Reservist that wants to go active

[NeWSoldiEr08]

i want to go active i hate the reserves im bored and i love the army. i would like to know if my girl friend could live with me and recieve me recieve basing and housing if it was possible for her to live with me..she would be a dependant but we arent married. any incite active army folk?? im looking for a e-4 and ups opinion and direction on this since from what i understand u cant live off post untill ur atleast an e-4 specialist..and also if i went active would i still be able to retain my e-3 PFC rank? ive only been in a year so im not sure about some of this but i do love the army and im def considering giving full devotion to it

[NeWSoldiEr08]

im now an e-4 lol

[former31B]

im now an e-4 lol

No, you won't get BAH or any other benefits until you marry the girl. The Army would be broke in a hurry if they paid out money to every Soldier shacking up on the economy. Your life will be much better if you get married before going AD. The barracks is no place for a family man or a person who aspires to be. While it shouldn't be, it is the case where most NCOs look at married junior enlisted a little differently. Basically, they will assume (until you prove otherwise) that you are a little more mature and responsible.

I have known Soldiers that came from the Reserves to AD who lost a rank. According to their story (from two different people who didn't know each other and came from different Reserve units), they were specifically told that they would retain their rank but as soon as they hit AD, they were administratively reduced to E-3. I am not aware of any regs that would tell you one way or the other. I'm guessing that a reduction in rank may be due to TIS/TIG differences between Reserves and AD. Again, I can't tell you if you will or will not lose rank. Just do your research and be aware.

On the bright side, if you were to lose a rank, it shouldn't be a big concern for you. The difference between a PFC and SPC is negligible, other than the pay factor. You would make E4 again pretty quick.

Since you seem to want to make a career of the Army, going Active would be to your benefit so I wish you luck. I hope though that you haven't developed a romantic idea of AD life and its Soldiers. You'll find the same turds on AD as you do in the Reserves. I've met my fair share of 8-year SPCs and 19-year SSGs just waiting for that 20 year mark.

You most likely will be required to maintain a barracks room on post. I have known young soldiers who had off-post apts that they paid for out of their basic pay.

[NeWSoldiEr08]

i def would love to make it a career thank you for all the information im glad someone took the time to reply finally. i completely understand with the girlfriend thing i wouldn't wanna pay a bunch of privates and specialists money when most of us having revolving door policies with women lol. ive met some pretty big shit stains in the reserve and AD so i completely understand that too. thank you