Life in the Air National Guard vs. Active Duty
Here are some of the things to know about the Air National Guard (ANG):
The ANG has 4 different statuses that a member can be in:
1) Traditional Gaurdsman (Weekend Warrior)
- These are the troops who only work on Drill weekends (usually the first full weekend of the month unless that weekend is associated with a holiday, then it's the following weekend).
- During that weekend they get a “meal card” (free) lunch at the dining facility
- Drill days are not required to be accomplished during drill weekend; however, it is usually done on the weekends. If the Traditional has a job or schooling that prevents working on Drill weekend they can make up the Drill during the week and have the entire Fiscal year to do this by coordinating with their supervisors.
- Drill weekends count double for retirement points for Traditionals and Technicians.
- For every day of Active Duty time a military member gets 1 point toward retirement. Active Duty members can retire after accumulating 7305 days (20 years).
- Drill weekends are usually filled with all of the ancillary training. (ADLS and other Computer Based Training (CBT))
- The unit will pay for the member to stay in a hotel if the member has to travel from another city or state to perform Drill.
- They can also get up to 15 Annual Training (AT) days a year
- This is usually referred to as the two weeks a year, but it is rarely done consecutively. It is usually spread out over the year to accommodate the Traditional's schedule.
- Traditionals are eligible for the GI Bill Kicker ($350/month extra for the GI Bill) when taking 12 semester credits or more.
- If you have come from Active Duty and are receiving the Montgomery GI Bill, this extra $350 a month makes a big difference.
- All positions in the ANG are slated for SSgt (or higher). This means an E-6 coming from Active Duty Air Force or another branch may be reduced in rank to an E-5 upon entry into the ANG. There are exceptions to this, but they are rare. A person
The ANG has 4 different statuses that a member can be in:
1) Traditional Gaurdsman (Weekend Warrior)
- These are the troops who only work on Drill weekends (usually the first full weekend of the month unless that weekend is associated with a holiday, then it's the following weekend).
- During that weekend they get a “meal card” (free) lunch at the dining facility
- Drill days are not required to be accomplished during drill weekend; however, it is usually done on the weekends. If the Traditional has a job or schooling that prevents working on Drill weekend they can make up the Drill during the week and have the entire Fiscal year to do this by coordinating with their supervisors.
- Drill weekends count double for retirement points for Traditionals and Technicians.
- For every day of Active Duty time a military member gets 1 point toward retirement. Active Duty members can retire after accumulating 7305 days (20 years).
- Drill weekends are usually filled with all of the ancillary training. (ADLS and other Computer Based Training (CBT))
- The unit will pay for the member to stay in a hotel if the member has to travel from another city or state to perform Drill.
- They can also get up to 15 Annual Training (AT) days a year
- This is usually referred to as the two weeks a year, but it is rarely done consecutively. It is usually spread out over the year to accommodate the Traditional's schedule.
- Traditionals are eligible for the GI Bill Kicker ($350/month extra for the GI Bill) when taking 12 semester credits or more.
- If you have come from Active Duty and are receiving the Montgomery GI Bill, this extra $350 a month makes a big difference.
- All positions in the ANG are slated for SSgt (or higher). This means an E-6 coming from Active Duty Air Force or another branch may be reduced in rank to an E-5 upon entry into the ANG. There are exceptions to this, but they are rare. A person