Originally Posted by Scrapdog

If you look at the backbone of any ANG/Reserve fighter squadron, and you'll see almost all of the flyers are already experienced fighter pilots with well over 1000 hours in some type of high performance jet. While the part timers may only fly 7 to 8 times a month at the squadron...when they are activated to go to war it'll only take a couple of weeks before they're a lethal warfighting machine. All that experience really makes a difference - as compared to an active duty squadron. While younger active duty guys spend more time on average in the squadron - they certainly don't have that airmanship backbone to fall back upon once the proverbial sh*t hits the fan.