ok.. i need someone honest to really tell me wut the reserve is about.
i met this recruiter.. and he said... the army reserve can pay you for college. the tuition for my college is 40000 a year and they said that they can pay 36000, and i can be in it for 4 or 3 years however long i want. after 4 years i can go back to civilian. i can be placed in an undeployed unit so ill be staying in Washington DC instead of being sent off to afganistan or somewhere like that. besides the 1 weekend/ month and the 2 week/ year wut else is the catch? can they after 4 year say that i cant go back to civilian and stuff like that? is there any loop hole they can do so that i wont be able to stay with the undeployed unit? i heard alot of the officers lie just to get u in and stuff.. wuz the trainin like? do u have to run? thanks.. please answer me ASAP someone.

That must be quite an institution to be charging $40,000 for just tuition. The university near me is about 1/10th of that.

Army Reserve tuition assistance is currently $4,500 per year.

Student loan repayment can be up to $3,000 per year.

The current MGIB Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606) rate is $297. You may qualify for a kicker of up to $300. This adds up to $7,164 per year.

Grand total of educational benfits that I am aware of: $14,664 per year.

The minimum service requirement for the military is eight years. Typically for the Army Reserve, this is six years of a minimum duty requirement of one weekend a month, two weeks per year; this is known as TPU (Troop Program Unit) service. TPU service is followed by two years where you may remain in a reserve unit, reenlist, or transfer to the IRR (Individual Ready Reserve). The IRR has no duty requirement other than to be available for call up when needed. Four and five year TPU obligations are not unheard of but the 6 year contract is typical.

Make sure you are getting the information about the Army Reserve and not the Regular Army. If possible, talk to an Army Reserve Recruiter.

No matter what componant you join; no matter what skill you choose; no matter what unit you are assigned to; in the first eight years of Army service, a soldier is likely to deploy at some time.

Soldiers rarely lie to get someone in the Army; just make sure you understand everything they are telling you.

The training is physically demanding, emotionaly challenging, intelectually stimulating, stressful, applicable to a variety of outside experiences, and fun.

You will run.

Newbharry,
Take this for what its worth. If you are looking to join the Army/reserves simply to get the college money and not have to actually earn that money (aka deploy) at some point, you may want to find another scholarship program cause this one is not for you. I don't mean to sound rude or anything but when all of those reservests (and active duty for that matter) freaked out when we first went to war because they realized they might have to actually do their job, the only thing I could think was WTF did you think you signed up to do? For years people joined the military to take advantage of the college money. Lots of them managed to get away with only maybe going to Korea for a year or NTC. Now that we are at war, people still join and act shocked when they get orders to go play in the sand. If you join, the army will give you a paycheck, give you some cool new clothes, and give you lots of money for school, but you sure as hell better expect to hold up your end of the deal when Uncle Sam comes a callin (and he's yelling loud as hell right now). If you want to go to school and run no risk of deploying, do like my little brother did when he went through NYU for 4 years, take out a shit load of student loans and plan on being the next Donald Trump to pay them off.

SSG Troy Ward

PS: Admin, I understand if you get rid of this, just had to voice my thoughts.

Another option: Go ROTC. Complete your degree on the Army's dime then serve your term to pay it back.

Many RC soldiers have no problem with deploying, it just seems that Uncle Sam wants to schedule the deployments so that you can't complete a semester between them. ROTC is a great way to complete schooling without interuption.

If you are looking for more college bennies you can look into guard, I believe it is 100% paid tuition. Personally I prefer reserves but for your education expenses it may suit you better.
Military life is a challenge, active and reserve, but I can tell you it is worth it. My career is just taking off and I am enjoying it.
In my opinion deployment is inevitable. While you have mixed feelings of being deployed I wouldn't let it completely make my decision to join, everything has its good and bad. Keep in mind how else are you going to pay for college, what is your plan B for after high school as far as a career, keep in mind you can make this a career.
I joined at the age of 17, and shipped before I was 18. I have never been a great runner but I learned to work on it.
If you are looking for a challenge that it is.
Read the paperwork throughly, if you don't understand...ask!
Look at the job options, if you need a high ASVAB score you can study-there is a book.
The great thing is in the Army there is a book, or Regulation, or publication for pretty much everything. What you don't know...you can learn.
Basic isn't as bad as all the rumors. It's very different now. I went in 2000. Each post is a little different, same training, some a little harder than others.
Reserves is a 6 by 2 yr contract. Six years in a drilling status (once a month) and 2 years in IRR. I was in IRR and preferred the drilling status better. Keep in mind there may be the occasional 4 day drill weekend.
Good Luck!

Each state's guard TA will be different. Most that I have heard of are 100% like the Reserves (limits I don't know). The downsides I've seen to the guard's TA are: funding seems to run out quickly (100% tuition from October through January); Some states require a type of extention for the period that you use it; If you ever move to another state, who knows what their benefits wil be?