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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 2877.PDF
D.C. ANG members prepare on F-4 Phantom for flight. Note use of the tech manual to stop the ladder scratching the paintwork operate on a State basis in the way the Guard does. The Reserve operates 56 flying units with more than 430 aircraft, including the F-16, F-4, A-10, C-130, and C-5. The Reserve also maintains the only aerial spray capability in the Air Force, with a detachment of UC-123K Providers. Reservists are divided into Ready, Standby, or Retired. Ready Reservists can be called to active duty by the President with a declaration of emergency; Standby and Retired Reservists can be called to active duty only by a special Act of Congress. But the President can also mobilise up to 100,000 selected Reservists from the Guard and AFRes for up to 90 days without declaring a national emergency. These personnel would come from that part of the Ready Reserve known as the Selected Reserve—Reser vists in the highest training categories. Full-time training in a Reserve unit is performed mainly by Air Force Reserve technicians, who are Reservists as well as full-time civil servants. During the week they wear civilian clothes and work as civilian employees of their respective units. But during unit training periods— mostly at weekends—they wear uniforms and participate as Reservists with the same units. About 8,200 Reservists, or 15 per cent of the force, are Air Reserve tech nicians with this dual role to play. Commitment As one Reservist puts it: "Joining the Reserve is ideal for people who cannot give a full-time commitment to the US Air Force—especially ideal for those fresh out of school who want to learn a skill and supplement their income. It is like being two-times a citizen—you have your regu lar job and you are also helping to serve your country." Both AFRes and ANG are now involved in space missions. Reserve crews from the 919th Special Operations Group at Duke Field, Florida, supported all Space Shuttle launches from the Kennedy Space Centre; their C-130s provided launch site aerial surveillance. Reserve Maj Charles L. Veach of the 924th Tactical Fighter Group at Bergstrom AFB, Texas, has been selected to be an astronaut, based on his civilian employment as a Nasa pilot. And four Air Guardsmen now wear astronaut wings, signifying their flights aboard the Space Shuttle. "I think," said one Reservist at Andrews, "that we often do the job better than the full-timers because they do it every day, and it's a routine for them. For us it remains a novelty—it's so different from our other jobs and we try that extra bit harder." Full-timers would disagree, no doubt, but it has to be said that the reserves stick to a "their standards are our standards" rule and take a great deal of pride in their work. They are certainly regarded as equal partners with the USAF, and do not intend to lose that status. • DC. Air Guard Phantoms at Andrews AFB, just outside Washington D.C. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 19 October 1985
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