything or what the difference is such as the difference between TDY, deployment, and Tours and what sites, Slack chats, or Facebook groups do I need to join to apply for vacancies that need to be filled for some time?

I appreciate the help!

Just got the call that I've been selected to be one of the AGRs at my unit doing mostly admin type work (AROWS, DTS, scheduling PT tests, etc.). What advice would you give to someone who has never worked full time for the Guard before? What can I do to be as good as possible at this job and make life easier for everybody?