Reserves as a Safety Net?
Staying on active duty is tougher now that it ever has been. With drawdowns in every branch, many who were once competitive for promotion and advancement are rethinking their career prospects.
Luckily for many, Reserve and National Guard options expand whenever the active components contract. If you are facing release from active duty, be sure to ask your military lawyer about part-time uniformed opportunities. For some, these turn-into paying full-time employment.
The following is taken from an article in the Army Times that focuses on some of these opportunities.
Frustrated by his inability to get promoted and the looming Army drawdown, then-Sgt. James Davis left active duty in 1995.
He used his separation bonus to buy his mother a house and then moved on to serve with the U.S. Capitol Police. But Davis quickly began to miss being a soldier.
“I had 13 or 14 years in, and I really enjoyed the lifestyle,” he said. “The only reason I got out was because I couldn’t get promoted, and I decided if I could do both [a civilian career and be in the military], I wanted to.”
In 1998, Davis returned to the Army, this time in the Army Reserve as a counter-intelligence soldier. Today, he is the command sergeant major for the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion in Maryland, and he still serves as a K-9 handler with the Capitol Police.
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