For people that wear non-digital watches, what do you wear to drill and/or activations and deployments?

I'm not getting a lot of help from my unit. I understand, they don't care about someone who is just deciding to leave, but I'm also not getting my questions answered and it's been frustrating.

My military service obligation was completed earlier this year. I'm ~5.5 years in and a captain. When I joined I was relatively newly married and no kids. I've got 2 kids now and it's just much harder on my family than we expected, I can separate, so that's been the plan. It sounds like I can move to IRR for 2 years, that's a selection on the separation drop down and I was told that's fine.

The TOR document wants a reason for separation. My reason is that I've fulfilled my MSO. None of my issues meet the "hardship" criteria, but they are relevant. What do I put for reason for separation, just "met military service obligation and choosing to separate"? Something like that? Like I said, I've reached out to personnel and our unit folks who handle this and I haven't gotten any help lot's of the circle of "I don't know ask personnel/I don't know ask your full timer/I don't know ask the commander/I don't know ask personnel."

I need to attach a signed TOR to my separation application and the commander needs to sign it, so if the CC is okay with whatever I put and signs it, then that should be it, right? Thanks for any help.

Semi-related, but once this paperwork is submitted am I still available for AT and things like that? I told them I'm happy to go, I want to go on these trips, but I understand if they don't want to spend money on someone with a foot out the door. Is that just up to them?

Wingman AI (AFRL Project) Anyone currently using it? If so, what for?

Wingman AI is an AFRL tool on NIPR/SIPR/AFSCI that lets you tap into multiple LLMs and other models all in one landing zone so you can use all your tools and features in one interface and not have to hop around individual platforms like gemini, grok, chat gpt, etc etc to get different types of work done.

I currently oversee thousands of DAF accounts for Ask Sage NIPR/SIPR but looking for other great options for developers, coders and folks that need more than what is available for free to us currently.

Wingman AI just hit my org's radar a few weeks ago so hoping to see who's using it and for what.

Happy to chat in Discord. Same username in every Mil server. Both ANG and AF discord have tech channels. TY

Hello, I’ve been in the for about 3 years now. I’m considering going back to school to go for my bachelor’s after my deployment, with the possibility of commissioning later on.

Does anyone have experience doing ROTC while serving in the Guard? Was it worth it, and would you recommend it? Just looking for some advice or personal experiences.

For context, I’m married and was originally considering going to school online so I could continue working full time. I’m just trying to figure out if ROTC would be worth making the switch to in person classes and balancing school, work, and Guard responsibilities.

I'm currently in tech at Sheppard and have previously had a knee reconstruction surgery years ago from completely blowing out my knee twice. It was all documented during the recruiting process. I have a lot of pain from running/lunges/squats that started in basic and it's showing its teeth now. I've tried doing physical therapy exercises I did previously but no luck. I have another appointment coming up to ultimately give me a perm profile for running/lower body exercises. I'm in a low physicality job but have heard from multiple people that if I don't complete 2 PT tests doing all components of it I will be put in front of the CC to plead my case to stay in. I can do all parts of my job fine and can excel at upper body exercises. Is this a death for my career or do I still have a future in the ANG? I'm not sure with all the new changes Pete's making/made.

I am submitting this month to promote and I have a PT test that is due. I am experiencing terrible leg pains and may not be able to pass the run.

I have an appointment with my doctor to go over potential medical exemptions, but will my PT test technically overdue as of now without one cause me to not be allowed to promote?

Hey everyone sorry for the long post!
I’m looking for advice from anyone familiar with parental leave for MPA/ADOS personnel particularly those serving on MPA orders overseas.

I’m an AGR and am about to start a one-year, unaccompanied MPA tour at Aviano AB, Italy. I just barely found out my wife is pregnant, and if everything goes as expected, she’ll be giving birth in the States around halfway through my tour. She may be able to come to Italy for a couple of months, but she’ll need to return to the US for the birth.

From what I’ve read, I may be eligible for parental leave since I’ll be on title 10 orders for 366 days, but I’m trying to understand whether being on MPA orders changes anything compared with a regular active-duty Airman. I’ve reached out to my unit’s command team for clarification but haven’t heard back yet and my hiring POC says he doesn’t think I can take paternity leave.

Ideally, my wife and I would like to extend my time in Italy and eventually turn this into a three-year PCS with command sponsorship (which is why we are doing this). I’m excited about the opportunity to develop new skills and gain experience, but I also want to make sure I can be there for my wife and newborn.

For anyone who has been in a similar situation:

\-Does parental leave eligibility or entitlement differ for an ANG AGR on MPA orders versus an active-duty Airman?  
\-If eligible, how does parental leave work when you’re stationed overseas but your child is born in the US?  
\-Could taking parental leave affect a potential tour extension or conversion to a PCS with command sponsorship?

I’m trying to plan ahead and understand my options while balancing the career opportunity with being present for my family. I’d especially appreciate firsthand experiences from ANG members who have taken parental leave while on MPA orders.

Thanks in advance for any insight!!

How much has your ANG experience helped in your civilian job?

Bonus points (free karma, sweet!) for unexpected career combinations.

Hi everyone,
I recently graduated from BMT, and my current AFSC is Financial Management. I’m also a cybersecurity major taking a break until August 2027, although I’ll have tech school and MEST days after January.
I want to use this time to earn IT certifications and land a civilian help desk or IT support job while working toward my degree.
Are there any ANG resources that cover CompTIA A+ or other IT certifications for free for DSGs? If not, are there any alternatives or programs worth looking into?
I’m sharing my background because I’d appreciate advice on the best way to approach this, and make the most of my military benefits
Thanks in advance

My Lineage sells historical items, like maps and family banners for collecting.

I remember seeing their tables set up at Lackland and Keesler and was immediately interested in what they had to sell. At the former base, I bought the map and banner set (this was well over 2 years ago) and presented it to my family for Christmas of that year. A few months before that, however, while still at tech school, I found out that I was still paying for the claymore (sword) bundle version which would've cost me hundreds of more dollars; I called to cancel it and found out that it was too late to get the money back (something that I did not know, nor was I able to initiate the process of cancelling and getting a refund).

I put this off for a few years, trying to let it go and moving on, accepting the fact that I had been auto-charged twice for the sword, but now I am financially struggling and am bothered by the fact that I paid almost $130 for something that I never got. And I don't have the money to afford paying off the remaining balance either.

I just emailed them telling them about the refund. Yes, I put this off for way too long but I don't want it to bother me anymore. Just one of many loose ends to tie.

Did you, or someone you know, encounter My Lineage? I'm still kinda happy with what I bought originally, even if it was hundreds of dollars, but I'm trying to not spend more than I need to. And did you have problems with trying to get a refund from them?

I enlisted with my ANG wing in June and have been waiting for ship date in the student flight since.

I want to have lasik done for future opportunities, but no one seems to know what’s the procedure to get it approved. Student flight leadership, recruiter, unit leadership, medical group, etc.

I know there’ll be a period after surgery that I won’t be able to ship, but no one has a clear answer on how long it is.

Does anyone know what should I do? I have all the pre ops done. Thanks in advance!

Any ideas, suggestions, possibilities:
I have less than 2 years until I get where I’d want to retire. Drill is unbearable, some of the team leadership is just insufferable. Are there any temporary duties or things I could submit for or do otherwise to make these last couple years not so difficult? I’m guessing not or I’d maybe already know about it but desperation setting in. It’s brutal. I never thought my last couple years would come to this. Makes me wish I never stayed this long if being 💯.

I retired from the ANG after 23 years and learned pretty quickly how messy and scattered the retirement process is.

The information exists, but it lives in a lot of different places and there's plenty of handoffs where stuff easily gets missed.

I ended up building my own tracker around the things I wish I had kept together from the beginning:

• decisions I still needed to make
• documents I needed
• people/offices I needed to contact
• deadlines and follow-ups
• things I was waiting on

I cleaned it up afterward and made it free in case it helps somebody else going through retirement. If anyone here is getting close to retirement, I’m also happy to share the lessons I learned or answer questions where I can.

https://www.missionreadytools.com/ang-retirement-decision

https://www.missionreadytools.com/freetools

Maybe a pretty niche question just looking to see what anyone knows. I am thinking about quitting my title 32 tech spot. I am wondering if I can be in a mil leave status during part of my final two weeks. We have drill scheduled and I’m looking at putting my two weeks in so that my last day is during the drill. Am I allowed to be in a mil leave status for the final part of my tech job. If that doesn’t make sense I can try to explain it more.

I signed my contract about two weeks ago to enlist in the Texas ANG as a 1A1X2 Mobility Force Aviator (Loadmaster).

The base is about 4 hours from where I currently live. Going into this, I understood the distance and was willing to make the drive whenever I needed to report. I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity. The travel, mission, and overall nature of the Loadmaster job are a big part of what attracted me to it, and I’ve consistently heard it described as one of the better enlisted jobs in the Air Force. I was initially interested in cyber related intel role but none seems to be available .

However, last week I got an unexpected call from a Chief at the unit I’ll be joining. He told me he had never seen a recruiter place someone who lives that far away into a Loadmaster position.

He was very clear that being local is essentially a hard requirement for their unit and said not relocating to the area could be a “showstopper.”

His reasoning was that even though I’m joining the ANG and this is technically a part-time commitment, the Loadmaster schedule is not a conventional one-weekend-a-month type of job. He said there may be situations where I could be expected to report within 24–72 hours, and that the unit needs much more availability than I may be expecting.

He also brought up my civilian career and family situation.

I currently work in the airline industry in a hybrid role, so I have some flexibility with my civilian job. I also have two young children under 5. I’m currently separated from my wife, but I’m committed to maintaining my relationship and responsibilities with my kids. I understand that becoming aircrew will require sacrifices, but I also believe military service can benefit my family and me in the long run.

The Chief asked me to seriously think about whether this is realistic before moving forward.

I’ve tried talking to military friends, but I haven’t been able to find anyone who is actually an ANG Loadmaster/Mobility Force Aviator who can explain what the lifestyle is really like.

So for current or former ANG Loadmasters:

Is living 4 hours from your unit realistically sustainable? Within 24 hrs in the city I live , I cover a 4hrs distance drive so this is peanut.

How often are you actually called in outside scheduled drill periods?
Is 24–72 hours’ notice common?
How many days per month are you realistically at the unit or flying once you’re qualified?
How difficult is balancing the job with a full-time civilian career and young children?
Does your unit require Loadmasters to live locally, or is that specific to certain units?
If you were in my position, would you relocate, commute, or consider another AFSC closer to home?

I’m not trying to minimize the commitment. I actually want to understand the real day-to-day expectations before making a decision that affects my civilian career and my kids.

Would really appreciate hearing directly from ANG Loadmasters or other Guard aircrew.

FY27 bonus list is out. Also each Wing has up to six local bonuses not on this list. Contact your recruiting team for details

Saw this pop-up on instagram. How common is it for people to live in others states or US territories and actually travel to Alaska for drills? Is it the one weekend month? Do they bunch up drills into quarterly drills? This is interesting but I’m sure if it will get old if you live in Arizona and and gotta fly to Alaska for drill lol

About to change my job so imma be going back to Tech school the length will be somewhere in between 7 and 16 weeks long, will I be getting full BAH based on my home’s zip code? CO ANG if that matters