The ridiculous anatomy of most Army Reserve drill days

As an Army Reservist [1993-2008] I was never assigned to an MTOE unit. I was assigned to HQDA G-4 and attached to a IMA detachment, my friend CW5 Jack Cardwell.
The first three years I attended CGSC and did staff work while drilling occurred on two Thursday evenings for 4 hours and one Saturday in the Pentagon. PT was on your own time not drill time.
By 1998, I was supporting strategic planning and worked primarily on my own - with Active duty folks sometimes pulling shifts in the Army Operations Center - Logistics Operations Center. Being mobilized in November 2001 through May 2004 formally got me slotted in a strategic planning cell. I was able to stay on for another month and use up my drills for the year. I was called back to active duty for TTADs a few times per year and did supplemental drills. I ended up with enough retirement points to retire with 52% of my salary. Every time I was brought back to active duty and when I demobilized I was required to sign waivers that I would not demand to stay of active duty - since I had over 18 years active Federal service.
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence PVT Karl Goode PO2 Kevin Parker SGT James Murphy SFC Michael Young MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy SGT Rick Colburn SSgt Boyd Herrst

I like how this story uses OLD pictures of the Army Reserve to make it look like we don't keep up with the current Army physical fitness uniform. Notice in the formations are still wearing the ACU which pretty much everybody doesn't wear any more unless you're about to retire.

It is true that people do commute to drill from long distances. I fly 800 miles from Canada to my unit in Tacoma Washington. A decade, I flew from Edmonton Alberta Canada to Southern California. Only recently have they reimbursed you for up to $500 on travel for drill weekends. 2 years ago by Brigade Commander came all the way from New Jersey to train in a unit in Southern California. It is true that we do have to apply by the Army standards and get all of the online training out of the way. We also have lives. Many of us are attorneys, doctors, policemen, firemen, computer technicians or even multi-millionaires who join the reserve component. I personally know two LTCs/O-5s who are multi-millionaires and don't have to do this but they do it for God and Country.

We are citizen soldiers who have two or three deployments or more. I lost my first sergeant to Afghanistan to a suicide car bomber. The garden Reserve have also lost blood and personnel in the global war on terrorism. The active component should be respectful of us in spite of our truncated training. When we deploy, we meet the same standard that they do and many of us can get above 280 on the APFT or even 300. Some active-duty people cast run sub-14-minute 2-mile but I knew to Brigade commanders in their 50s who could. There are almost 1 million of us and the reserve component who can help out on a full or partial mobilization. Don't forget that!

For me it depended on the unit, over 23 years I was in 5 different units and they all handled drill differently. But the worse thing was all the stupid admin stuff that higher wanted. Seemed like we could waste two or three drill assemblies sitting around listening to some one or watching some video and signing this roster and that roster just so someone higher could check a box.