 Hey guys, welcome back to AirmanVision and if you're new, consider subscribing. Today, we talked to Andre Acosta, who is a tech sergeant in the Air National Guard as a recruiter. We asked him a bunch of questions that are comparing the Air National Guard to the Air Force Reserves and active duty. Hi guys, today we're talking to tech sergeant Acosta and he's going to be talking to us about some of the differences between the Guard and the Reserves. This isn't going to be a super in-depth video, I think it'll be better if I get a Reserves recruiter to kind of talk about their aspect, but you can kind of shed some light because you know a little bit about the difference between the two and kind of give people an idea of what's going on. But first, I'm going to let you introduce yourself, who you are, what you do, and what your story of being in the Air Force is like, that way people can get to know you. Yeah, so I'm Andre Acosta, I'm a recruiter for the California Air Guard. A little bit about my story, so I've been in the Air Force 18 years now. The first 13 were active duty and I was in the, I was stationed at Beale Air Force Base. Then I went to Korea for two years at station at Osan Air Force Base. Then I got to live on the East Coast and stationed in Virginia at Langley Air Force Base. Then I got sent to Hawaii, which was which was a great assignment. I was there for for five years and that's where I made my transition into the Air National Guard starting with the Hawaii Air National Guard. Then I transferred into the Wyoming Air National Guard and last but not least, the California Air National Guard. So it's been a long journey, but it's gone by quick. I've loved it. Like I mentioned, I've been in the Air Guard specifically for five years overall and this is home for me. California is home. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. So it's nice to be able to end my Air Force career this close to home served locally. I literally grew up like 45 minutes from here. So I am able to go to all the family parties and Christmas parties that, you know, I wasn't able to in active duty, but now it's good to be home. And I'm now at this point, you know, I just want to give back. I know a lot of people are probably watching this video to get information. I want to help them make the best choice for them, whether that's serving locally or going active duty. And I appreciate airman vision and then putting out information like this, providing that form. If you guys got any questions about the California Air Guard, you can feel free to text me or call me 805-415-7269. Again, that's 805-415-7269. All right. So this video, you're going to be able to kind of put out there your own little bias, right? Because you obviously are in the Air National Guard. So why join the Air National Guard over the Air Force Reserves? Yeah. So, you know, I think the best way to look at that decision, sorry, I just got a call. We stay busy man. The demand is high. We're good. So the main thing to think about when you're, you know, considering whether to join, first of all, between active duty or reserve. So active duty is that there's three components of the Air Force. There's active duty Air Force, and there's two reserve components of the Air Force. The Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard. So a lot of people say, what is the Air National Guard? How is that different from the reserves, right? So when you look at the hierarchy of deployments or how things go, it's usually active duties number one, reserves is number two, and the Air National Guard is third on that hierarchy, right? Especially when it comes to deployment ops, right? I think as an individual making a decision between the Air Force Reserves or the Air National Guard, you really got to factor, what's the closest base to you? If it's an Air Force Reserve base or an Air National Guard base, a lot of times that'll be the first priority in making that decision. Second will be the job options. Each base has a different combination of jobs and of course different vacancies at different times. So if you dialed in, if you're dialed in, you're like, I specifically want medical or I specifically want IT, then you might think about which one of those bases has those vacancies. And a lot of times if you're clever, I'll drive a little bit further, even if a base is farther, if it has the exact job I want. So that's what I recommend when you make that decision. So definitely shop around between an Air National Guard and reserve recruiters. There's a lot of overlap and similarities, but it's really just up to you to find out what's the best fit for you. So something I want to kind of pick on that you were saying was different hierarchy of, it goes active duty, reserves, then guard. So that would be like if the federal government were to call on the military and need people to deploy, right? It was like they would act duty first, then the reserves, then the guard if they need it. But you guys can have different deployments too, because as the reserves, the reserve unit doesn't serve the state necessarily. Does it? It serves the federal government. So it's hard, it serves the actual state itself. So when there's a natural disaster or civil unrest, right, do they call the reserves in those instances too? Or is that strictly just the Air National Guard? That's your guys' So that's a good point. So that's where the hierarchy kind of switches. When it comes to state stuff, like what's going on now, right? Where the governor is kind of has that control and it has to implement their own National Guard forces. The Army National Guard and the Air National Guard would be called upon first. With the Air National Guard, you can volunteer to participate in some of those things. Now the reserve can supplement, but they're not going to be the primary resource. So when it comes to local missions like that, the humanitarian or supporting crisis response, emergency management, they're going to call on the guard first. And then there are times when the reserve can supplement us and support us, but they're not going to be the primary in that circumstance. So what you're saying is the reserves is always second best. Federally and statewide, they're always the second one to get called. They're not the primary function there. And it's really, I think it's just when you make that decision, it's just finding out what has the best options for that individual, right? Because we're talking about on a general level or like a branch level, but when you break it down to the individual level, it's really just like, which one is closest to me and which one has a job I want. So to be fair, I think that's one way to look at it. There are some differences on the educational side that I think we'll get to on as far as college benefits. What is the pay like between guard and reserves? Is it the same or are there differences? Because both of them are part-time initially. And then I'm assuming you can go active in both components. Or you can go full-time in both components. But what does the pay look like between the two of those? So it's the same. And yeah, it's going to be the same across the board, because we're both considered reserve components. So if you look at the military pay chart online, and there's a reserve military pay chart, usually underneath the active duty one, right? Those are going to be applicable to all the reserve components. Okay. So yeah, kind of kicking back to that first question, then how you were saying it comes down to what job you want and how close it is because pay is definitely not a factor. That's one of the big reasons why people join the military anyways is for that additional income. Or to have income period if you go active duty. But if you go guard or reserves, the pay isn't the deciding factor there. It's not like, oh, if I go this way, I'm going to make more money. It pretty much offers the same. Yeah, it's going to be the same. Like a good example would be like, obviously having a flying job, if you're interested in aviation or being air crew, right? Being a flyer, regardless of your reserve or guard or active duty does come with additional flight pay. So you might have to make that decision based on which one has a vacancy, right? So if the reserve has a vacancy and the guard doesn't, I would recommend go reserve, right, to be fair. Or vice versa. So you've got to really kind of dial it in there and see what the job options available are there. Who gets deployed more, guard or reserves? So unfortunately, it's usually the reserves. They're going to mirror more of the active duty lifestyle than the guard. But it just also depends on the job you choose. A flyer or security forces is going to have a different ops temple than admin or some other jobs. So first of all, it's going to be the job. But on a general scale, on a branch level, it's going to be reserves going to deploy more than guard. So all those overseas deployments that we always hear about in the news or people are always talking about that they know somebody that got deployed overseas. You're more likely to get one of those opportunities if you go reserve than the guard. Right. And yeah, so they're going to, well, they're going to get more billets, you know, as far as lots to deploy. But I think if somebody is wanting to deploy and they're persistent and motivated, right, there's always those opportunities on guard or reserve. Right. It's just a matter of putting yourself out there and volunteering and waiting for your turn. So I like that. I like that you said somebody wants the opportunities. There's opportunities on both sides. You know, whether you're guard or reserve or active duty, right, the uniform will still say Air Force. There won't be any differentiation there. So that's the whole point of having those reserve components so they can be interchangeable. What are other common comparisons that you get between the guard and reserves or questions that people want to know as you being a recruiter? What are things that people come to you and ask you? Right. Like, I want to be part-time, but the reserves is part-time too. So how are you going to, you know, kind of how you said, like, some people might want to deploy more. Well, reserves is going to get more of those overseas opportunities. Not saying guard doesn't get those, but the reserves is going to probably get more. And so what other comparisons do you know of that you can think of that come between the two? You know, I think a big difference too between guard and reserve is going to be, you know, state versus federal. So we're primarily state focused where they're going to, the reserves is going to be more federal focused and supplement active duty Air Force. So we kind of have a different purpose, you know, where your local hometown Air Force and then there's some benefit to that, of course, because all the other people in your wing are from your local area too. So it's a great networking. You get to, you know, meet some great people who actually live in your area. That's one comparison I hear. Another popular comparison that we get is because Air Guard is part of the National Guard. A lot of times they think, are you the Army National Guard? Is it the Air National Guard? What's the difference? You know, I thought it's just National Guard. And to answer that, if we're going to go down and go down that rabbit hole, so to speak, is, you know, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard work together, but they're also very different, much like the Army and the Air Force are very different. And that's exactly what they are. The Army National Guard is the Army and the Air National Guard is the Air Force. And they work together to support that state. So some people might be wondering, what are the college differences or tuition differences between Air Force Guard and reserves? Yeah, great question. So, you know, they say, like, which one gives you more money for college, right? For us in California, because each state is going to be different, because like I mentioned, the Guard is state-driven, right? It's more advantageous to be a member of the California Air National Guard than to be in the Air Force Reserves as a college student in California. And the reason is just the buckets of money that we have access to. So as a California Guardsman, you do get different grants. So that's what kind of overlaps the benefits that you get in the Air Force Reserves, because in the Air Force Reserves, they get access to Air Force Tuition Assistance, which is about 3,700, right? And they get the Montgomery GI Bill. We get those same benefits in the Air Guard, but we also get an additional benefit, which is the California Air National Guard Education Assistance Awards Program, which is that long acronym and title that I was talking about. But that's restricted to California National Guardsmen, Army National Guardsmen and Air National Guardsmen. And that can pick up the full tab for your tuition, whether you're going to, you know, a California State School or even UCLA, for example. So that's a big additional benefit that here in California kind of puts us over the top of Air Force Reserves when it comes to college. All right. And then last question that I have for you is being a recruiter. What other things do you want to throw in here to just maybe convince people why is the Air National Guard better than the Reserves or what other things can you think about top of your head as to, you know, why people should consider going into the Guard? Yeah. Like I think, you know, to be fair, to be fair, you know, I think that decision, whether you're deciding between Air Force Reserve or Air Guard, you've got to do a little bit of homework to make that distinction, right? With us here in California, I think if you're making the decision based on college money, like I mentioned, we're going to be more advantageous. But that might be different in your home state. So I want to be fair. And what I recommend is talk to an Air Guard recruiter and talk to a Reserve recruiter. Also find out where those bases are, you know, which one's closer to you, and thereby going to be more sustainable, attending one weekend a month, two weeks a year. And then also find out about their vacancies. Because I think, you know, if one has a better job for you, you know, that might be the difference maker in making that decision, whether that's Guard or Reserve, it's really just finding the right one. There's a lot of different missions. So different missions entails different jobs. Absolutely. Some jobs may overlap between the two, but some, you might have two bases, one, two hours north of you, one, two hours south of you. One's Guard, one's Reserve. Make it have totally different missions with totally different jobs. Absolutely. Like, and I'll give you an example. Out here in Southern California, we have March Air Reserve Base. So the name of the base is March Air Reserve Base, but there's also a Guard component there. So the Guard has about 900 personnel, and the Reserve has about 3,000 personnel. So of course, the Reserve side is going to have more job options, right? And they have airplanes that do a whole bunch of different missions. So you got a lot more jobs. But then on the Guard side, we do have a drone mission, which is also popular and unique and attracts its own different type of audience that want to get into the drone world, right? So they're going to be different even though it's the same location. So you just got to dig deep and talk to both sides to figure out which decision is the right one for you. And then thinking long, you know, it's super easy to transfer from Reserve components to one to another. You don't have to complete your contract to do it. To like, if you're on a six-year enlistment with a Guard, you don't have to finish your six years to go to Reserve. You can transfer right in the middle and vice versa. That's something not a lot of people know about. I was just sad that I never heard of that. So that's super easy. If you wanted to, if you were moving, right, and you were moving, say like, you know, you live close to this base, but you're moving four hours north and it's close to a Reserve base. And you're like, oh, like you can transfer from the Guard to the Reserves to then be closer to that base. Exactly. So let's just say that job that you wanted on the Guard side wasn't available, but now it is. And you're three years into your Reserve contract, it's easy to transfer. So that's one of the huge advantages we have over active duty, like that flexibility to move around. It's so easy to do. It's nearly like two pieces of paperwork. So yeah, we get guys who go back and forth. That is awesome. That's a great opportunity to be able to have is kind of, I think we've gone back to this in multiple of the four videos that we've shot today, was, you know, the Guard makes a great backup plan or a safety net in life. And you are in a majority of the control. The military's not. And so yeah, even with that, like being able to be able to transfer between the two branches, depending on, you know, what fits your goals or where you live, right? You know, there's a lot of flexibility there versus active duty, right? If you were to compare that to active duty, it doesn't matter. Like where they say you're going, you're going. You know, it's like, how long they say you're going there? You're going there for that long. So, and we've discussed too, and I think our first interview we did about it's not as easy to cross train, like change jobs in active duty, but in the Guard reserves, as long as they have a position open, you know, it's a little bit easier versus active duty, even if there's a position open, they have all these other issues of, you know, like, well, this person's been in longer or this or that or the, one of the big things was in active duty, there's a lot, a bunch of career fields that can't cross train. So like my career field, it was for a long time was one of the career fields that was just locked. You weren't allowed to cross train out of it. So your options were reenlist as your current job or get out, right? Like it wasn't like, no, no, no, but I like the Air Force. I just don't care for my job. I want a different job. I want to stay in the Air Force. I was like, no, sorry, you either stay in this job or you get out, right? And so that was, that was kind of a tough thing for a lot of people to like a tough pill to swallow. And that's, that was the same boat for me. The job I was in active duty Air Force, which was analyst, it was locked. So you couldn't cross train out of it, or it was very hard. Like they let out one person a year out of, you know, thousands. It was like some super, super good rate. Winning lottery ticket type stuff. But that's part of the reason I went guard for that flexibility to be able to, to jump around jobs and things like that. Yeah. So we brought out a lot of good gems, man. Yeah. Heck yeah. I'm really glad that you, you hit us up on air revision and asked to do an interview. I think these will be good. And hopefully you guys that are watching these from home or wherever you are watching on the subway or whatever, you know, you enjoyed and appreciated this information that Tech Sergeant Acosta was throwing out there for us that we could, you know, help share with you guys. And hopefully help make your decision in life easier with what path you want to go down if you are considering the Air National Guard or any of the other components of the Air Force. But lastly, I want to finish again with who you are, how people can contact you. And that way if people are interested in joining the Air National Guard, you know, they know, they know where to go or if they want to join their local place or their, their local unit that isn't necessarily in California. Yeah. And I want to thank Airman Vision again for the opportunity to, to talk about these differences and give out information that, you know, Kyle and I didn't have when we were active duty we're probably considering decisions. So it's a huge advantage to anybody watching these videos today. And no matter which choice you make, active duty, Guard or Reserve, it's all one team. And there's a lot of options, you know, that you can, you can make thereafter. So it's all a great decision. If you do have an interest in the California Air Guard or you got some questions, feel free to reach out to me. My work cell is 805-415-7269. Again, 805-415-7269. And if you want more information online too, you can reference goang.com. That's G-O-A-N-G.com. All right, y'all.