Thanks for all of your replies! Apparently, the reserves have billets too. You take a job for 2-3 years and then move on. Some require travel to reserve center, such as a reserve Flight Surgeon. The green side also has billets open, but require travel as well. The local marine reserve center does not have a Medical Officer billet open. I have been told that I must take a billet. If anyone knows differently, let me know. I do know about Flex drilling, but at O-5, I will need a specific job, or so I understand. Anyone know about FMF Medical Battalion? Reserves seems to work differently, plus I have been 10+ years from AD, so maybe I don't remember correctly?
PTG
Been drilling since 1992, and retire end of FY-16. Been around the reserve block a few times, and in general have had a blast. Not that the USNR isn't without some bureaucracy, but in general the fun and positive attributes far outweigh the aggravation titer. In the USNR, *all* officers (1xxx, 2xxx, etc) above LCDR must compete every 2-3 years for a paid reserve billet. LCDRs and below are all in paid billets and generally drill where they want, unless they volunteered for a specific leadership role with a prescribed drill site.
Generally almost all 21xx CDRs and above get a paid billet. NC and MSC are much much more competitive. There are lots of CDR and above NC and MSC officers drilling for retirement points only (which will make the pension bigger). If you don't get a paid billet, then you wind up in the Volunteer Training Unit, and drill just for nonpaid retirement points at a reserve center of your choosing. You then recompete on the next year's board to get out of VTU and into a paid billet. If you get a paid billet (and almost all 21xx above LCDR are in a paid billet) the following apply:
1. The paid billets for which you're considered are chosen from a dreamsheet you voluntarily complete. I think you can indicate up to 35 billets for the board to consider for you. You also indicate the drill site travel distance you're OK with, up to world-wide. I've known people living on the west coast who drill monthly in Hawaii or Guam, east coast people drilling in Germany, Floridians drilling at Bremerton, New Englanders drilling at San Diego, etc ... all per their voluntary dreamsheet. Similarly I've known people who indicate a drill site travel willingness of only, say, 200 miles, and they found themselves drilling just for unpaid retirement points. The billets coming open in a given FY are advertised on the USNR website.
2. Non-leadership clinical billets usually allow you to drill at any reserve center you wish (except for billets on the green side). Drill weekend is usually filled with doing PHAs in the reserve center's "clinic," taking care of all reservists assigned there. All paperwork with no hands-on, except for HMs doing blood draws, and dentists doing examinations (no restorative work). Orders to a paid clinical billet are 3 years.
3. Leadership billets usually dictate a specific drill site (which you know about when you complete your dreamsheet). Your travel expenses are not reimbursed, but you can take them off your taxes. USNR policy provides free lodging if you live more than 5o miles from your assigned drill site. Orders to a paid leadership billet are 2 years.
4. Green side billets are available for your dreamsheet. Those all dictate drilling at a specific green side site, regardless of being in clinical or non-clinical leadership role. I was green side for several years and served as a 4th Med BN surgical company XO. Lots of USMCR "admin" work in addition to the USNR stuff, but still had fun. The green side component of USNR medicine is known as "program 9." I must plead ignorance about the reserve side of NAVAIR, but I can hook you up with the reserve RADM who used to head it. There are also a few 21xx paid billets assigned to the reserve SeaBees, but I know essentially nothing more about them.
5. Flex drilling is easy to do if you're in a non-leadership clinical billet, but requires your drilling unit OIC's rubberstamp approval before hand. Key: you must submit and get approval for flexdrilling prior to the scheduled drill dates which you're flexdrilling. The flexdrill can take place after the regular drill weekend dates funding the flexdrill, but approval must be obtained prior to the regular drill weekend funding the flexdrill. Please burn that into your brain. Otherwise the reserve center CO (who is always a line officer and who is the ultimate approval authority of flexdrilling) will deny it. You can flexdrill on alternate dates at your reserve center doing paperwork, GMTs, Navy admin work, etc,, or you can do it at any federal MTF doing hands-on clinical work, recertifying on ACLS, PALS, etc. I occasionally flexdrill at my local VA if drill weekend falls on inconvenient dates. The VA loves it because I'm free additional manpower being paid by the Navy. Flexdrilling will be much bigger challenge if you're in a sought-after leadership role, generally because you're needed to drill at the HQ site (at the specified drill location) each drill weekend.
6. The technical term for Navy reserve centers is Navy Operational Support Center, NOSC.
Best wishes on your decision.
