What activated Air Guard members earn on federal orders, what gets missed, and what to do before and after release.
Tailors state rules and job-specific benefits. Saved in this browser only.
Most Title 10 benefits switch on at a day count. Enter the dates on your orders, first and last day included, to see what you've cleared and when your deadlines fall.
Example dates shown: a six-month tour from 1 Apr to 2 Oct 2026. Enter your own; nothing you type leaves your browser.
| Deadline | Date | From today | What |
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Retirement-age estimate: 3 months for each 90 days of qualifying duty, counted within one fiscal year or across two consecutive fiscal years (10 U.S.C. §12731(f)). ARPC makes the official determination; check your points record after release. GI Bill tiers add up across every qualifying tour since 9/11.
Work through it in order. Your checks are saved in this browser only.
For a pay gap, a demob pay error, a sudden emergency, or a drop in civilian income while on orders. Your wing's Airman & Family Readiness office can open a case and pass requests to most of these programs.
The only lasting fix for a monthly income gap is differential pay from your civilian employer. Federal civilians are entitled to it when orders cite a contingency authority (5 U.S.C. §5538). Minnesota state employees are entitled by statute (Minn. Stat. §43A.183). North Dakota public employees get 20 paid workdays a year plus the first 30 days of a mobilization. Private employers can recover 20% of what they pay, up to $4,000 a year per employee, through the federal §45P tax credit.
Alongside any step: send SCRA letters to lenders charging over 6% on debt from before your orders (this lowers the bill), and use free financial counseling from Military OneSource if the gap will last.
Rent, utilities, food, car, medical, child care. Guard eligible; you can't have an open AFAS balance. Repay in 2 to 15 months.
portal.afas.org · 703-972-2650Bigger needs, including pay and allotment problems. Guard eligible regardless of duty status. Needs a budget.
portal.afas.org · 703-972-2650Formerly "Unmet Needs." For activated Guard whose hardship comes directly from a deployment, a military pay error that isn't their fault, or a pending medical discharge. On home-station orders, a pay error is the usual way in; other cases are case by case. Paid to the creditor, never repaid.
vfw.org · 1-866-789-6333For members on current Title 10 orders with children under 18 at home. Covers shelter, utilities, food, medical. Start at a local post; Legion membership isn't required.
legion.org · local postRun by EANGUS; membership not required. Current, retired and former Guard members.
ngrelief.org · 800-234-3264North Dakota Guard members and families after an accident, illness, fire, theft or disaster.
ndngfoundation.org · (701) 791-3000 opt 8Helps pay licensed off-base child care while you're activated. Income-based; usually needs a working or student spouse.
childcareaware.org · 800-424-2246Minnesota military families in a financial crisis. Call first to confirm Minnesota residents in another state's Guard qualify.
1-888-234-1274 (MN Family Readiness)Unsecured loan at 8% over up to 48 months. North Dakota DVA says current Guard members can apply. Ask a county veterans service officer.
ND DVA Fargo · 701-239-7165| You live in | Title 10 active-duty pay | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | Subtract all military pay | Claim the military subtraction on Form ND-1. |
| Minnesota | Subtract Title 10 pay, even as a member of another state's Guard | Schedule M1M. Drill pay from a non-Minnesota Guard stays taxable in Minnesota. |
| Colorado | Generally taxable | Raise state withholding or set money aside now. |
Start with what Guardsmen miss most, or pick a category. Tap a row for the details and the rule behind it. North Dakota's nearest full-service bases are Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB for optometry, dental, legal, education and family readiness.
Retired pay starts 3 months before age 60 for every 90 days of qualifying active duty in a fiscal year (or two consecutive fiscal years). A six-month tour is usually worth 6 months; floor is age 50.
10 U.S.C. §12731(f) · ARPCYou earn 2.5 days a month. Leave from contingency orders or orders of 31 to 365 days can be sold at release without using up the 60 days you'll want at retirement.
37 U.S.C. §501(b)(5) · financeOrders over 30 days pay BAH at your home ZIP, with or without dependents. Shorter non-contingency orders pay the lower flat rate. Check your LES shows your real home ZIP.
JTR · financeLinguists in eligible career fields and positions. Guard and active-duty FLPB run through different pay channels, so it often doesn't start on activation. Ask your Language Program Manager.
DAFI 36-4005Your elected percentage applies to active-duty pay, and BRS matching applies to basic pay. Check it carried over.
myPayOne point per day on orders, on top of the earlier retirement age.
ARPC points statementOn orders of more than 179 days, you can withdraw from an IRA or TSP/401(k) deferrals without the 10% early penalty. A last resort, but legal.
IRC §72(t)(2)(G)While on orders you get glasses "like an active duty service member," plus gas-mask and ballistic eyewear inserts, issued as needed. Not a yearly entitlement, and only while on orders. Order before release.
TRICARE · base optometryOrders over 30 days: you're on TRICARE Prime at no cost, and your family can use Prime or Select. Contingency orders issued early can start coverage up to 180 days before activation.
10 U.S.C. §1074(d)180 days of free coverage after release. If a military doctor finds a service-related condition during TAMP, that condition can be treated for 180 days from diagnosis.
10 U.S.C. §1145(a)(7)TRICARE Reserve Select for drilling members. CHCBP is paid bridge coverage for up to 18 months; enroll within 60 days of TAMP ending.
tricare.milMilitary dental clinics treat you while on orders. Get a cleaning and any work done before release.
Base dentalYour own TDP enrollment goes on hold while you use active-duty dental; family TDP continues at a lower premium. If you're eligible for TAMP it restarts on its own at release; if not, re-enroll.
tricare.mil/dentalAnything that happens on the tour, even a PT injury, needs an LOD finding in your record. It's what links future VA claims and Guard LOD care to the tour.
Unit medicalCompleting a federal call-up (other than training) meets VA's minimum-service rule. Your priority group depends on disability rating and income. Home-station duty doesn't earn the 5-year combat-veteran window.
va.gov · 10-10EZWith 90 to 180 days left on orders you can file a pre-discharge (BDD) claim. With less, file an Intent to File now: it holds your date for a year. Any claim filed within 1 year of release pays back to the day after release.
va.gov · 38 CFR 3.40090+ days of active duty and no complete dental exam and treatment before release: one-time VA dental care. The application must reach VA within 180 days of release.
38 CFR 17.161(b)You can't contribute to a Health Savings Account for months you have other coverage, and TRICARE counts. If you or your family have an employer HSA plan, prorate this year's contribution and remove any excess before the tax deadline to avoid a 6% penalty.
IRC §223 · IRS Pub 969USERRA lets you keep your civilian plan for your family for up to 24 months (up to 102% of the premium), and your employer must reinstate you with no waiting period when you return.
38 U.S.C. §4317Guard members need at least 6 months left on orders at surgery (18 at some Army sites). Only practical on a year-long tour; apply in month one.
WRESP · MTF90 to 179 days: 50%. 180 to 544: 60%. 545 to 729: 70%. Days add up across every qualifying tour since 9/11. No expiration for service after 2013. Transfer to family needs 6 years of service and a 4-year commitment, requested while serving.
va.govDANTES pays the first attempt at each exam for drilling Guard members, on orders or not. Bring your CAC to a base education center or test remotely.
DANTES$250 per semester hour, $4,500 per fiscal year while on Title 10. Approval in AFVEC 45 to 7 days before class starts; the course must fall inside your orders.
AFVEC · base education officePays for certifications through AF COOL, but you must be on orders for the whole certification process. Start in your first month.
AF COOLMilitary service deferment covers your orders plus 180 days after. If you were in school at least half-time when called up, you also get a 13-month post-active-duty deferment. Active duty counts as PSLF-qualifying employment, and deferment months count toward PSLF.
34 CFR 685.204, 685.219 · your servicerGuard members called to federal active duty for anything other than training count as veterans on the FAFSA and file as independent students, whatever their age.
studentaid.govChapter 36 career and education counseling is open from 6 months before release until 1 year after.
VA Chapter 36 · form 28-8832Free industry certification training from Syracuse University's IVMF. Guard members and spouses qualify, and members coming off Title 10 orders of more than 6 months get priority for 180 days.
ivmf.syracuse.eduCivilian internships in your last 180 days of orders, once you've served 180 continuous days and your command approves. Only realistic on long tours or extensions.
DoDI 1322.29 · skillbridge.milThe need-based Arnold Education Grant (and the $5,000 Merit & Grit scholarships drawn from its applicants) covers children and spouses of Title 10 Guard members, but only if the member stays on active duty into the school year. AFAS lists both 30 September and 1 December as the cutoff. Practical only on long tours or orders that run into the fall. Applications open each January.
afas.org31 to 180 days: apply to return within 14 days, protected from firing without cause for 180 days. 181+ days: 90 days to apply, protected for 1 year. You return at the pay and seniority you'd have had, with pension credit and no health-plan waiting period.
38 U.S.C. §4312, §4316 · ESGRMore than 180 consecutive days of active duty (not training) after 9/11 with an honorable release: 5-point federal preference and the VEOA hiring authority.
OPM · USAJOBSFederal agencies can hire you without competition up to GS-11 for 3 years after release. It converts to a permanent position after 2 years. Mention it on USAJOBS and to hiring managers directly.
5 CFR 307 · 38 U.S.C. §4211180+ continuous days. File in the state where you are after release, not where you drill. Needs the DD-214.
Dept. of LaborIssued after 90+ days. It unlocks UCX, VA, preference and the home loan. Get the Member-4 copy and check it before signing.
Force support90 days of non-training Title 10 service earns a Certificate of Eligibility without waiting for 6 years in the Guard.
va.govBreak a residential lease on orders of 90+ days, and a pre-service car lease on orders of 180+ days. Stay court cases, block default judgments, and keep foreclosure protection on pre-service mortgages for a year after. Private health insurance that lapsed must be reinstated if you apply within 120 days of release, and doctors and lawyers can suspend malpractice coverage. Tax collection can be deferred up to 180 days after release if service hurt your ability to pay.
50 U.S.C. §§3955, 4000, 4023, 4024 · base legal36% cap on most consumer credit while on orders over 30 days. It ends with your orders.
CFPBWills, powers of attorney and document review at the base legal office while on orders.
Base legalUnreimbursed drill travel more than 100 miles from home is deductible without itemizing, up to federal per diem and mileage rates.
IRS Form 2106 → Schedule 1Place a free active-duty alert and get free credit monitoring from the three bureaus while on orders.
FCRA20 paid days per fiscal year under §6323(a) (raised from 15 in December 2024), plus 22 more workdays per calendar year for duty supporting a contingency operation. Agencies may also grant 5 days of excused absence after 42+ days supporting overseas contingency operations; ask HR.
5 U.S.C. §6323(a), (b) · OPMPay a deposit and this tour counts toward your FERS pension too. Reserve retired pay is exempt from the usual waiver, so the same days count for both. Interest starts after your agency's interest-accrual date, so pay early.
5 U.S.C. §8411(c) · OPMElect within 60 days of returning to make up missed civilian TSP contributions. Your agency restores its 1% and matching with lost earnings.
5 U.S.C. §8432b · TSP-43On contingency orders over 30 days, FEHB can continue for up to 24 months, and your agency may pay both shares.
5 U.S.C. §§8905a, 8906(e)USERRA makes your employer treat the tour as covered service. You can pay missed employee contributions within 3 times the length of the tour. ND PERS uses form SFN 17758; MN PERA, MSRS and TRA and Colorado PERA have their own forms.
38 U.S.C. §4318 · your pension planNorth Dakota: 20 workdays a year plus the first 30 days of a mobilization. Minnesota: 15 days a year. Colorado: three weeks a year.
NDCC 37-01-25 · Minn. Stat. §192.26 · C.R.S. 28-3-601Up to $4,000 (generally $2,000 per fiscal year) for licenses, certifications and associate degrees. Open to spouses of Guard members on qualifying Title 10 orders at every rank. The spouse must be able to start and finish the coursework while the member is on orders, so apply in the first month of a tour.
Military OneSourceSwitch family members to the active-duty ID card for the orders period. Some base privileges and Space-A depend on it.
DEERS / ID officeOn orders over 30 days, you can take ordinary leave and fly Space-A with your family on the same basis as active duty.
DoDI 4515.13After 90+ day mobilizations, members and families can attend reintegration events with travel and lodging paid.
Wing A&FRPFree annual America the Beautiful pass for current Guard members and dependents.
Any federal recreation siteFree non-medical and financial counseling through Military OneSource and base Military & Family Life Counselors.
800-342-9647TSA PreCheck using your DoD ID number, Vet Tix, base ITT, and Tutor.com for military families (confirm current eligibility).
VariousNothing matches. Clear the search or pick another category.
State programs usually depend on where you live, not which state's Guard you're in.
Things that get repeated at drill that aren't true, or stopped being true.
One free pair of glasses a year.
Glasses and inserts are issued as needed, like active duty, and only while you're on orders.
Title 10 at home station makes me a combat veteran for VA care.
The 5-year enhanced window needs service in a combat theater.
UCX needs only 90 days.
Reservists have needed 180 continuous days since November 2015.
90 days gets the 40% GI Bill tier.
The 40% tier ended in August 2020; 90 days now earns 50%.
Selling leave eats my 60-day career cap.
Not for contingency orders or orders of 31 to 365 days.
Home-station orders get the Savings Deposit Program or combat tax exclusion.
Both require a combat zone.
Operation Homefront and the Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund will help.
Both require a combat-zone or hostile-fire-pay deployment.
VFW will cover any hardship from being activated.
VFW's grant needs a deployment, a no-fault pay error or a pending medical discharge. At home station, a pay error is the usual way in.
Reserve Income Replacement Program or REAP will cover me.
Both programs ended (2008 and 2015).
Numbers were checked on 26–27 September 2026. Your wing's Airman & Family Readiness, legal and finance offices are the authority for your situation.
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