ARC JAG. What does involuntary deployment look like?
Some background: I am currently working with a local Air National Guard base on a JAG application, though I am not fully set on either the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard.
I have been taking in all the information I can from the various subreddits, reaching out to Air Force JAGs, and listening to the AFJAG podcast. I am trying to understand what involuntary deployments actually look like—not whether they happen, and not because I never want to deploy, but literally what they look like in terms of length, location, and duties. For example, could I be involuntarily activated to simply work at an Air Force base in the United States for six months? There seems to be very little information available.
Every Reserve JAG I have spoken with has said they have never been involuntarily deployed. One told me it is “hard to be deployed as a JAG,” which seems a bit odd. Others have said the Guard deploys more frequently than the Reserve, while some Guardsman have told me they expect to split deployments with other JAGs. Again, though, I still have not found an ARC JAG who has been involuntarily deployed to speak with.
A lot of JAGs seem to volunteer for substantially more than the bare minimum, whether they are Cat A Reservists or IMAs, and that sounds very appealing to me as well. I am simply trying to understand the involuntary side the paper I expect to sign.
Any information or firsthand experience would be welcome.
Thanks,