Choose whether or not to be a reservist or active duty

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   Being a reservist- A reservist yes is definitely a Marine but the difference between reservists and active duty is very well existent and a lot of reservists hate to hear it but there is a difference

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   Reservist will serve a weekend a month and two weeks during the summer for their annual training meaning that unlike active duty they will have more chances to live as a civilian and attend college and things of that nature. Now when being a reservist is is imperative to take advantage of the opportunities at hand otherwise your reservist experience will show to be non-beneficial in the end. A lot of reservists also believe that they can live off of their reservist check monthly which is barely enough to put gas in your car after driving to your drills and back for the month. Reservists also have a serious lack of benefits than active duty Marines will have during their term. Another advantage of being a reservist is the opportunity to earn the title as Marine but also have a regular civilian or government job opportunity an opportunity active duty will not have in their grasp until after they have served their time and gotten out of the military.

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   Being Active Duty- when you sign your contract to become an Active Duty Marine you will be away from your family indefinitely for the time you are stationed until more than likely after you have served your time

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   When your active duty you do not have the freedom as a reservist has being that you will work every day and some weekends when told to do so, so basically expect to be on call 24/7 while you are activated. An active military personnel will have access to medical benefits unlike reservist and also will have way better pay than the reservists making about triple of what a reservists makes a month but twice a month. Active duty Marines also face the chance of being deployed way more than a reservist almost three times, so when going active it is important to keep an open mind to being deployed while you are activated.

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   Education benefits- Now as a reservist you will not receive full benefits to go to school, but you will receive some benefits but it will be at least 25% to use for your education so do not expect a big boost as compared to active duty who will receive 100% for 4 years to go to school being that they served 4 years the least in the military without the benefits to go to school unlike reservists

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   The issue of the school being part of how much you get for the semester goes for both active and reservists but the active duty military person will always have the upper hand regardless of how you look at the issue

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   Promotions- another issue that reservists face will be the issues of promotions as it will be harder to get promoted in the reserves being that the scores for reservists are a lot higher as compared to the active duty side of the military

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   Also work out regiments are another issue reservists face as they will need to train and workout on their own as opposed to the active duty military who mostly train every day of their careers being that they will always be together in order to do such training.

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   Physical Fitness- as stated above reservists only tend to train about once a month with their platoons being that they only get to see them and are under their supervision for that one weekend a month

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   Active duty will train every day mostly except weekends making them a lot more fit than the average reservist, so sad to say an easy way to tell if someone is a reservist is to look at their physique sometimes as you can tell the ones who work out daily from the ones who only workout once a month.

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To be a Reservist or Active Duty: Aspects to Consider when Selecting Defense Roles

There is no doubt that the defense system is one of the most important parts of a nation. It is due to the fact that this system ensures the safety of the sovereign people. It's nice to know that despite that changing lifestyle of many teenagers nowadays, there are still who are looking forward to be part of the defense system.

However, there are a lot of aspirants to be part of the defense system who are torn between being a reservist or on active duty. First and foremost there is a huge difference between these terminologists. One is about being reserves of the defense system, which will be in action in an event that the number of the forces is not enough. Active duty on the other hand is being active in serving the defense.

Below are some guidelines about what separates reservists from active duty or the other way around.

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   People in active duty are referred to as full timers, whereby they are committed in serving the defense system for a certain period of time

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   As with reservists, they are not full timers. Suffice to say, they're only part-timers. To make it simpler, in most cases, reservists are only on duty during weekends for about a month, or for just about 2 weeks in a month, specifically during the summer time. Nevertheless, they could as well be subjected for longer duties.

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   In terms of training, those who are on active duty usually undergo very long training periods

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   They could train for many months before they are subjected to observation in the force. On the contrary, reservists are only subjected to training for a limited time only.

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   Those who are on active duty need to be in the force all the time

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   They have to wake up very early in the morning, undergo PT, do designated tasks, and then at the end of the day, they need to be back to their barracks. Those who are on reserve duty don't really need to worry about any of these.

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   In terms of payment, people on active duty are awarded with full payment and leave, as well as other beneficial perks that are stated in the service rules

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   The reservists don't endure the same perks as with those who are on active duty. Their payment is based on the number of their service days. In an event that there is war, people who are on active duty state are the ones who are being initially deployed. Reservists are only deployed just after those who are on active duty left. When it comes to lifestyle, active duty personnel need to be in military all the time while the reservists have the privilege to have a civilian job.

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   What separates reservists from those on active duty is when it comes to promotions

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   In majority of cases, it's quite difficult for reservists to snag a promotion. It is due to the fact that the scores of those who are on reserve state are higher than those who are on active duty, since they have to undergo critical tests.

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   To simplify the decision making process, those who want to have a full-time part in the defense system should go for active duty, while those who are yearning to have a part in the civilian arena could opt to be reserves.

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Do reservists choose where to serve?

Reservists usually are assigned to serve near their homes. There are instances though when they need to be deployed. Generally, it is still within 100 miles of the closest Coast Guard Reserve Unit.

No, a reservist will be located to a reserve base closest to their home address they provided to the recruiter before enlisting. The reserve station will be in their home state.

Does being active duty mean you will be deployed?

Active duty means that they are still on full time job may it be Reserves or National Guard, they also have a civilian job as well. Units go on rotations, this means that they can go anywhere on a 6-15 month average, go back 6-12 months more. Yes, it also means that they can be sent for deployment for military action.

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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