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- 1). Decide whether you want to serve in the Selected Reserve, Individual Ready Reserve or Active Reserve.
- 2). Choose the Selected Reserve if you want to get paid according to your service time and your rank. This service typically requires you to serve one weekend per month and to train for two weeks during the year.
- 3). Choose the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) if you do not want to be assigned to a specific Reserve unit. IRR soldiers are not paid and they are usually not required to drill or train.
- 4). Choose the Active Guard and Reserve if you want to become a full-time Reserve member with the same pay and benefits you received when you were on active duty.
- 5). Review the benefits. Serving with a Reserve unit may provide the opportunity for you to add to the retirement benefits you accumulated on active duty. For most military branches, 20 years of active service and at least six of those years with a Reserve unit fully vests your retirement.
- 6). Review the Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserve, which provides as many as three years of educational assistance. Take advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill for soldiers who enlisted after September 11, 2011, that offers tuition aid, housing allowance and a stipend for school supplies.
- 7). Obtain the TRICARE Reserve Select, a premium-based health insurance that provides medical coverage for you and your family when you are no longer on active duty. Check the company's website for more information.
- 8). Speak to a transitional counselor to discuss your educational and career goals for your post-military life. Transitional counselors can provide you with guidance and resources to ease your transition and help you make the right decisions.
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