Auditioning premier bands as a current military musician

[ZMan]

Hello all,

I am in a National Guard Band and I turn 35 this November. I always thought that when you join the military the maximum age for enlistment to go join does not apply to prior service. Boy was I naïve, even your are guard that does affect you.

Anyway, for me to audition for a premier band beyond my 35th birthday, assuming I win the job, would I be able to get an age waiver? I know if you are in an active duty band, and you are 35 and older, they subtract the amount of years you have in service from your age (if you are 36 and 7 years of service that would make you 29 as far as the band is concerned). The guard is different I believe 1 years translates to 1 month.

For those that are in the military does that sound correct?

To go into an active duty band (in a non premier band) beyond my 35th birthday I would need an age waiver.

Thanks all

[b.williams]

Look here for info:
http://www.goarmy.com/band/careers-and-jobs.html" target="_blank
http://www.careersinthemilitary.com/ind ... s_enlisted" target="_blank
http://www.navy.com/careers/arts-media/ ... sibilities" target="_blank
http://www.bands.af.mil/" target="_blank

Reserve to active duty quotas and requirements change regularly.

[Jeff Keller]

Depends on the branch. Each one has different age deadlines. I do think that the Navy deadline is around 35, but don't quote me on that. IF you are going to make this change, check with a liaison in that respective branch on a High-Year-Tenure(Navy) or Retention Control Point (Army). These state that you need to reach "X" rank within "Y" years or your kicked out. Reserve/Guard time does count against this, and in turn, you. These can make it incredibly difficult to reach retirement. Also, check with the respective branch as to whether or not you would lose rank by joining. I know that the Navy makes you go back to E4 regardless of your current rank. If you have any questions about joining the current Navy fleet bands, send me a message and I will put you in touch with the people with the answers.

Cheers,

J

[Bob Kolada]

I believe RCP is calculated differently for Army reserves/NG than it is for AD.

[LowBrassNYC]

Call the band directly, they will answer your questions.

To my understanding you cannot ENTER the service past the age of 35, and if someone intends to reenlist having a separation of service then they would have to be able to attain a total of 20 "good years" before reaching the age of 60. It's common for people to transition from AD to reserve components and vice versa throughout all MOS's.