Snizo,
IRR, or Inactive Ready Reserve, is what everyone goes into when they separate from the Navy/Marine Corps but haven't yet completed the time requirement. I believe it is 8 years, regardless of whether you are enlisted or commissioned. I don't think aviators have an issue with this so much as officers in other communities. For example, a SWO who does his 4-year requirement and then separates will still be in the IRR for the next 4 years until he hits that magic number 8. Techically, someone in the IRR could be called up to active duty if the member's service is required. While this may sound extreme, it has and does happen.
The past couple of years the Reserves have really been trying to allign themselves with their active duty counterparts....this is good. One thing you need to understand though is that the Reserves are moving more and more to a database driven way of fulfilling requirements. What I mean by that is that your name and all your associated skills go into a big database. It used to be that if big Navy needed somebody pronto to go fill an active duty billet somewhere, they would just pull a body from a billet in the Reserves that closely match their requirements. Now, they are starting to match their requirements to what is available in the database. What I'm getting at is that you could be filling a normal reserve billet but have some obscure skill the navy suddenly needs for 6 months in Bahrain. That skill may have absolutely nothing to do with your current reserve billet, but because you have it and are available, you get tagged.
Snizo said:
What the requirements are for someone on IRR? Its my understanding they dont have to do any weekend drills. What does this leave? A once a year check-in and pfa or something?
For someone in the IRR, your requirement is to live your life. There is no drills you have to attend and no PFA's to do. There is really no one to check in with. I'm sure it's written down somewhere that you are supposed to keep the Navy informed of your location, but many times people forget they are even in the IRR. You are in every sense of the word, a civilian.
Snizo said:
But it looked like IRR can drill - even if they aren't SELRES. Just trying to get an idea of what happens with people in this particular program. Also looking for info on switching from IRR to SELRES, but I can call up a reserve center and get that (theoretically).
Personnel in the IRR cannot drill and IRR really isn't a program. Like I alluded to above, it's just a way to categorize your status.
saltpeter said:
As a SELRES, you will drill 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks per year. Pay is awesome/ work is mostly non-existent as the reserves reorganize, unless you possess a specific skill that is needed. You will be able to search for jobs online and apply if you qualify by sending a resume or a recruiter will simply assign you to a unit that needs a warm body. Currently, the push is for INTEL, so you may be heading back to school to redesignate.
What is nice about the Reserves is that it is very flexible. There is no "contract" that you sign saying you will be in the Reserves (as a SELRES0 for such and such amount of time. If it's something that you don't want to do anymore, you just request to be transferred to the IRR. Satisfactory participation requirements are as follows:
- you must attend 40 of 48 scheduled drills (each drill weekend is 4 drill periods...2 per day)
- you must perform a minimum of 12 days of annual active duty for training each fiscal year
- basic admin responsibilities like responding to official correspondance (mail) and keeping your CO informed of your employment status, residence, etc.....all nothing to worry about
You're not going to be able to search available billets online (unless this just changed in the past few months). The best source of this information is the reserve center that you will be drilling out of. They can tell you the type of Units (miniature commands) that drill out of the reserve center. They can also tell you what billets are available. The recruiters may not want you to know this because they are likely going to push the hard to fill billets. It has been my experience that they tend not to give you the complete picture of what is available. This is just something to consider and doesn’t necessarily represent what your experience will be like. However, just remember that the reserve center is a very good source of information. The recruiter is likely not going to know what the billet he is offering you entails. So, contact the reserve center and get a hold of the unit CO who that billet belongs to. Then ask everything you want to know about that billet, that unit, and about time commitment required. Basically, you are shopping for home and you are the one with the control. If you don’t like the billet or don’t get a good feeling from the CO, you don’t have to take the job. If the billet is open, it is very unlikely you are going to have to convince anyone to want you. The unit CO is going to want that billet filled.
One thing also to consider. You can technically be filling a billet in Virginia, but drilling out of California. I’m not going to go into the details here, but it’s something you can bring up to the recruiter if you need to.
saltpeter said:
If you go through a recruiter, he will simply place you in the first available billet. To find your own billet, you must sign up for the Apply Board. If your junior, LT or less, and aviaiton good luck finding a job. Best bet is to get in the system and grease some palms. Although, if you are somewhat senior 04 or above, then go to Buper and sign up for the Apply Board.
You will have to go through a recruiter eventually since he is the one who will be processing your paperwork to get in. I’ve already said what you can do (up above) to find a billet on your own. The Apply Board is a different animal altogether. After you get in the system, then you can used the Apply Board to get into a competitive billet (e.g. unit CO, XO). The Apply Board can be for LT’s, but normally O-4’s and up are the ones who use it most since fewer and fewer billet become available for those higher paygrades.
Wink is an O-5 reservist. I would recommend PM’ing him.