Can anyone tell me what they know about the army reserves?

Question

My husband is thinking of joining the army reserves and i was wondering if that meant he has to go to iraq. can anyone tell me what the benefits are of being in the reserves verses being a full on soldier? I need advice please

P.S. I dont mean about the benefits for me (we're seperated) but for my son. Does he still get some coverage if his father goes into the army?

Answer 1

Look, I am an Active Duty Marine who just finished my 3rd tour of Iraq. I also have a brother who is Active Duty in the Army. I wish to share a few things. 1) If your husband joins the military, he will probably go to Iraq regardless of status (i.e. Active Duty, Inactive Reserves, Active Reserves, or National Guard), or job for that matter. 2) It has been proven that the Active Army does a better job than the rest of the Army Components. They are better trained and react better under stressful or combat conditions.

Here is a "war story". I hope you don’t mind me telling it to you. I was in a small city in the middle of the Al Anbar Province of Western Iraq. We were a small 5 man detachment from my Marine Company supporting the Active Duty Army Unit that was operating in the city. I should tell you that my unit supports both Army and Navy Units as well the Marines when they are in the same Area of Operations (AO) as us. Well, we had machine guns and spotters on the rooftop of the building we were working in and out of for security. Around 2 in the morning one night, an activated Army Inactive Reserve Unit convoy was going down the Main Supply Route (MSR) that ran beside the building. They saw our machine gun posts and spotters on the rooftop. Now, granted that they were green and inexperienced, that still is no excuse for their actions. However, when they saw the Soldiers/machine guns/spotters on the rooftop, they opened fire on us. They were shooting at us for five minutes, which is forever and a lifetime when your getting shot at. Fortunately, their Grenadiers didn't open on us or we would have taken a lot more friendly casualties than we did. We only had three wounded that night. The result of that night is that both myself and the Active Duty Army soldiers that I was working with learned that the Reserves are highly untrust worthy.

So, if your husband does join the Army, he, based on my experience with the Army, he should join the Active Duty Component, and both the Inactive and Active Reserves as well as the National Guard should be avoided. Be prepared for a lot of stupidity and hassle working the beuarcracy of the Military. I would recommend that you talk to three or four different Army Recruiters so that they can all point out different things, that way you won't miss out on any opportunities that a single recruiter might forget to mention or not mention. Honestly, the Air Force treats their people and families a lot better than the Army or Marines do. I wish you luck.

Answer 2

The military reserves use to be a great place to earn money to support your family, get an education, train as a soldier & go to places & help people after natural disasters or in the case of 911, help in all areas even digging up bodies.
Now, whenever anyone joins the army, navy, air force, national guard or marine reserves, they are sent to Iraq as soon as they leave basic training.

Answer 3

Being in the Reserves will increase his chances of deploying to Iraq (you will be very proud of him). The Reserves are deploying approximately 80% of their people to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Active Duty is about 20%.

As far as benefits go, for a family, the Reserves only covers him while on Active Duty, unless he purchases the Reserve coverage for his family (expensive). On Active Duty, it is 100%. Plus he can go to college for free on Active Duty and have money after the Active Duty to continue his education. As a family man, I always recommend Active Duty. It provides a home, food, income, job security, medical and dental benefits all everyday, not somedays. Plus as a Reservist, he will not collect the full housing allowance unless he serves 180 days on Active Duty. In San Francisco, at my rank, that is a difference of $2812.00 a month and $795.00 a month. Large difference.

Answer 4

I have been in the reserves for over 8 years and 1 of those years was in Iraq, not bad if you ask me.

Answer 5

well, the army coddles reservists. For the most part, he'll get paid for four days for doing two days of work (playing dominoes). If he deploys, they'll send him to an active post first, and change that post's daily schedule to fit his needs. Of course, he'll have to wait for someone to retire or die before he gets promoted.

Answer 6

I suggest speaking with a Recruiter in your location for up to date information.

Don't let others speak for you; many prejudiced answers abound. Get current, correct, information.

Answer 7

https://secure.military.com/leads/Recruiting/RecruitingLeadForm1.jsp?ESRC=ggl_rec_reserve.kw

There is all you need to know :-)

Answer 8

no