Military advice version 2.0

[Dmn0166]

After reading the responses from the last thread and talking to a few great individuals through PM I have gained a ton of information about the military.

I wanted to start a new thread just because I want to take a different approach. I'm looking for personal thoughts about you guys and less about me.

I'm trying to compare the Army and the National Guard. Before I flip my coin, I was looking to start a little survey.

My question is for those of you that have gone through National Guard or Army, I'm curious WHY you chose the direction you chose and WHAT made you choose it.

Also, if you had the chance would you gone a different route? What factor makes you wish you went the other way.

Thanks.

 

[wolf223]

soon, i will have 15 years between the Army and National Guard....

i'd say IF you want to go / be the "real deal" - go Regular Army.... 24/7, live it - breathe it - eat it.... can be crappy at times away from home, but for the most part, it's like a 2nd family. more of a community....

if you want to do it semi full time then go guard. i only chose the national guard on a "try" one before i left the regular Army because they had a unit closer to me vs. the army reserves -that was in 2003!!!!

one thing I've noticed about the guard is there is less community because for the most part, you are working with people you see 2 to 3 days a month and two weeks in the summer... you do some training and call it a wrap... the plus side is it's a more "diverse" crowd... so you network a lot better than you would on active duty.... you'll get deployed and have a chance to experience "the Big Army side" of things, come back and carry on..... repeat as needed through ETS or Retirement

 

[Gonzo]

I'm not army, ad never have been, but I did active duty Navy, and I'm with the NH Air Guard now as a "traditional"- one weekend a month, two weeks a year.

Some things in the service are universal, no matter the branch. Chet nailed it pretty good. If you want to do it, i recommend going and getting some active duty time under your belt.

There's a huge difference between the guys who have done AD and the guys who have only done guard time. We call them "Guard Babies".

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Hubby and I were Active Army, and our son is National Guard. There is good and bad in going either way. Do I wish our son had gone Regular Army, yeah I do. As with anything it all depends on the unit you are with. There are good and bad in all branches.
I was lucky enough to be stationed In Berlin Germany before the wall fell.
Yeah, working holidays, double shifts, etc at times sucked, but I wouldn't trade my time over there. I made the most of it, wasn't a barracks rat and got out and saw what the city had to offer me.
Any time we had off we were out and about.

Active military if you make the most of it can be a great experience.

Ultimately no one can make the decision for you. You need to figure out the pros and cons for each and decide which will best fit for you and what you want to do.
Oh I would still have gone Regular Army if I had a chance to do itt over again. Not necessarily would I have chosen my same job though if I had a do over. Lol

 

[FhvnLT4A]

Do BOTH! If your in your early 20s or something, go Full Time. DO a 2 or 4 year hitch, get out there and see what the real world is like, get some skills, find out what you want to do in life and then come back and join the guard and pursue your goals in life! I did it and it got me where I am today...

 

[FPrice]

I was active duty air force before I went to the reserves. I agree with those who advise you to try active duty first to really get immersed into the culture and the pros/cons of full-time military service. I think you will learn a lot about life and yourself. If you decide that you like the military but maybe nor full-time you will have a much better knowledge base as a reservist/guardsman than someone who has only been a part-timer.

 

[WEJ 1163]

If your a young man I would and have encouraged people to join the armed forces. Army was a great experience and taught me self discipline. I only regret not going Marines they seem to be a tighter group after the fact. Maybe a little on the crazy side but I could have lived with that.

 

[Dmn0166]

Thanks for the tips so far. Very compelling sides to the case.

One thing I forgot to add is that I'd be aiming to go in as an Officer. If I can't make it into OCS or complete OCS I'd then go in as an enlisted.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Thanks for the tips so far. Very compelling sides to the case.

One thing I forgot to add is that I'd be aiming to go in as an Officer. If I can't make it into OCS or complete OCS I'd then go in as an enlisted.

Even so you should consider full time instead of Guard first. It all depends on what you want to do and get out of your experience.
Hubby got out of the regular Army did the try one in the Guard and didn't like the Guard. It is two different worlds so figure out what you want and what you want to experience.

 

[oldsoldier29]

I did 3 years AD with the Army, then an additional 9 with the guard. My suggestion; go AD first. Depending on what you go in for, its easier to get schools, and promotions, AD than it is NG.
You will make friends for life. And, no matter what a recruiter says, you WILL likely be deployed.

Funny you bring all this up-I had a long talk with my nephew this weekend. He is 17, and contemplating the exact same thing. He is thinking of doing the split option-Basic Training over the summer, then finish out his senior year, then do his AIT (school/training) after he graduates HS. Initially, I thought this would be a good idea for him. Digging a little more, he is leaning towards active duty, so I am advising him against it. My reasoning behind it is that, you go from a civilian, into military mode, in literally a day (or, I did when I was in), and they then break you down & build you up into a soldier. This is now 9 weeks, I understand. Then, you graduate-and go right back into civilian life, for the best part of a year (you may drill with a local NG/Reserve unit, not sure). Then, when you are finally adjusted back to civilian mode-bam! Back into military mode. Going active duty, this may not be the best choice. Reserve/National Guard, I dont think it will be that big a deal, as you will be doing it on a monthly basis.

Feel free to PM me with any questions/concerns. Like I said, I am going through this with my nephew now, and want him to be as informed as possible. I'd want the same for anyone-taking that oath, isnt taken lightly.

 

[garandman]

National Guard is a lot better equipped and trained now than in the past. But the regular Army has all the latest equipment. There's also the argument that Airborne/Ranger/Special Forces make: if you are going to go to combat, while you might be called upon to complete a more dangerous mission, the men around you are up to the challenge.

I did something that most people considered crazy but worked for me. I enlisted for Infantry, then applied for OCS after being held over from OSUT. Everything has to go right to do this, but you get a lot more training and experience that way then going straight into the OCS program. But you'll learn that the best officers are good not because of their commissioning source, but because they work hard to be good officers and learn from others. "An ounce of sweat on the drill field saves a gallon of blood on the battle field."

 

[Skysoldier]

Derek33, I suggest you visit this site:

http://www.armyparatrooper.org/dropzone/forum.php

You can learn a lot there, and get some good advice....but be advised......READ THE RULES BEFORE POSTING AN INTRO!

 

[garandman]

Derek33, I suggest you visit this site:

http://www.armyparatrooper.org/dropzone/forum.php

You can learn a lot there, and get some good advice....but be advised......READ THE RULES BEFORE POSTING AN INTRO!

Nice site, and seems more active than paratrooper.net but that's also a good one. Just signed up and made a donation to the site. Although I am just barely a paratrooper. But my son's middle name is Gavin.

 

[MARINE96]

Going active will make you a better solider overall wether you become an officer or are enlisted.

 

[Skysoldier]

Nice site, and seems more active than paratrooper.net but that's also a good one. Just signed up and made a donation to the site. Although I am just barely a paratrooper. But my son's middle name is Gavin.

We have a lot of common members with Pnet. But our verification is a bit stiffer.....too many damn posers on the net!

 

[garandman]

We have a lot of common members with Pnet. But our verification is a bit stiffer.....too many damn posers on the net!

I met an overweight 30-something guy in Southie who told me he was a Recon Marine and had graduated Ranger School. I didn't say anything but was certain I'd met a poser.

Had a chance to go over to his house later that evening and lo and behold, he had his RS diploma, showed me his picture in the class photo, pictures of his unit and buddies - all legit. Could have knocked me over with a feather as he sure didn't look it. Have a neighbor who was in a Ranger company and looks like what you'd expect a 63yo Ranger to look like.

 

[cahilj]

I enlisted directly into the Army Reserve, and I don't regret it one bit. Of all the prior service people I know who were active duty first and then Reserve or Guard, they all said the same as whats been said here- go active first.

I feel like I'm going out on a limb here, since it seems I'm the only one who feels this way, but I disagree. Having been deployed 3 times to Iraq, and a short tour to Korea, I can honestly say that the USAR and ARNG soldiers have a lot more "real world" experience than any of the AC soldiers I've ever worked with. I attribute this to the fact that USAR/ARNG soldiers have multiple skill sets to pull from, not just one. In the Reserve, not only are you your MOS, you're also whatever you are in your civilian job, or any past jobs you've held, or whatever you might be going to school for. I've always run into problems getting things done when working with AC units. Instead of just doing whatever it is that needs doing, there always seems to be some roadblock for it. No policy memo, no "training", no NCOIC, no something. And then they all look at each other and can't seem to figure out what to do next. USAR/ARNG just go ahead and do it. Being on the side of the road at 2am in an unfriendly village with a destroyed axle isn't cool. Being in that situation and having the AC guys trying to figure out where the closest support company was, since they couldn't figure out what to do is even worse. The 3 USAR guys (2 92S and a 92A) decided that instead of standing around scratching their heads, they would go ahead and remove the axle and do a towbar recovery to get the hell out of there (two of the USAR guys were also mechanics at home, and the other was a truck driver). I could give you tons of stories like this, since most of my time was spent away from my company, attached to different units. Or when there was a lack of supplies, it always seemed to be the AC guys calling HQ for support and waitng for days/weeks instead of knocking on their neighbors door to find out if they had any sugar and getting it right then.

Don't get me wrong. In garrison, AC rules. A lot of USAR/ARNG soldiers can't pass a PT test, or render a proper salute when its necessary. Our uniforms might be dirty and wrinkly, and we'll probably show up late to formation after a long night of drinking, but in the field where experience counts, I would rather be with a USAR/ARNG unit than AC.

This wasn't meant to start a flame war, just to provide a different point of view that rarely gets brought up. We're all supposed to be in this together