Army Reserve Job Description

(*updated as of OCT2019, always check for new USAREC Messages)

Eligibility

17-35 years old

U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien (We do not offer internship or work visa sponsorship)

Currently In High School (CIHS) Alternate Training Program

• 17 y/o and a junior in good standing at their high school
• Complete BCT the summer between their Junior and Senior year
• USAREC historically opens the ATP window in October for Juniors

Incentives

MGIB CHP 1606/1607: Over 14K ($392 per month for 36 months). Note: A Reservist who has served 90 days or more of concurrent active-duty service (IADT not included) will qualify for Post 9/11 GI Bill. However, if they have not served 3 years of active-duty service it will be percentage based (total active-duty time)

Tuition Assistance: $4,000 per year (AIT grad and cannot use MGIB and TA for same classes)

Enlistment Bonus: Qualified applicants may be eligible for an EB up to $20K. Eligible applicants must enlist into a qualifying primary vacancy. NPS applicants must enlist for a minimum 6×2 Term of Service. PS applicants must enlist for 3 or 6 years. (see USAREC Message 19-053)

Student Loan Repayment Program: Amount determined by education level and vacancy type (10K-50K typically)

1) $10K – $1,500 per entitlement year

2) $20K – $3,000 per entitlement year

3) $30K – $4,500 per entitlement year

4) $40K – $6,000 per entitlement year

5) $50K – $7,500 per entitlement year

• The Army Reserve will pay 15% of the outstanding principle balance on the loan each year (or $500, whichever is higher)
• Must enlist for a minimum 6×2 Term of Service

Select MGIB Kicker: amount determined by MOS and vacancy type ($100, $200, or $350)

• Must be used congruently with the MGIB CH 1606/1607 (36 months)
• Tax free

Note: Great example to use during interview: If you add Drill Pay and Kicker together after taxes you will come up anywhere from $350-$600 per month. Use the average of $500. Explain to prospect if they worked during college at even $10 per hour they might have to work 60-70 hours a week to equal what they could make in one weekend in the Army Reserve (which does not interfere with school since it is on the weekend)

ROTC/Minuteman Scholarships: Offers 2, 3 and 4 (Minuteman is 4 years) year scholarships. Basic eligibility criteria: 17-26 y/o, 2.5 GPA (HS), 920 SAT or 19 ACT and agree to commission after graduation into Army or Army Reserve. In the ROTC students can expect to take 1 elective requirement and 1 lab class requirement per semester (some of these classes may be in addition to their normal classes they would be taking depending on their chosen degree plan). They also PT three times per week. They can also expect to spend a few weeks over the summer attending Leadership Courses at Ft Knox, KY or Ft Lewis, WA. The nice thing about this program is that it is flexible in that it allows students already in college to still be eligible to enroll and get their commission since you can complete the program in only 2 years if need be. Some of the benefits include: free tuition, free books and a paid stipend of $300 – $500 (tax free) per month depending on grade level

Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP): Any Soldier currently serving in the Army Reserve and ROTC simultaneously. This is a great opportunity for ROTC cadets to be able to apply what they are learning in college to the real world, by actively drilling in their USAR unit. During their final 2 years of ROTC the Soldier is commissioned as a Cadet at their Unit, which will allow them to receive E-5 Sergeant pay for any Reserve duty they complete. They will also be put into a leadership position such as PL or Company XO. If a Soldier received the Kicker on their initial contract then they may still receive that in addition to the ROTC monthly stipend. So when you are talking to prospects about SMP here is the major selling point: They may earn up to or even over $1000 per month by being a SMP ROTC Cadet on top of your tuition and books being paid for. $200-$350 Kicker + $300-$500 ROTC Stipend + Drill Pay $200-$400 per month

SGLI: $25 (average) a month for $400,000 in coverage (can be reduced in increments to lower cost). Since USAR Soldiers immediately assess they will automatically get max coverage and start incurring the fee monthly so make sure you brief them that and recommend they lower the amount until they ship. If they choose to lower it have them complete the SGLV 8286 during their Unit Visit and give to their UA

Tricare Reserve Select: $42.83 per month member-only coverage and $218.01 per month for member and family coverage (average rates). These rates are extremely competitive and almost always lower than any coverage under the Affordable Health Care Act or any civilian employer based plan

(https://tricare.mil/Costs/HealthPlanCosts/TRS)

Tricare Dental Program: Low cost, premium based dental insurance. Member only is around $9 per month (family can also be added). Note: If a Reservist is called to active-duty for 30 days or more both the Tricare Reserve Select and Dental Program enrollment automatically drops and they receive free care as any other active-duty service member would

Military I.D.: Since Army Reserve Soldiers immediately assess they are eligible to get their Military ID. They just need to go to a DEERS location with their DD4, State ID, SSN Card and Birth Certificate. It usually takes about a week from once they swear in at MEPS for DEERS to have their information so wait a week before you try to get them an ID. Having an ID gives them PX/Commissary/Gym Access on military bases. If you have a CIHS or a senior this is a great selling point so them and their families can take advantage of these benefits while they are still living at home

Double Dip Pay: Drill pay is broken down into MUTA’s (Multiple Unit Training Assembly). There are 4 MUTA’s in a typical drill weekend (Saturday & Sunday). Each MUTA is worth 1 day of pay in active-duty. There are 2 MUTA’s per day on a drill weekend (morning/afternoon). Therefore, for one weekend a Reservist is actually receiving 4 days of active-duty pay

AGR Opportunities: Active Guard Reserve. Reservists looking to go active-duty who do not meet the current USAREC business rules can always apply for AGR. The application process is completed through the HRC website. They can also volunteer for deployments on their record portal (no guarantees)

Army Reserve Employer Partnership Website: employerpartnership.org is a great resource for Reservists looking for civilian employment

IADT and NCOES College Credits: the average IADT alone may transfer into 12-15 semester credit hours (these classes are primarily elective classes). Note: A CIHS cannot use these credits to graduate from high school (I tried it). Soldiers must present their JST (Joint Service Transcripts) to their school advisor or academic department for review. Learn more at goarmyed.com

Travel: USAR units sometimes get the opportunity to conduct their Annual Training (2 weeks a year) overseas. Typical locations I have seen are in Germany and Italy. USAR units also go to NTC and JRTC

USAR 20 Year Retirement: A Soldier must obtain 50 points per year for it to be considered a qualifying year for retirement. They receive a point for each MUTA or each active-duty day. Retired USAR can begin drawing pension at age 60. The pension amount will depend on total amounts of points earned (google Army Reserve retirement calculator). They also begin receiving TRICARE benefits from age 60 – 65 (65+ are then eligible for MEDICARE). USAR Retirees under age 60 may qualify for a low premium based TRICARE benefits package. Reservists, USAR Retirees and their dependents are also allowed PX and Commissary privileges

Vacancies

Primary Vacancy: any empty slot (para, line number) on a Unit’s UMR (Unit Manning Report, AR-600-8-6) IAW the Unit’s TOE and MTOE. Only primary vacancies and mobilization vacancies currently offer incentives

Mobilization Vacancy: A unit is set to deploy within a year or currently deployed, which will open more vacancies on the UMR for mobilization support.

Excess Slots: double slotting slots or filling a slot not currently MTOE approved on UMR. These slots will not offer any incentives

We need to ensure our Army Reserve Units are consistently scrubbing their UMR’s IOT ensure vacancies are identified as soon as possible. Unit Administrators (UA’s) and Commanders usually keep track of their Unit’s UMR. It may take up to 90 days for errors in a Units UMR to be corrected. IRR Soldiers may also be added to a Unit’s UMR without them even knowing it. This is why it is so important to make sure your USAR Units are keeping their UMR’s up to date

Find AR Vacancies: Use RMZ to open AR Vacancies folder and search for vacancies in your AO. This will list all available MOS’s and USAREC training seats in your area (instructions attachment included in the folder I am giving you)

All AGR Recruiters should have access to the Army Reserve RMCS (Reserve Component Manpower System) which allows them to search for vacancies by MOS for every Unit in the Army Reserve

What is it like being in the Army Reserve?

A typical Battle Assembly (drill weekend) in the Army Reserve is very similar to the typical day on active-duty. Soldiers can expect to have PT formation around 0630. Most Units have a locker room for personal hygiene following PT. Company formation around 0800. The Commander or 1SG will talk about what needs to get done for the day. Most home station weekends (at your Reserve center) consist of performing PMCS on all the Unit’s equipment to include vehicles and weapons. Most Units have a Motor Pool with AGR staff and DA civilians that work in it year-round to keep the equipment operational. Unit’s also have an AGR Supply Sergeant, AGR OPS NCO and DA Civilian Unit Administrator that work at the Unit full-time to ensure Unit Readiness.

Soldiers can expect to do the following over the weekend: inventory of weapons and equipment, cleaning, organizing Platoon cages, NCOER’s, scheduling NCOES, DOD Cyber Awareness Challenge, Accident Avoidance Course (yes, we too have to endure the suck…lol), and many other typical tasking’s. The Unit will also provide lunch chow each day on drill weekend at home station. You can then expect to have another formation after lunch (usually followed by a UPL party…lol) and the Command team will get an update on what we have accomplished and what we need to get done by COB. Typically, final formation during a home station weekend is at 1700. Soldiers are released. At that point they can go home, or if they live outside the mileage radius they will either be given a hotel or will stay overnight at the Unit (depending on funding).

IDT Travel: If a Soldier lives outside a 50-150 mile radius they may be provided Lodging-In-Kind Saturday night at a local hotel. If they live outside a 150 mile radius they may be given $0.19 per mile reimbursement and a hotel Fri-Sat (IDT travel caps at $300). Typically for Soldiers living outside a 150 mile radius they will try to pair them with another Solider that can put the room on their travel card so they can maximize their mileage and any other travel expenses. All IDT travel is logged in DTS and the Soldiers use their Government Travel Card (IDT policies may vary by Unit).

Units will also conduct Battle Assemblies at the nearest Military Installation a few weekends per year. These weekends are typically known as a MUTA 5’s (5 day’s pay) because they will report Friday at 1700 and will travel to the Training Installation that evening. During these weekends Soldiers can expect to qualify with their weapons, conduct drivers training, MOS specific training and any other training which they cannot conduct at home station. All meals are provided for the weekend. They will travel home on Sunday morning. When they get back to Unit they clean equipment, sensitive items check, accountability and final formation.

AT: Annual Training (two weeks per year) is usually conducted over the summer but may vary. Units may travel CONUS or OCONUS for training depending on where they are in the ARFORGEN process (google it). Training will be based off of Unit’s METL. During this time Soldiers receive active-duty pay to include BAS. However, they do not receive BAH for these two weeks.

Units will provide their Soldiers with a copy of the Unit’s Battle Assembly schedule for each FY so Soldiers can give to their employers, schools and family.