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Comment by tempnow987 | Hacker News Reader

One issue with reserves, especially army. Through the iraq/afghanistan deployments BOG time was way up (ie, your service commit is not just that weekend a month). BOG = Boots on ground time.

In afghanistan Army deployments (both active and reserve) were far higher than other service branches.

My quick understanding is that normally they would like to target 1/4 BOG/Dwell time. So if you are thinking of reserves, particularly army, be asking, could I be gone 12 months out of 48, with potential for more?

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Is there data on how much real service one might be doing? As in incoming mortars, bullets flying over your head, in a place with IEDs or mines etc.

I feel like if I wanted to be put in that specific situation, I'd want a whole lot more training than a reservist.

I can't speak for other people's experiences but I did deploy to Afghanistan as a combat arms reservist in the Canadian army. Typically, you're expected to be overseas for 6 months but anything from 5-8 isn't that uncommon. Other roles had other expected deployment lengths. To prep for a 6 month tour involved full time training for about 8 months. This is the same training time the regular forces got and was done with them.

I think you may also underestimate the amount of training reservists do. To get fully qualified in my trade took over 3 months of full time training split up over a couple years. During my time in the reserves you'd do 1-2 evenings a week from September to May/June. You'd also have 1 weekend a month training for most of those months and 1 week long training exercise per year. During the summer, people who had the time could do full time work taking or teaching on courses.

> Is there data on how much real service one might be doing?

Not really ‘data’ but the last time I was in a combat zone there were mortars/rockets flying in on a daily basis, usually around chow time.

Also ‘safe’ jobs weren’t a guarantee. We were going out on a convoy mission and the reservists unit escorting us was short handed so just found a warm body to ride in the gun truck in the form of an office girl in the Air Force who had been in country three weeks and probably hadn’t touched a weapon since basic training.

Mission takes priority and if you need a body you find a body.

Also my last ‘real’ deployment was in a reserve unit and I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone. Zero discipline and we were a transportation unit so mobile enough to get into all sorts of trouble. We got out of there before things got really bad (our mission was over so they just sent us home) so there’s that.

Yeah that’s what I’m saying. If you’re going to do it and head into a dangerous situation you’d likely want to be with a bunch of people of professional mindset, not people who thought this would be an easy paycheck + health benefits.

Being in a transport group sounds horrible. Possibly taking orders from someone who doesn’t know where they’re going etc etc.

At least you survived.

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