Air Reserve Technician Program

Air Reserve Technicians, commonly referred to as ARTs, are a nucleus of full-time uniformed U.S. Air Force leaders, managers, operators, planners and trainers in what is known as the Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force, the ARC consisting of both the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard.

ARTs have expert knowledge and proven expertise to maintain the operational combat readiness of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and Air National Guard (ANG) units and smooth the transition of Air Reserve Component units and both their full-time and traditional part-time military personnel from a peacetime environment to a contingency or wartime environment. They also provide leadership and management continuity, equipment maintenance, and training support to help keep their units combat ready.

Air Reserve Technicians carry a dual status, working as both full-time civil service employees and as uniformed Reserve Component USAF military members in the same AFRC or ANG units where they work as Department of the Air Force civil servants (DAFC), performing the same job function whether in a DAFC or a military status. ARTs are unique among DoD civil servants in that all commissioned officers and all enlisted personnel are required to wear their uniforms and utilize their rank titles at all times, whether in a DAFC civil service, regular drill, additional drill, or active duty status. The full-time use of military titles sometimes causes confusion, especially in interaction with Active Component personnel and particularly in the cases of those AFRC and ANG units located on Active Component air force bases, naval air stations, army air fields or joint bases.

In their technically "civil service" role, Air Reserve Technicians are physically located at their AFRC or ANG unit and provide full-time day-to-day support for their units throughout the year, be it at the squadron, group, wing, numbered air force or major command (MAJCOM) level. Because uniformed military reserve status is a pre-condition of their employment as DAFC civil servants, ARTs, specifically senior officers and senior enlisted, are typically exempt from the mandatory retirement dates for their military pay grades and are retained in uniform until reaching civil service retirement eligibility at age 60.

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