Reserve Cost of Living and Unit transfer

[Indeejordan]

Hello,
I was curious if in the reserves you get any sort Cost of living allowance. Because drilling in California is obviously more expensive to live than in say Iowa. In the reserves do you get any sort of extra allowances on top of the reserve base pay? And I was also curious of how hard it is to tranfer units? Say you are in a unit in California, but your civilian job wants to transfer you to the east coast. How hard is it for that to be possible in the Marine Reserves? Thanks.

 

[Indeejordan]

Anybody have any ideas?

 

[snake020]

http://www.marines.com/page/Lead-Form.jsp

 

[HAL Pilot]

Why would they give you a cost of living allowance? The idea of the reserves is that it is in your local area, the area you chose to live in.

 

[Indeejordan]

Why would they give you a cost of living allowance? The idea of the reserves is that it is in your local area, the area you chose to live in.

That makes sense, then is it pretty easy to transfer to a different unit if you choose or am forced to move somewhere else by your civilian employer?

 

[SWACQ]

I know this is an old post, but adding relatively new info.

An inter-unit transfer in the reserves is incredibly easy for almost every unit except squadrons. If you are an aviator and want to join a ground unit as a FAC, they will actively recruit you because of the shortage. For squadrons, that's different, there is typically a join board where they look at your record, basically an interview, and then they decide to take you or not. That aspect is pretty competitive.

I live in VA Beach and commute to a reserve unit in FL. The Marine Corps just started paying up to $300 for a plane ticket for any company grade officer and field grade 75xx to fly to drill weekend. If your ticket costs $220, you get reimbursed $220, if your ticket costs $350, you get reimbursed $300.

The rest of drill is normal, lodging is provided if you live outside 50 miles from the reserve site, and you provide your own transportation and meals as an officer. Lodging is normally provided at a hotel that has a courtesy shuttle to drive all the guys in in the morning, and then they'll bum rides back at night. Personally I bought a beater for $500 that I keep at the reserve center for when I need it.

 

[pourts]

Or, you join a VT squadron as a reservist and make the SDO or duty driver pick you up and drop you off at the local airport.

 

[Clux4]

I know this is an old post, but adding relatively new info.

An inter-unit transfer in the reserves is incredibly easy for almost every unit except squadrons. If you are an aviator and want to join a ground unit as a FAC, they will actively recruit you because of the shortage. For squadrons, that's different, there is typically a join board where they look at your record, basically an interview, and then they decide to take you or not. That aspect is pretty competitive.

I live in VA Beach and commute to a reserve unit in FL. The Marine Corps just started paying up to $300 for a plane ticket for any company grade officer and field grade 75xx to fly to drill weekend. If your ticket costs $220, you get reimbursed $220, if your ticket costs $350, you get reimbursed $300.

The rest of drill is normal, lodging is provided if you live outside 50 miles from the reserve site, and you provide your own transportation and meals as an officer. Lodging is normally provided at a hotel that has a courtesy shuttle to drive all the guys in in the morning, and then they'll bum rides back at night. Personally I bought a beater for $500 that I keep at the reserve center for when I need it.

SWACQ,
I hear your unit jumps like crazy, being one of the only ANGLICO unit left with a jump mission.

 

[SWACQ]

Its true. They jump pretty much every drill weekend and they set up jumps between drills for guys who have time for it. I've done a civilian free fall jump, which was awesome, but I haven't gone to Airborne yet myself. I'm the only FAC there and I used to get a lot of crap about being a "leg" and what-not, but that ended with a finger point at my NA wings and a comment along the lines of "I'm a fighter pilot, take your jump wings and go $%^& yourself." I don't usually throw that around, but at that moment, I was tired of the trash talk, and it shut them up. If any of you guys think fighter pilots have big ego's, you haven't seen anything until you've met a ground guy who went to a 3-week Army class to jump out planes.