Air National Guard Benefits

Healthcare is free for active duty

Okay health insurance, decent retirement, okay time off.

Tricare Reserve and Dental are great but that's about the extent of what is great working there. No accrued leave being traditional. Do your 4 years or retire after 20 years, the rest is a waste of time and possible time done elsewhere for a pension.

Insurance as an AGR is like Active Duty and the member pays nothing.

Best - If you get an AGR spot, you get what active duty gets. Worst - Drill status. You get high expectations, little time to do your duties, and you still are paying more than the AGR does for your insurance. Theres always different lenses to look through, so take it with a grain of salt. That technician or drill status job might be getting you through, so its not that bad. On the flip side, you may have come from active duty & now you see what little the AGRs do and still are given active duty benefits when they maybe should not. There's also the stand alone guard units--the ones nowhere near active duty. You will find all sorts of back door deals to get people hired on full-time, which is completely illegal, but they will do everything they can to cover that up. They also legally change the manning documents constantly to help their friends, but will turn down someone who is actually qualified for the job. Guard can be a good deal, but pick a good unit & a good job. Make the most out of every benefit the government gives you, but don't take advantage like some of the leeches youll find on the full-time agr/technician side.

Vacation time off education etc

Helps pay for college, incredible insurance and training thats valued outside the military, military retirement, and you get to serve your country by serving locally inside the US. Travel opportunity is possible, and you get the pride of wearing the uniform. Best career decision I've ever made. Tons of career fields such as mechanic, pilot, health care, IT, human resources, police, fireman, food services, and so much more.

Great benefits and work culture

Tricare is amazing cost wise and inefficient care and customer service wise but worth it

Best benefits: Tax free entitlements such as BAH & BAS, GI Bill, and Tricare.