What is the difference between the navy and the navy reserves?

Answer 1

The Difference between the Navy and the Navy Reserves is that Navy is Active duty. This means that naval personnel belong to, work for, and get paid by the Navy 24 hours a day.

Navy Reserve personnel are civilians most of the time. They work for the navy 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks out of the year. The rest of the time they lead what ever life they want. The Navy reserves is like the US Navy's savings account of personnel. When they do not have enough people to support a mission, they call navy reserve personnel to active duty to fill in the gaps. Naval Officers commissioned through the NROTC program may receive their commission into the Naval Reserve or the regular Navy. Those in the reserves will serve on active duty for four to six years before being transferred to a reserve unit near where they are going to live.

While there are those who go directly to the Naval Reserve right out of BT, the vast majority of Reservists (myself included) are, or were, active duty Navy sailors at some point, most being either officers or NCO's.

Individual Reservists can also be called to Temporary Active Duty, in lieu of an entire unit. This is done in cases where the sailor has unique skills or qualifications necessary for the mission requirements.