I'm taking a job in DC, but I'm in a reserve unit in Orlando. What are my options?

2016-05-17T13:07:49-04:00

Six months ago I joined a reserve unit in Orlando after having been out for twelve years. Recently I was offered, and accepted, a civilian job in DC. Unfortunately, I'm at a loss. The reserves are still new to me and this particular unit is in a state of flux, having been recently reflagged, AT next month, and a new nearby unit taking many members with it.
I asked a few NCO's and was informed of a program that pays part of the travel expenses for certain qualified soldiers to travel to their assigned units, but no one could tell me what it's called. I'm not against traveling back here for drill, the company that hired me has flexible hours and is reservist friendly (so far), and currently, flights from DC to Orlando are reasonably cheap.
The other option I'm aware of is transferring units. I can't find a reserve list of MI units in the DC area. MIRCs website is singularly unhelpful in this area.

So here come the questions.

What is the name of the travel program (if it even exists)?
How hard is it to transfer units?
Where can I find a list of MI units in the DC area?
Am I overlooking anything?

Thanks in advance

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 1:10 PM

2016-05-17T13:10:59-04:00

You will hace 90 days to find a unit that will that needs your MOS and accept you.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 1:13 PM

2016-05-17T13:13:23-04:00

I travelled from Florida to fort Belvoir for 3 years before I found a unit in Orlando. Wether you get paid for travel or not depends on your command. It is not a reserve wide program. I was authorized for $300 total so I just had to cut my mileage down from 975 to where it was just under the $300 mark. There are many MI units on fort Belvoir. I'm not sure if they are reserve or not.

Response by SPC Charles Zeller made May 17 at 2016 1:15 PM

2016-05-17T13:15:43-04:00

Don't know how close these are to your AO but I looked and found MI units at Fort Belvoir VA and fort Meade MD Fort Belvoir is 27 mins form center of DC and Fort Meade is 36 mins form center of DC hope that helps

Response by SGT Edward Wilcox made May 17 at 2016 1:16 PM

2016-05-17T13:16:25-04:00

First, and foremost, get with your unit's career counselor or a nearby recruiter. They will be able to answer all of your questions for you, especially finding an MI unit nearby. Transferring units can be as easy or as hard as your commander wants to make it. As for the travel program, I am not sure what it is called, or even if it exists and is available for lower enlisted. I do know that most units have a program that allows them to pay for a hotel room for soldiers who travel more than 50 miles to drill, 2 nights if you travel more than 100 miles.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 2:38 PM

2016-05-17T14:38:31-04:00

You are authorized IDT Travel reimbursement, it will cover up to $300 worth of expenses.
Transferring units while flagged may be an issue. New commands don't have to accept you. If you have a pretty good recent APFT history to back you up you should be ok. To find local units you need to contact a retention NCO and they can pull whatever vacancies within your selected mileage range. Just make sure that you are staying in consistent contact with your unit in Orlando. Submit RST forms requesting to miss drill or drill with another unit every month or the unit can give you U's for drills. Most units will allow you to drill with another unit as long as you don't become a problem. So make sure that you are up to date on all your medical and dental issues. If you turn red in any measured areas the unit can decide to push you into the IRR if you are past 90 days of your move. Congrats on the new job!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 3:04 PM

2016-05-17T15:04:34-04:00

For Soldiers who travel over 150 miles (one way), the IDT Travel Reimbursement Program (IDT-TRP) will pay you up to $300 per month in travel costs. It is a reimbursement program, which means you have to pay out of pocket first in order to get reimbursed. Valid charges include flight, car rental, commuter rail, taxi, and other modes. You could also claim $0.24 per mile plus tolls.

It is not difficult to transfer, provided that you don't have any flags.

There are several MI units at Fort Belvoir VA and Fort Meade MD.

If you look me up on Enterprise, I can send you contact information for a good Retention NCO who can start the process.

Response by CW3 Geoffrey Cline made May 18 at 2016 11:31 AM

2016-05-18T11:31:01-04:00

There is also a Guard MI unit in Laurel, MD.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2016 9:17 PM

2016-05-18T21:17:33-04:00

Talk to your retention and see about finding a new unit closer. There are MI units around Fort Story, which is alot closer to DC. Good luck. If you travel more than 150 you get LIK and IDT travel, which you would do in DTS, I have personal in my unit that travel over 10 hours to come to drill. But unless your unit is amazing, I would transfer

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made May 19 at 2016 3:25 PM

2016-05-19T15:25:10-04:00

https://www.hrcapps.army.mil/portal/
My Records; Tools; Vacancy Search
You can search by vacancy type (ARE/IMA/TPU), State/Region, Pay Grade, MOS, UIC
This should help you to find a unit in the DC area with open billets which you can then contact the listed POC about a transfer.

Portal - Login

You are accessing a U.S. Government (USG) Information System (IS) that is provided for USG-authorized use only.