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USN So... I'm in the IRR. Now what?

Purdue

Chicks Dig Rotors...
pilot
[This post is 65% venting... 35% pleading for help.]

I was 2xFOS'd and left the Navy last March.
I've since been hired by a regional and am flying for them.
I tried very hard to talk to my CTO and figure out how to do the Reserves... but since I was bouncing around the country for training at my regional (SanDiego/Dallas/Chicago) and I didn't know what part of the country the company would base me in (or when I could get off work since I was in flight training)... I couldn't pick a unit to affiliate with. I also had no idea how to pick a unit, and asked him how to figure out what units did what or needed what officers... but he wasn't very forthcoming with answers... his plan to place me in a unit at the current city I was staying at a hotel in and then find me a more permanent command/billet later sounded suspiciously like the old "Hey, just go into the Navy as an undesignated Seaman and then when you pick a rating, maybe Rescue Swimmer!, it will be something you'll know is right for you!!" then my CTO left his billet and was replaced by a Petty Officer who called me and started asking all the same questions, and out of exasperation he just put me in the IRR when I told him I had been living out of hotels for 6 months and didn't have a home-city yet.

There was a circle-jerk of "Log in to the website to find a command/billet you like!" / "You can't log in to the website until you are in the reserves and gained to a unit" / "Why haven't you chosen a unit? Log onto the site to find one that you like!" / "Sorry, you don't have access to that website."

All the military bubbas around me here at the regional are ex-Army. They seem to make the Army Reserves and National Guard seem like they are super easy to understand and better organized than the Navy does our reserves... Their hands were basically held throughout the transition process, whereas I was kicked off my ship on deployment and told to go home and figure it out... TAPS didn't cover how an Officer deals with the Reserves, and I'm at a loss. Send the flames if you feel it's warranted... I just naively expected to be welcomed and walked through the transition a little bit...

I admit to being woefully uninformed on how the Navy Reserves work, or how to find a billet that fits me in the community. However, now that I'm in the IRR... what/how do I do anything? At this point, I'm just working my ass off at the new company to start my next chapter. I don't need the reserves, but isn't it possible to do some type of online correspondence to have the year count towards a retirement later? How do I find these courses and take them? How time consuming are they?

Also... I apparently just made O-4 as a reservist?
 
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HokiePilot

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I'm in the same boat and could use an answer to.

The third time in the charm for O-4!
 

N4Life

Member
You are absolutely correct about the transition into the Reserves process. It felt like the Navy was still learning a new program and we were the test subject and an afterthought. I was in the Reserves for three months before I found out I’d been pickedup – and that was only because I called NPC to find out if the CTO was okay as he was not responding to my phone calls or emails for nearly a month. My previous call was ‘we will let you know as soon as there’s a decision’ (even as I was already selected two months earlier).

As an IRR you will not be at a command, IRR means non drilling (no pay). If you desire to show active participation, join the VTU (Voluntary Training Unit) where you drill monthly at a NOSC. No pay but you will receive retirement points, I think 48 a year. This plus the anniversary will ensure a good year toward retirement. Contact a Reserve Officer recruiter if you want to go this route. A word of warning, my local NOSC initially stated the VTU was for enlisted only; officers could not participate. If they do, politely inform them how wrong they are. I’ve heard serving as a Blue and Gold officer for Academy prospectives or funeral details will earn retirement points. Despite what Pers-93 says, correspondence courses are not the only way to earn points. The correspondence course list is on the NPC IRR website. Some can be completed in a day, others in a few weeks. They are not hard or that intense, just takes some time. Some of these courses require a CAC to sign up, limiting IRR participation.

If you do want to join a unit, you need to be in the SELRES. I don’t know about aviators but for my designator, they had a rolling board which required the completed application received by 1 October. Then once they reach their totals for the year they accept no more. Like the VTU, work through the Reserve Officer recruiter. The hardest part is scheduling a physical. As these are good for two years, the recruiter can schedule it at any time. They do not have to be scheduled right before the selection board.

Basically, as a member of the IRR, you are an afterthought; not supported by the Navy and not expected to do anything but prepare to separate completely. My opinion of working with Pers-93. Take everything they say with a grain of salt. They may be the chain of command for all IRR Sailors, but too often they have no idea what they are talking about. I swear half the time they refused to provide assistance and told me to contact Pers-911 as Per-93 only supported enlisted IRR Sailors.



http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-n.../IRR/Pages/Reserve_Retirement_Points_FAQ.aspx
 
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Randy Daytona

Cold War Relic
pilot
Super Moderator
[This post is 65% venting... 35% pleading for help.]
I don't need the reserves, but isn't it possible to do some type of online correspondence to have the year count towards a retirement later? How do I find these courses and take them? How time consuming are they?

I'm in the same boat and could use an answer to.

In this same Naval Reserve thread is "Correspondence Course Review." You can find most of your answers there. That said, the first thing you need to do is call PERS-912 and find out what your anniversary date is - telephone 866-827-5672. You also want a copy of your point capture mailed to your house - I have one mailed every year.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
It's probably best to start out with the basics. Where are you finally ending up (if you don't want to say the city, at least give the region). That will help figure out whether SELRES is even something you would want to do. Then we can give you a talk-on for where to go next, if you still want to do the Reserves.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I’ve heard serving as a Blue and Gold officer for Academy prospectives...will earn retirement points.

I can vouch for this. Mom put on O-6 in the Res and couldn't find a pay billet (not a lot of O-6 1835 pay billets in NW Florida, surprisingly) so she did BGO to finish out her last couple of years. It was while I was at Fort Severn Vo-Tech myself, so it worked out well.
 

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
This is a 60% confidence answer but until you're settled down in one city you a NAVET recruiter will want to talk and work with you.
 

Purdue

Chicks Dig Rotors...
pilot
It's probably best to start out with the basics. Where are you finally ending up (if you don't want to say the city, at least give the region). That will help figure out whether SELRES is even something you would want to do. Then we can give you a talk-on for where to go next, if you still want to do the Reserves.

I'm "settled" as follows:
Homeownership and wife live in Los Angeles. I'll be there 2 days a week when not working.
I work out of Chicago, but as an airline pilot... I spend most nights in various cities around the midwest.

In this same Naval Reserve thread is "Correspondence Course Review." You can find most of your answers there. That said, the first thing you need to do is call PERS-912 and find out what your anniversary date is - telephone 866-827-5672. You also want a copy of your point capture mailed to your house - I have one mailed every year.

Thanks Randy. I'll call them. Sorry I didn't find the "Correspondence Course Review" on my own. There's been so many unknowns and unanswered questions, it's hard to start from scratch and find everything. I wasn;t even aware of being able to earn points in the IRR by doing courses at all until I overheard someone else discussing it.
 

FrankTheTank

Professional Pot Stirrer
pilot
Drill whenever you want. You can Mil Lv days off and jumpseat to where you need to be. But the double commute will suck. So either LA or Chicago for drill location. Or as desperate course of action, drill at Bupers and jumpseat in the middle of the night down from Chicago, drill then middle of the night back home and vice versa to minimize time away from home. I say Pers cause they always need folks, lots of billets and FedEx flys 24/7, 365 especially to LA area.
 

Randy Daytona

Cold War Relic
pilot
Super Moderator
I'm "settled" as follows:
Homeownership and wife live in Los Angeles. I'll be there 2 days a week when not working.
I work out of Chicago, but as an airline pilot... I spend most nights in various cities around the midwest.



Thanks Randy. I'll call them. Sorry I didn't find the "Correspondence Course Review" on my own. There's been so many unknowns and unanswered questions, it's hard to start from scratch and find everything. I wasn;t even aware of being able to earn points in the IRR by doing courses at all until I overheard someone else discussing it.

You really want to find a drilling unit at home - do not neglect the family to carry on 2 careers. If you can not find a drilling unit in LA (as an O-4 or even O-5 it should not be a problem), then go to the VTU. The VTU will allow an easier transition to SelRes when a billet opens up on JOApply.
 

zippy

Freedom!
pilot
Contributor
I'm "settled" as follows:
Homeownership and wife live in Los Angeles. I'll be there 2 days a week when not working.
I work out of Chicago, but as an airline pilot... I spend most nights in various cities around the midwest.



Thanks Randy. I'll call them. Sorry I didn't find the "Correspondence Course Review" on my own. There's been so many unknowns and unanswered questions, it's hard to start from scratch and find everything. I wasn;t even aware of being able to earn points in the IRR by doing courses at all until I overheard someone else discussing it.


Find a unit in SoCal/LA area, read the FOM and start using mil leave/ drills to get you more time at home with your wife.
 

Pags

N/A
pilot
I'll be the outsider here and ask, "do you really need or want to be part of SELRES?" Do you need the extra $? Do you need to spend time on a second part time job when it sounds like you're already gone a lot? Is a MOB something you'd like to be on the hook for in a few years when you no longer have protection? As a data point from myself and my peers:. You run out of protection just about the time your second career is really starting to flourish. Many of my buds who recently MOBd were just coming up for promotion, next job, etc. Based on what I've seen on here about moving from the regionals to the majors I'd imagine that move would come about the same time as your first MOB.

I strongly considered SELRES twice but both times left saying "no thanks." Part of the reason I left is because I couldn't find a damned straight answer on anything so I couldn't get a good grasp on the requirements and how much it would impact my real life. So I said to heck with it. To me taking the time I would've spent on SELRES and putting it towards my family and day job seemed like a much better use of that time. But that was my calculus.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I'll be the outsider here and ask, "do you really need or want to be part of SELRES?" Do you need the extra $? Do you need to spend time on a second part time job when it sounds like you're already gone a lot? Is a MOB something you'd like to be on the hook for in a few years when you no longer have protection? As a data point from myself and my peers:. You run out of protection just about the time your second career is really starting to flourish. Many of my buds who recently MOBd were just coming up for promotion, next job, etc. Based on what I've seen on here about moving from the regionals to the majors I'd imagine that move would come about the same time as your first MOB.

I strongly considered SELRES twice but both times left saying "no thanks." Part of the reason I left is because I couldn't find a damned straight answer on anything so I couldn't get a good grasp on the requirements and how much it would impact my real life. So I said to heck with it. To me taking the time I would've spent on SELRES and putting it towards my family and day job seemed like a much better use of that time. But that was my calculus.

Yeah...Big Navy tries to give you the impression that you need to no-break-in-service affiliate and drill right off AD, but that's not the case at all. In fact, the guys I've known in the NavRes who took a break - got out out for a few years - did pretty well. If you don't need the money, and you're not in a life/career position to give serious time to the Reserves, then I recommend leaving the Navy altogether until you are. Your clock keeps running even in the IRR, and you can find yourself in a time/grade position where you're shut out of more interesting work. Plus, as @Pags said, you're in the mob vul window when you least want to be. Whereas the guys who came back in, while older than your average O-3/-4, had fairly low time in grade and were competitive for billets.

My $0.02 is, since the Reserves aren't really doing anything for you right now, is get you and you camp followers established in civil life, get to the Majors, then come back in as a SELRES. Or go look into the AFRES or ANG.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Everyone is putting the cart before the horse.

Purdue, what do you want to do, or maybe a better way to ask is what do you think you want out of the Reserves? If we start there, then we can figure out what may be the best path, including potentially NOT going to the Reserves. Until you slow down a bit and answer that question, everyone is just going to throw more info at you and make it harder to grasp all the ins and outs.

Yeah...Big Navy tries to give you the impression that you need to no-break-in-service affiliate and drill right off AD, but that's not the case at all. In fact, the guys I've known in the NavRes who took a break - got out out for a few years - did pretty well. If you don't need the money, and you're not in a life/career position to give serious time to the Reserves, then I recommend leaving the Navy altogether until you are. Your clock keeps running even in the IRR, and you can find yourself in a time/grade position where you're shut out of more interesting work. Plus, as @Pags said, you're in the mob vul window when you least want to be. Whereas the guys who came back in, while older than your average O-3/-4, had fairly low time in grade and were competitive for billets.

Yes and no. Waiting also causes you to lose your protection, so there's a balance. Purdue is already past his 24 month protection, and is probably quickly approaching losing his overall protection, so it might be moot, but there are benefits to affiliating right away.

Also, an INVOL MOB is not a thing for certain TYCOMs, so saying a MOB is a foregone conclusion isn't necessarily true. But again, now we're back to trying to figure out what Purdue thinks he's going to get it out of the Reserves.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Yes and no. Waiting also causes you to lose your protection, so there's a balance. Purdue is already past his 24 month protection, and is probably quickly approaching losing his overall protection, so it might be moot, but there are benefits to affiliating right away.

Also, an INVOL MOB is not a thing for certain TYCOMs, so saying a MOB is a foregone conclusion isn't necessarily true. But again, now we're back to trying to figure out what Purdue thinks he's going to get it out of the Reserves.

Those protections are already pretty much gone. I would not bank on any kind of sanctuary whatsoever. And I've seen 'fences' for mobs for certain units/types come down very abruptly, too. It happened to TSW and kicked off the Great RMP Panic of 2012.

Point is: the only advantage to affiliating immediately off AD is sanctuary and it's an ephemeral advantage at best. Moot for the OP anyway, but for others.
 
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