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Status of IRR Correspondence Courses? Anyone left?

B

Bjschneid76

New Member
pilot
Is anyone left in the IRR doing correspondence courses without a CAC card? It appears to me that there is nothing left on the Officer side if you do not have a CAC. I'm waiting for Air University to email back about the possibility of a non-CAC login. I need one more qualifying year!!! I guess I'm going to have to talk to a recruiter about VTU or local NOSC about funeral honor duty? Any hacks, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Bryan
 
The Army War College would be my first choice, because according to the chart, it looks like they offer the most points. Get some books, write a few essays, you're practically done. 33 points for one of their courses + 15 "gratuitous points" puts you at 48, then two to go. Might get the last two points (or a combination with a lesser weighted corresp. course through a Volunteer ADT (see RESPERSMAN), but getting the orders might be a pain. Air Force doesn't sound too bad, but looks like fewer points. DAU and DINFOS might be pretty good, DAU may not require a CAC if I remember correctly and they have a ton of courses.

Another option would be to try to get into the VTU for your last year, but you'd need to find a recruiter through the NOSC and then take a MEPS physical. That might take longer than it may seem at first glance.

A note on the IRR FAQ page, it looks like they're 10 months backed up crediting people for corresp. courses - go figure. That would be one to call on.

I'm curious to know what you end up doing, please post an update when you decide.
 
squorch2 said:
3 funerals a month can get you to 51 points...
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This. Funeral details are the best kept secret in the Reserve. Points plus pay.

We have people who drop from SELRES to the VTU to escape the SELRES b.s. to focus solely on doing funeral details only. You can literally do as many funerals as you want and actually make more money/points doing funerals that you would doing regular SELRES b.s. Only thing you have to worry about is GMT/Medical/Dental/PFA requirements which you can knock out once a year.
 
I talked to a recruiter today who also said getting the physical is the hardest part. Funeral details seems like a great option. I have left messages with local NOSC about getting information on how they run their program. It sounds like you don't have to be in the VTU for funeral duty? Is there anyone here actually taking approved courses for Officers (not many left) without a CAC card or secret clearance? Thanks again for the input!
 
Bjschneid76 said:
Is anyone left in the IRR doing correspondence courses without a CAC card? It appears to me that there is nothing left on the Officer side if you do not have a CAC. I'm waiting for Air University to email back about the possibility of a non-CAC login. I need one more qualifying year!!! I guess I'm going to have to talk to a recruiter about VTU or local NOSC about funeral honor duty? Any hacks, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Bryan
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Sorry, what a pain.

1). Get in touch with a nav-vet recruiter tomorrow. The process is painfully slow, so start it early and then hopefully you can pull the plug

2). Get in touch with you local NOSC(s) about funeral honors detail (FHD). tomorrow too. FHD is great, and you’re actually doing something that matters, but...

The FHD coordinator is typically an E-5 reservist in two (three?) year orders and the program seems to be largely up to him/her. I’ve had one who had a first come, first served philosophy, but the rest seemed to play favorites, constantly picking buddies from their old units, for example. (Caveat: I was one of the favorites for a while, and it was GLORIOUS). In a way it makes sense as they want proven, reliable people. My point is that it might take some time for them to schedule you for training and then it might take some time to actually start getting funerals.

Wish I was more help on the courses end—good luck getting to 20!
 
vxc961 said:
Sorry, what a pain.

1). Get in touch with a nav-vet recruiter tomorrow. The process is painfully slow, so start it early and then hopefully you can pull the plug

2). Get in touch with you local NOSC(s) about funeral honors detail (FHD). tomorrow too. FHD is great, and you’re actually doing something that matters, but...

The FHD coordinator is typically an E-5 reservist in two (three?) year orders and the program seems to be largely up to him/her. I’ve had one who had a first come, first served philosophy, but the rest seemed to play favorites, constantly picking buddies from their old units, for example. (Caveat: I was one of the favorites for a while, and it was GLORIOUS). In a way it makes sense as they want proven, reliable people. My point is that it might take some time for them to schedule you for training and then it might take some time to actually start getting funerals.

Wish I was more help on the courses end—good luck getting to 20!
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Oops. I did funerals in the IRR...you’ll be shocked, but it was a pain getting credit/paid, and also seemed to be a pain for the coordinator to process. Still a good option, just want to set your expectations.
 
Also try the NWC if you have not already done the JPME courses. Their course registration requires a CAC but you can call and they will work around it for you. They use the Blackboard site for course work and it only requires a login/password. Only caveat is that they recently revamped the JPME courses so not sure how it works anymore. As IRR, I had no problem getting into a course after waiting ~4 months but you have to be careful of timing the course completion to fit within your anniversary year.

Another option is Blue and Gold Officer for USNA. Might be hard to fit the training in and get the approval done fast enough to start earning points for your anniversary year. You can earn points by interviewing high school students, attending college fairs and speaking at local high schools about USNA. Contact your local AC to get more info:
https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/BGO.php
 
Bjschneid76 said:
I talked to a recruiter today who also said getting the physical is the hardest part. Funeral details seems like a great option. I have left messages with local NOSC about getting information on how they run their program. It sounds like you don't have to be in the VTU for funeral duty? Is there anyone here actually taking approved courses for Officers (not many left) without a CAC card or secret clearance? Thanks again for the input!
Click to expand...

It took me a year to get my physical processed, and that was with a quota in hand to transition from IRR to SELRES. MEPS is not helpful if you're prior service.
 
I contacted local BGO and as of 2017 you have to be in the VTU (not IRR) to earn points as BGO. Still an option. I will post what I find about NWC and Air University CAC requirements. Still waiting to hear from local NOSC Funeral honors team ..... I will also post how the physical process goes as the recruiter said that is the hardest part of VTU entrance. Thank you all!
 
Dang a year? Amazing we can get anything done these days. The call center system they have set up where you can virtually contact nobody in person to get a straight answer is ridiculous!
 
Bjschneid76 said:
Dang a year? Amazing we can get anything done these days. The call center system they have set up where you can virtually contact nobody in person to get a straight answer is ridiculous!
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PM me if you're leaning towards this option; I'll be happy to share details and gouge.
 
Bjschneid76 said:
(Snip) you have to be in the VTU (not IRR) to earn points as BGO.(snip)
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are you sure about this? I just logged in and checked the Naval Academy instruction. It’s dated 2010, but it states very clearly that if you want to help out and you’re in the IRR and living overseas you cannot do it. But, if you are in the US IRR is one of the approved categories. I spent five minutes, on my phone, looking at the website and didn’t see anything as of 2017. I’ve been a BGO for maybe 10 years now and haven’t heard that, but at least where I am, the reserves and getting points for being a BGO is not something that well understood locally. Back when I cared, I would keep track of my points on a spreadsheet that the Naval Academy provides and then have the area coordinator sign it every month and submit for points

The difficult part will be, that in order to get points you have to go to the BG oh training at the Naval Academy. This usually happens in June or July right after the mids graduate. I know for a while, they were behind on training so you might not be able to get it. In any case you would have to wait to do that training in June until you could start earning points.

PM me if you need help getting in touch with your local B Geos. Like Funeral Honors, it’s a great way to actually provide some help, and actually get some points for it. And depending on your timing you might have that wiggle room to be able to get the points starting next summer.
 
vxc961 said:
are you sure about this? I just logged in and checked the Naval Academy instruction. It’s dated 2010, but it states very clearly that if you want to help out and you’re in the IRR and living overseas you cannot do it. But, if you are in the US IRR is one of the approved categories. I spent five minutes, on my phone, looking at the website and didn’t see anything as of 2017. I’ve been a BGO for maybe 10 years now and haven’t heard that, but at least where I am, the reserves and getting points for being a BGO is not something that well understood locally. Back when I cared, I would keep track of my points on a spreadsheet that the Naval Academy provides and then have the area coordinator sign it every month and submit for points

The Local Colorado BGO I contacted said he made some phone calls and told me that prior to 2017 you could be in the IRR and be a BGO. After 2017 you have to be in the VTU in order to start the BGO program unless you were already a BGO. I think this is the same time I received my letter stating no one with less than 16 years would be allowed to join the IRR anymore. At this point it sounds like I need to get a physical and get in the VTU no matter what and try to start earning points whether it be from regular non-paid drills, funeral honors, ADT, and/or possibly BGO duty. Thanks all for the replies.
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I recently knocked out Air C&S through Blackboard/Canvas in 7 months start to finish. Total of like 60+ points. Shoot me a message if you're interested in the details.
 
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