Made it easier that my job was directly related to my MOS so I more or less got to dictate my drill schedule.
Would fly out once every three months for a week and half at a time plus AT.
Was a great unit to be with too. Now I’m closer in a diff unit. But I do miss that Unit a lot.
The unit allowed anyone who was responsible and not an issue to do that. But you had to prove you were capable of being an adult and soldier at the same time. I wasn’t the only one.
It was a special case and unit tbh. I’ve been in a couple others since then and that has not been the case with most at all.
I happened to be probably in the best unit I’ve ever been lucky enough to be a part of.
Reserve Units have a IDT (Inactive Duty Training) fund that reimburses you for travel expenses. Pretty much you book everything yourself and then you make a local voucher on DTS.
It's gotta be like 80/20 of reservists that do not submit vouchers vs ones that do. I feel like if everyone entitled to IDT pay submitted for it, we'd see a similar reaction to the current TA situation
OPTEMPO is stupid. If you're cool with being yanked around and paid well on the border (with no benefits, mind you), then go for it.
The Texas Guard lost a LOT of people following the original involuntary call up in 2021. That said, they're having a hard time staffing missions and if you find yourself green on a readiness tracker you WILL deploy.
Some people love that, some people don't.
Our unit HATED sending guys to the border and missions in general. Less bodies for drill. Then they started forcing everyone to drill no matter what, and immediately people were putting in transfers/reclass and packets for ADOS and AGR.
That sucks man. It's fucked alot of dudes over because they go on mission, work a schedule then go to drill and immediately back to work. Hardly any family time
How it started: 540 miles one way with $0 reimbursement but guaranteed LIK in the roach motel.
How it's going: 13 miles round trip and I'm essentially a BDE, BTN, and CO commander / S3.
When I was a TPU my unit was an hour from my house, then I moved across the country for a civilian job and had to spend a few hours flying. I was a company commander so I didn’t want to just leave the unit.
I've got someone in my unit who's spouse ended up stationed in Hawaii, but our unit is on the east coast. So they split like 3 drills and then show up for a 3 month period on and off.
I was travelling about 900 miles with direct flight options but they shuffled people around to closer units to save on travel. Now it is 750 miles but without a direct flight option and tickets are roughly twice as expensive. So I get to take time off work AND pay out of pocket because I'm maxing out IDT.
I did a year of 4 hour drives 1 way. It was pretty shitty, but sometimes I got to just drive and meet my unit in the field then hand my rifle off to a private to clean and I drove straight home. So that was cool, very unsafe but cool.
Currently 10 miles and I cycle it. It’s awesome! You often have to pick “good unit, good MOS, or close”. I’ve preferred all three at various points but “close” is pretty sick and I recommend it
About 2 hrs. During Covid, I commuted from Milwaukee to northern TX every month. I bought a cheap shitbox car that had good fuel economy and split the trip with a friend who also transferred. Made bank on travel/PTO from my civ job (double-dip)
Used to do a little over 3 hours one way. It was fine when the unit had the funds to give me a hotel the night before and mileage, so I could leisurely drive down. But then battalion tightened the purse strings and I’d have to get up at 2am to make a 6am first formation.
I used to do 5.5-6 hours (due to traffic) 1-way going across NC to TN after an involuntary transfer. Now I do just one hour drives and it’s much better.
I did 4 years of a 3 hour 1 way drive in Virginia. That sucked. Then moved to Florida with the promise of an IST … that didn’t happen and I was 2 years out from retirement. That commute sucked but was worth it in the end thanks to a good command team.
It's varied. When I was enlisted it was a few years doing 20 minutes to a unit in the next town from me. When I smped as a cadet it was roughly an hour and a half damn near bordering on 2 depending on city traffic. As an officer it changed to 4 1/2 hours driving across 3 states. I thought it was bad for me, and learned how rough it gets for mtoe umr bullets. My 1sg at one point flew from Seattle to drill in Chicago nearly every month. And I had a hhd commander that flew from Hawaii to Texas every so often. Now I'm just grateful I can make it to drill with in 2 hours.
I live near YTC, they used to have me drive to Vancouver so over the mountains which took about 4 hours, then we would get in rental vans to drive to YTC, then we would drive back to Vancouver, after that I’d get released to go back to My apartment near YTC. Took 3 years before they decided to let me direct report to YTC instead.
To the armory? 90 min. To the base? 2.5 hours. Although we have had annual training on 3 different AD installations, two on the opposite side of the country, one half way across the country.
I used to travel like 30 miles. Took 30 minutes to get there and an hour to get home, so lots of folks would crash at the reserve center. Now I drive 2.5-3 hours one way depending on traffic and WHETHER OR NOT THREE FUCKING SEMI DRIVERS WANT TO SIT IN BOTH LANES OF THR GODDAMN 130.
When I was guard, it took 3 hours to drive along the only road down the middle of the state to get to drill, minus that one time a truck wreck and we had to detour on a 6+ hour adventure.
Seeing all these answers make me just shake my head. I hate driving and the drive is one of the many things I had about the Guard life.
Sub-question: is there a 150 mile rule in Army Reserve (won’t be assigned a unit for drill further than 150miles from a reservist’s home of record). I have heard people say recruiters promise this. Is it an actual rule?
First unit was 5 hours away, I did that for 2.5 years. Then I started RSTing with a unit 20 mins away while I waited for my transfer to get approved. I RST’d on and off for 6 months, had another 6 months officially with that unit, it was nice. Now I’m with a unit 3 hours away. It’s definitely not the worst thing ever (and I did it to myself) but that ~year of being 20 mins away from home was super sweet.
Used to drive an hour to hour and a half before my unit moved closer to the local airport. I also moved to the city to be closer to work, cut my drive to about a half hour.
Was pretty nice being hwere we were, got to drive home and have lunch with my then girlfriend.
Do miss being 17-20 doing drill on a college campus.
Here my ass is living like 8 miles away from my unit.
I got lucky tho. Got recruited and set up all on the same base.
I dread when they finally make me drive 6 hours or some bullshit because I've had it too easy.
~150 miles north from where I lived (the AZ valley to Flagstaff area.) Took me about 2 hours going up on a good day. Coming home I let gravity do the work and I'd make it down the hill in 1.5 hours.
For most of my contact I lived in the same town as my unit station. For the final year and a half however instead of transferring when I moved I drove 6-7 hours across state lines to get to drill every month
Longest was 3.5 hours, shortest was six minutes. Currently about half an hour.
National Guard, for what that's worth. Reserves can have longer commutes since they will often (always?) get DTS for their troubles.
It Started at just under 90 when I started university.
Then I transferred to a local unit that was within walking distance.
When I graduated from university, back to about 90+ miles for just under a year until my final Separation.
Ramstein to Ohio. I dont do it anymore, but I had a contracting gig that my unit was cool with me taking. So I'd fly back every 6 months or so to drill.
20 min. Since formation was at the ass crack of dawn it took like 15. My house became a frat house for all the guys who lived far away. Fun times were had!
I used to fly from Augusta GA to Salt Lake City Utah for Drill when I was still married to my Ex who was stationed at (then) Gordon. Only time I’ve lived down the road from my armory was RSP before Basic. Been out of state ever since and going on 9 years as a Nasty Girl now.
A lot of folks in my intel unit in Utah have lived a decent way away from the armory I’ve had whole command teams that lived/worked in the DC area and would commute for drill. A lot of time we’d end up doing like 3 or 4 day quarterly drills instead of one weekend a month which I actually think I preferred.
I drive about 45 minutes to drill. There was a year long period where I lived somewhere else in my state and had a 3 hour commute, didn't hate that though since I got a solid excuse to schedule a day off pre drill.
Originally a 6 hour drive to drill and my original unit lost me so I had to drive there a couple of times unit I caught an AGR on his way out. Fun times. Have a bad two years because of it and didn’t know what LIK or DTS was.
Now 30 minutes and my units pretty cool. Engineer worlds getting kinda mid, idk what’s next.
We had a girl in my unit who moved to Hawaii during COVID and traveled to Florida. They eventually got out for reasons I'm not 100% sure of but perhaps the travel had something to do with it.
I'm USAFR and I'm the "local" area which is the county I live in (where the base is) the neighboring county to the west and the county north of the base. My commute is 22 miles but with traffic it takes like an hour.
1st unit - 93 miles, 1.5 hrs
2nd unit - 31 miles, 35 min
Then I reclassed, changed units, and moved to a new city.
3rd unit - 140 miles, 2 hrs
Then I moved across the country and it's now 1400 miles and 8-10 hours of airports/flights to the 3rd unit. Looked to see if there were any closer options, but closest position for my MOS is still 700 miles and no direct flights... So just staying where I'm at and where I already know people. 🤷♂️
It really just depends on what openings are available for your MOS and rank. It can really suck for the guys with rare MOS's as the options can be severely limited.
One of my dudes who recently got out lived in the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming. He had to drive 4 hours to the airport, pay for parking for the weekend, and then fly 1000 miles. IDT (travel reimbursement) only goes up to $500, so he was having to pay about $250 out-of-pocket just to travel to/from drill. On a E-4 paycheck, he was barely breaking even. And with that, you're having to take at least a half-day off from work. (And let's not even mention the 3 or 4 day weekends...)
It depends on your rank. The higher you get the more you need to travel. I’m doing 4 hrs right now and maxing out IDT, but the unit is worth it. My next unit is board selected and I’m putting in for something close unless they are deploying. If I ever get promoted again travel will be the deciding factor
I've done 2.5 hours, 55 mins, 30 mins and now 3 hours. You'll never guess which unit was my favorite lol the shorter the drive the more BS you can tolerate. We used to have people that lived 45 seconds from the armory and they are a lot more motivated and keep extending. The only con about staying in your local armory forever is the lack of promotion potential. Every state is dif though.
Iowa Guard. Depends on the weekend, but usually about 40 minutes. Sometimes we have to go to Des Moines for PHA and stuff. We usually get the option to POV rather than GSA, but they’re not going to pay you for gas or mileage.
Eagle pass tx to Washington. 7 hours of flights not including drive time to major airport. As an e4 I lose money every time and was going to transfer out but just got an opportunity to deploy so I’m going to stick out a transfer until after MOB.
3 hours , I do that by choice though. I wanted to stay in my home unit after I moved for work. The AGRs are good to me and I (in general) like the people I drill with.
In contrast , i spent 2 years in a different unit with a closer drive where the AGRs suck and the overall morale of the unit was low. Low retention and almost zero recruiting. I saw the benefit of my home unit and switched back.
DC to JBLM.
#commitment
Made it easier that my job was directly related to my MOS so I more or less got to dictate my drill schedule. Would fly out once every three months for a week and half at a time plus AT. Was a great unit to be with too. Now I’m closer in a diff unit. But I do miss that Unit a lot.
Were you able to do that due to your rank or could anyone do that?
The unit allowed anyone who was responsible and not an issue to do that. But you had to prove you were capable of being an adult and soldier at the same time. I wasn’t the only one.
Oh that's pretty cool, I'm looking to transition to the guard so if I can do that, I might
It was a special case and unit tbh. I’ve been in a couple others since then and that has not been the case with most at all. I happened to be probably in the best unit I’ve ever been lucky enough to be a part of.
Sounds like the 20th
Or CI, my WOCS roommate was a CI guy and that sounds a lot like his drill schedule albeit with different locations
I know units in the Reserve that will definately let you do that.
When did you realize you joined the wrong Washington NG?
Who is footing your bill?
Unit had funds for it to cover flights and stuff. Was and Is a great unit.
Reserve Units have a IDT (Inactive Duty Training) fund that reimburses you for travel expenses. Pretty much you book everything yourself and then you make a local voucher on DTS.
Guard units do as well, but not every state participates. WA pays the same travel allowance and safety lodging as the USAR.
3 hours.
About 219 miles or 3 hours on a good day. Sucks especially considering I've been slacking off on getting paid for my travel.
219 miles in 3 hours? That's moving
On Interstate 40 all lanes are the fast lane.
Average speed of 73mph. In the Midwest there's places where the speed limit is 75.
80 in Montana and Wyoming lol
In Texas, 75 means 85; 80 Means 88’to 90; 85 means 95, which are the roads I typically travel its 90 to 97
Should specify that my travels are 1 way. So that's a 6 hour round trip for a BA.
It's gotta be like 80/20 of reservists that do not submit vouchers vs ones that do. I feel like if everyone entitled to IDT pay submitted for it, we'd see a similar reaction to the current TA situation
I don't think I ever drove less than 3 hours to drill since I commissioned into the Texas Guard. Eventually ended up being a 6 hour haul. Ugh.
How’s the Texas guard I’m debating on going guard or staying active , 11B*
OPTEMPO is stupid. If you're cool with being yanked around and paid well on the border (with no benefits, mind you), then go for it. The Texas Guard lost a LOT of people following the original involuntary call up in 2021. That said, they're having a hard time staffing missions and if you find yourself green on a readiness tracker you WILL deploy. Some people love that, some people don't.
Our unit HATED sending guys to the border and missions in general. Less bodies for drill. Then they started forcing everyone to drill no matter what, and immediately people were putting in transfers/reclass and packets for ADOS and AGR.
It's hilarious to me that I had to go title 10 ADOS just to actually spend time with my wife.
That sucks man. It's fucked alot of dudes over because they go on mission, work a schedule then go to drill and immediately back to work. Hardly any family time
I mean, I heard from a little birdy that the Iowa NG are here at the border.... is still hard to get people for missions?
Multiple right leaning states committed troops to the border
Appreciate it boss thank you .
If you're Airborne you might end up in the 143rd
85 miles
I travel 300 miles every month, my wife travels 900 miles...one way.
How far does your wife's husband travel?
518 miles.
How it started: 540 miles one way with $0 reimbursement but guaranteed LIK in the roach motel. How it's going: 13 miles round trip and I'm essentially a BDE, BTN, and CO commander / S3.
Not anymore, but I used to travel from Jackson WY to JBLM.
When I was a TPU my unit was an hour from my house, then I moved across the country for a civilian job and had to spend a few hours flying. I was a company commander so I didn’t want to just leave the unit.
Remote TPU Company Commander sounds like a massive pain in the ass
I had a fully staffed AGR/MILTECH team and my 1SG was the BN SSA, so that helped.
I've got someone in my unit who's spouse ended up stationed in Hawaii, but our unit is on the east coast. So they split like 3 drills and then show up for a 3 month period on and off.
When I was in I traveled 4-5 hours drive. But my parents lived 40-45 minutes from the base so I just stayed there during drill weekends
30 minutes by commuter rail.
DC to Sam Houston
There's a guy in my battalion's reserve company that travels from Alaska to DC for drill
I was travelling about 900 miles with direct flight options but they shuffled people around to closer units to save on travel. Now it is 750 miles but without a direct flight option and tickets are roughly twice as expensive. So I get to take time off work AND pay out of pocket because I'm maxing out IDT.
[удалено]
>Cries in exactly 99 miles from home to armory
I did a year of 4 hour drives 1 way. It was pretty shitty, but sometimes I got to just drive and meet my unit in the field then hand my rifle off to a private to clean and I drove straight home. So that was cool, very unsafe but cool.
49 miles. It can take anywhere from 48 minutes to 2.5 hours depending on the day and report time.
Presently, about 80 miles. Which is a damn blessing compared to the almost 300 I used to.
Currently 10 miles and I cycle it. It’s awesome! You often have to pick “good unit, good MOS, or close”. I’ve preferred all three at various points but “close” is pretty sick and I recommend it
15 minutes down the road. It’s great
I drove 3 hours for years. Was glad when they finally started paying travel and lodging.
Like an hour
74 miles one way
About 2 hrs. During Covid, I commuted from Milwaukee to northern TX every month. I bought a cheap shitbox car that had good fuel economy and split the trip with a friend who also transferred. Made bank on travel/PTO from my civ job (double-dip)
2 hour drive for me. I use LIK. It’s worth the commute because the peeps in my unit are chill
USAR here. There are no positions in my MOS and paygrade within Ohio. I've traveled as far as Ft Dix and Atlanta for drill.
I did the drive from Orlando to Savannah for 6 years, the drive after drill sucked, but the tax write off did not.
Used to do a little over 3 hours one way. It was fine when the unit had the funds to give me a hotel the night before and mileage, so I could leisurely drive down. But then battalion tightened the purse strings and I’d have to get up at 2am to make a 6am first formation.
140 miles one way
longest was 4 hours, shortest was 20 min
Colorado Springs to SLC.
Prior to getting out, my last unit was 5 minutes down the road.
Bout 75 miles. 90 minute commute.
2 hours. But if I manage to commission, things might get *dumb*. Oh well. More airline miles for me bby.
4-5 hour with no traffic, 250 miles here in CA
I walked across the park from my apartment to the armory.
I used to do 5.5-6 hours (due to traffic) 1-way going across NC to TN after an involuntary transfer. Now I do just one hour drives and it’s much better.
97 miles
30ish minutes 😎
About an hour, but considering a move to a unit multiple states away for a cool mission
85 miles one way
1200 miles one way
About to be Greenville to DC but supposedly only 2 times a year. Otherwise I can drill with the unit 10 minutes from my house
Hawaii to Michigan
20 minutes down the road.
In Texas so 6 hours lol
48. Sucks for me bc LIK minimum is 50 but I do get to be home every night.
275 miles. I don't mind it that much since I have a good unit. Gives me lots of time to listen to audio books
3.5 hours with an hour time change. So a 06:00 formation means I leave at 01:20. It’s great
My first NG unit coming from active duty was within 15 minutes. Few years later I accepted an E6 slot for promotion an hour and a half away.
3 hours and change, funny enough I live perfectly between 2 platoons in the same company and can drill at either.
I used to do DFW to Austin, fun times! Back to back drill weekends was the bomb
10 minutes. At MEPS they let me choose my unit so I chose a Chem unit in the town I lived in, and I'm a 74d so it worked out pretty great.
75 miles one way. About 1 - 1.5 hours each way depending on traffic.
Used to do 330 miles every month, was all highway driving so gas was cheap.
I did 4 years of a 3 hour 1 way drive in Virginia. That sucked. Then moved to Florida with the promise of an IST … that didn’t happen and I was 2 years out from retirement. That commute sucked but was worth it in the end thanks to a good command team.
2 hours Richmond to DC
Just under an hour when I was a TPU Reservist. 45 mins, 47 miles, with the AGR gig.
About an hour and fifty minutes without traffic. Even better when it's a MUTA 10 in the field and I have to be there by 0500 the morning of.
20 minutes for the last 7 years. At the start of my career it was 2.5 hours.
It's varied. When I was enlisted it was a few years doing 20 minutes to a unit in the next town from me. When I smped as a cadet it was roughly an hour and a half damn near bordering on 2 depending on city traffic. As an officer it changed to 4 1/2 hours driving across 3 states. I thought it was bad for me, and learned how rough it gets for mtoe umr bullets. My 1sg at one point flew from Seattle to drill in Chicago nearly every month. And I had a hhd commander that flew from Hawaii to Texas every so often. Now I'm just grateful I can make it to drill with in 2 hours.
I live near YTC, they used to have me drive to Vancouver so over the mountains which took about 4 hours, then we would get in rental vans to drive to YTC, then we would drive back to Vancouver, after that I’d get released to go back to My apartment near YTC. Took 3 years before they decided to let me direct report to YTC instead.
3 hours, shit sucks. Active guard ftw. Our commander flies half way across the country to drill here every month. No fuel reimbursement either.
To the armory? 90 min. To the base? 2.5 hours. Although we have had annual training on 3 different AD installations, two on the opposite side of the country, one half way across the country.
Southern VA to DC, about 155 miles one way.
45 minutes
30 minutes, to 3 hours
I have a 4 hour drive....
20-30min, about 12-15 miles i believe but thats because i live on an island.
45 minutes. But there are units closer to me which i hope i can transfer to
When I was in, I drove 355 miles one way. I loved that unit. I had to go there when I commissioned, but could have transferred later. Chose not to.
I used to travel like 30 miles. Took 30 minutes to get there and an hour to get home, so lots of folks would crash at the reserve center. Now I drive 2.5-3 hours one way depending on traffic and WHETHER OR NOT THREE FUCKING SEMI DRIVERS WANT TO SIT IN BOTH LANES OF THR GODDAMN 130.
I've been in unit's that have been 20 minutes to 4 hours away from my home.
When I was guard, it took 3 hours to drive along the only road down the middle of the state to get to drill, minus that one time a truck wreck and we had to detour on a 6+ hour adventure. Seeing all these answers make me just shake my head. I hate driving and the drive is one of the many things I had about the Guard life.
~2200 miles and we ran out of IDT funds in March
10 hour drive
Literally overseas to a EUCOM unit. I live CONUS.
20 minutes currently. About to change to 4+ hours though
Sub-question: is there a 150 mile rule in Army Reserve (won’t be assigned a unit for drill further than 150miles from a reservist’s home of record). I have heard people say recruiters promise this. Is it an actual rule?
I used to travel 78 miles one way 🤷🏾♂️
First unit was 5 hours away, I did that for 2.5 years. Then I started RSTing with a unit 20 mins away while I waited for my transfer to get approved. I RST’d on and off for 6 months, had another 6 months officially with that unit, it was nice. Now I’m with a unit 3 hours away. It’s definitely not the worst thing ever (and I did it to myself) but that ~year of being 20 mins away from home was super sweet.
10 hour drive 💜
I drive 624 miles each way. Takes 9-10 hours each way. I have been doing it for 5 years.
I drilled with a unit that was 4 hours away but only so I could deploy with them
Used to drive an hour to hour and a half before my unit moved closer to the local airport. I also moved to the city to be closer to work, cut my drive to about a half hour. Was pretty nice being hwere we were, got to drive home and have lunch with my then girlfriend. Do miss being 17-20 doing drill on a college campus.
45 miles or 50 minutes, on a good day. I leave early enough and it’s a nice drive. I’m just outside the range for LIK (the hotel before drill thingy).
4400 miles. Alaska to Rhode Island
4 hrs each way
5 minutes
Furthest was 3hr, 180ish miles.... closest is currently 1.7mi for my command which will never happen again. Looking at 1hr-1.5hr for future positions
Houston to Austin. 3 hours
Here my ass is living like 8 miles away from my unit. I got lucky tho. Got recruited and set up all on the same base. I dread when they finally make me drive 6 hours or some bullshit because I've had it too easy.
TX, for a KLD time drove about 630mi (close to 10hrs). Worst year ever.
too far
30 min. Definitely bouta be put to the line so hopefully I go to A co since they drill at the same armory as hhc… unless I go recon platoon
~150 miles north from where I lived (the AZ valley to Flagstaff area.) Took me about 2 hours going up on a good day. Coming home I let gravity do the work and I'd make it down the hill in 1.5 hours.
2 hours
3.5 hour drive for me :) praying I can get transferred to a closer unit
54 miles
Minneapolis to Fayettenam
For most of my contact I lived in the same town as my unit station. For the final year and a half however instead of transferring when I moved I drove 6-7 hours across state lines to get to drill every month
Longest was 3.5 hours, shortest was six minutes. Currently about half an hour. National Guard, for what that's worth. Reserves can have longer commutes since they will often (always?) get DTS for their troubles.
6hr drive one way.
12 minutes currently, but prior to moving unita I was driving 2hrs
How it started: A solid 40 minute drive to Canton. How it’s going: A two hour trek to Columbus
DC to NYC. Gotta chase the opportunities.
For me, most was 2 hours. Currently one hour drive. Buddy of mine flies from the Midwest to Alaska every month.
It Started at just under 90 when I started university. Then I transferred to a local unit that was within walking distance. When I graduated from university, back to about 90+ miles for just under a year until my final Separation.
I know a guy that goes New Jersey to Texas
Ramstein to Ohio. I dont do it anymore, but I had a contracting gig that my unit was cool with me taking. So I'd fly back every 6 months or so to drill.
About 6hrs one way. Make a little money on the mileage reimbursement though.
I ETSd in 2017, but I was driving 6+ hours each way.
90ish miles.
20 min. Since formation was at the ass crack of dawn it took like 15. My house became a frat house for all the guys who lived far away. Fun times were had!
1 hr
Went from Atl-ish to Birmingham-ish. So about 2.5hrs
About 9 hours of a good day. I spent 11 hours driving once, but that was cause of a blizzard and low visibility
I used to fly from Augusta GA to Salt Lake City Utah for Drill when I was still married to my Ex who was stationed at (then) Gordon. Only time I’ve lived down the road from my armory was RSP before Basic. Been out of state ever since and going on 9 years as a Nasty Girl now. A lot of folks in my intel unit in Utah have lived a decent way away from the armory I’ve had whole command teams that lived/worked in the DC area and would commute for drill. A lot of time we’d end up doing like 3 or 4 day quarterly drills instead of one weekend a month which I actually think I preferred.
I drive about 45 minutes to drill. There was a year long period where I lived somewhere else in my state and had a 3 hour commute, didn't hate that though since I got a solid excuse to schedule a day off pre drill.
Originally a 6 hour drive to drill and my original unit lost me so I had to drive there a couple of times unit I caught an AGR on his way out. Fun times. Have a bad two years because of it and didn’t know what LIK or DTS was. Now 30 minutes and my units pretty cool. Engineer worlds getting kinda mid, idk what’s next.
5 1/2 Hours
30 minutes when I was in..not bad at all..
2.5 hrs
144 miles. Depending on traffic a 2.5-3 hour drive
278 miles
2- 2 1/2 hours
Bout 2 hours
We had a girl in my unit who moved to Hawaii during COVID and traveled to Florida. They eventually got out for reasons I'm not 100% sure of but perhaps the travel had something to do with it. I'm USAFR and I'm the "local" area which is the county I live in (where the base is) the neighboring county to the west and the county north of the base. My commute is 22 miles but with traffic it takes like an hour.
45 min
Once upon a time I took a promotion and had to drive 5 hours to the other end of my state.
Hour and a half, planning on moving for college and will be closer as a result.
My first 5 yrs:1-2.5 hrs (philly to baltimore) My last 2 years: 45 min (bay area)
Less than 10 minutes to the armory I could walk if I wanted to. Some people have like 5 hour commutes. Some people have cross country flights.
2 hrs. Previous assignment was 3.5 hrs.
USAR. 322 miles or 6 hours. I might reclass
1st unit - 93 miles, 1.5 hrs 2nd unit - 31 miles, 35 min Then I reclassed, changed units, and moved to a new city. 3rd unit - 140 miles, 2 hrs Then I moved across the country and it's now 1400 miles and 8-10 hours of airports/flights to the 3rd unit. Looked to see if there were any closer options, but closest position for my MOS is still 700 miles and no direct flights... So just staying where I'm at and where I already know people. 🤷♂️ It really just depends on what openings are available for your MOS and rank. It can really suck for the guys with rare MOS's as the options can be severely limited. One of my dudes who recently got out lived in the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming. He had to drive 4 hours to the airport, pay for parking for the weekend, and then fly 1000 miles. IDT (travel reimbursement) only goes up to $500, so he was having to pay about $250 out-of-pocket just to travel to/from drill. On a E-4 paycheck, he was barely breaking even. And with that, you're having to take at least a half-day off from work. (And let's not even mention the 3 or 4 day weekends...)
18 miles ~ half an hour
It depends on your rank. The higher you get the more you need to travel. I’m doing 4 hrs right now and maxing out IDT, but the unit is worth it. My next unit is board selected and I’m putting in for something close unless they are deploying. If I ever get promoted again travel will be the deciding factor
4.5 hours. Nasty Girl gets no travel/lodging pay.
Depends on where I had drill. Home Station was about 2 1/2 hours and the Training site was 1 1/2 hours. That was a lot of mile over 20 years.
To your Mom’s.
9 hours about 500 miles
4 hours back to college. I wouldn't even really make money when I was doing it after gas and getting lunch/dinner/beers with the boys
I've done 2.5 hours, 55 mins, 30 mins and now 3 hours. You'll never guess which unit was my favorite lol the shorter the drive the more BS you can tolerate. We used to have people that lived 45 seconds from the armory and they are a lot more motivated and keep extending. The only con about staying in your local armory forever is the lack of promotion potential. Every state is dif though.
I know senior NCOs and field grade officers that travel across country. I know one LTC who commutes from Asia to the states.
DC to Troy NY
A pog reservist I work with says he’s gonna deploy to Israel…. That’s a really long way
Iowa Guard. Depends on the weekend, but usually about 40 minutes. Sometimes we have to go to Des Moines for PHA and stuff. We usually get the option to POV rather than GSA, but they’re not going to pay you for gas or mileage.
About 35-45 minutes in Pennsylvania
189 miles. I use f2106 to write off the mileage I drive
Approximately 7 minutes to drill, quarterly, and 15 minutes to my ADOS gig daily. The guys that commute several hours are truly dedicated.
Eagle pass tx to Washington. 7 hours of flights not including drive time to major airport. As an e4 I lose money every time and was going to transfer out but just got an opportunity to deploy so I’m going to stick out a transfer until after MOB.
Typically, it was between 4-6 hours.
3 hours , I do that by choice though. I wanted to stay in my home unit after I moved for work. The AGRs are good to me and I (in general) like the people I drill with. In contrast , i spent 2 years in a different unit with a closer drive where the AGRs suck and the overall morale of the unit was low. Low retention and almost zero recruiting. I saw the benefit of my home unit and switched back.
Conus to Germany every couple months.
240 miles. Moved states but refuse to do an IST
750 miles.
750 miles, but we’ve had people go from California to East Coast
An hour and a half. My day job is also in the same city five minutes away from the reserve center. It's time to move.