I'm considering joining the AF Reserve, but I'd like as much info as possible.

I was in the Army Reserve, but would rather not be a grunt or run convoys again if I get deployed again.

If I join, the nearest AF Reserve unit is at Hill AFB, any experiences there?

Thanks!

Riley....Okeihemi is in the AF Reserve.
HemiSteve..is in the Georgia ANG.
There are like 46 pages of members post.
I started at the beginning, and stopped after about 6 pages so your on your on.
Hopefully one of the more recent members will see your post and reply.. Good luck!

I'm not AF Reserve, but I am in the Air National Guard. Also prior Army. The Guard and Reserve are very similar, the exception being that the Guard has a state mission as well as their federal mission.
Same type of setup, one weekend a month and your annual training. I can't speak for all units, but we differ from the Army in that we don't do our annual training as a unit. In my unit we pick the dates that we want to come in.
Have you checked into any Guard units near you? There may be one closer and more convenient.
One nice benefit of the Air Force is the ability to get an Associates degree from the Community College of the Air Force. And unless you are in certain "outside the wire" jobs, deployments are a lot easier to live with.
I've been in the guard fro a little over 7 years, and love it. I work full time for them in the federal technician program. Civil service during the week, and guardsman on drill weekends. Pretty nice deal.
The reserves also has what is called an IMA- Individual Mobilization Augmentee. That type of slot allows you to do most of your time for the year all at one time, usually with an active duty unit. That would allow you to broaden your search to units in other areas that may have what you are interested in doing.
As for training, you wouldn't have to go to basic. You would most likely have to go to tech school. But it isn't bad going as a prior service student. You don't really get treated as a trainee much.
Hope this helps. Any other questions, feel free to ask. Hopefully someone with more info will chime in.

T. Riley,
I am the Active Air Force Recruiter in Oklahoma City. I work with the Guard and the Reserve Recruiters all the time. If you need to know anything specific let me know. The main difference between the Guard and the Reserve is what Hemi_Blue_Streak said, the Guard has a Dual Federal and State Mission. Depending on how long you were in the Army Reserves, you won't have to go back to Basic. As for Tech School you will as Hemi_Blue_Streak said go back to Tech School most likely. Depending on your rank when you got out and how long you were in depend on where you stay during tech school with cross-trainees NCO's or Pipline Students. Either way both are good choices just look into them both and see what fits you the best. Let me know if you need anything specific.
Chuck

Thanks for stepping up guys, and thanks for serving!

I am active duty and I have worked with both and everything seems to be the same. Everyone deploys and does the same mission even if it is for two weeks or longer.

Like I said, it seemed like I lived on the road in Iraq running convoys. I'd rather not do that again.

The AF Reserve is closer by about an hour, though the Air Guard is next to family.

I was thinking about going back to the Army side, but I have a couple skill identifiers that I really don't want to do anymore, being 88m Motor Transport and 13B Canon Crewmember Arty. So even if I got another MOS, those are historically shortage MOS's and getting pulled back into one is a very likely possibility.

I know, I'm being picky, but it's not like I haven't done anything and am a first timer.

So now I want something more fun and interesting, as well as something that may help me in the civilian world.

I'd go to AF Basic without too much issue, but I'd rather not do Army basic again. Got the T-Shirt.

The community college is a big reason, and I'd really like to be around aircraft in some fasion. The red/green color issue is kicking my butt, but all the jobs I've done in the Army side required red/green color discrimination.

There are a lot of positive aspects, probably more than bad, that I miss.

Can anyone tell me more about Hill AFB or Mountain Home AFB? How is the ASVAB figured now? When I took it in '97 I scored a 121 GT score.

Hey, nothing wrong with being picky. After all,it's your choice, and your career. I did my active duty working alongside the artillery types repairing the old TACFIRE system. I did my army guard time in a forward support medical unit. I really disliked my time there, enough so that I stayed out for about 10 years. Due to some financial difficulties,I re-enlisted in the Air Guard and now wonder why I waited so long.
It is a bit less "military" than the Army, and I do take issue with some of that. But overall I really like that the AF is a little less micromanaged.
I love working on the aircraft, and I like to think that the training I received was pretty good. It hasn't taken me anywhere in the civilian world, but it has allowed me to get a pretty good job as an air tech. And if you're like me and not big on school, a CCAF degree still gives a sense of accomplishment. Besides my training, I was able to CLEP 16 credits while deployed to complete the requirements.
I'm not sure how the ASVAB is scored, but with your high GT score, I wouldn't worry.
Can't tell you much about Hill, but I do have a friend at Mountain Home. I'll try to get you some info about the unit and base.

HBS that would be awesome. I need something more than what I'm doing, something bigger than myself.

I emailed my friend at Mountain Home. She's in Guam right now, but she said that her unit is all active guard, mostly radar troops, and she loves it.
Here's a link to the ID Air Guard. It lists all the units and locations. http://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/
If you have any specific questions, you can PM me and I'll forward them along.
I hope it helps. It's always good to see someone interested and I try to do what I can to help them out.

T Riley, I've been in the Idaho ANG for ten years, after 4 yrs active duty at Mt Home AFB.
The best advice I could give to a prior service guy would be find a job AFSC (air force specialty code) that really interests you. The happiest people are those who enjoy their jobs. If your very gung ho and by the book you might have trouble adjusting. The AF/ANG really does want people who think, rather than blindly follow orders. All of the prior army folks who switched, can't beleive they didn't do it sooner. Good Luck.