Im 18 and am seriously considering joining the National Guard. I've always wanted to do something military based but not full out like the army. So I feel that the National Guard Reserves is the best thing for me. I plan on doing my basic training this summer and my job schooling immediately after. I will then attend Texas A&M in the spring of 2011 and get my degree. Once I graduate from ATM I will be considered an officer.

I wanna hear from you guys any pros or conns you have about the guard

 

Marines nuff said



If you have anymore questions im more than happy to help you. I would even give you my number to chat about it if your serious

 

I wanted to be a Marine but they wouldn't take me - my head wouldn't fit in a jar......

(I'm retired Navy)

 

Im not in the military, but Im guessing that no matter which branch you join, you better have an 'all-in' mentality.
Im 26. I would have gone Marines or nothing. Wish I had done it, but I ended up being a stupid college kid that ended up in the corporate world.

 

The only problem I have with joining the Navy or Marines is the fact that don't you have to be deployed for 4 straight years??

 

I'm in the guard, over 20 years total service with 12 in the guard.

When I joined, 1988 it was the cold war, defense from Russia. After I figured out that's not what the military is about today, I had over 10 years. If I were you, I would seriously do some research/sole searching for the reasons why you would be joining.

Good Luck.

 

just to clear it up, the national guard IS the army, its just not an active duty segment. its similar to the reserves but its state funded as well as federal funded were as the active duty and reserve army is federally funded only. i considered the NG when i enlisted but chose the reserves because of unit location. good luck with your decision and thanks for even considering to serve our country!

 

Are you suggesting I do not join the guard?

I think the NG is going to be the thing for me. Just gotta decide if it is something that I really wanna devote the next 6 months of my life to become part of the NG. I know that 6 months will make a lifetime of difference though...

 

i think what he may have meant by that is to be sure its something you really want to do before you do it. do youre research, figure out what occupation you might want to do, what kind of unit/ units are close to youre area. have you talked to a recruiter? dont think of it as only a six month commitment, its not over once basic training is done, its an 8 year commitment or possibly longer if you decide to make a career out of it. no one is trying to talk you out of joining but its better to sure its what you want to do and find out its not for you before you swear in than to find out in the middle of basic training or out in the desert or Iraq or Afghanistan. it requires total commitment.

 

Joining can be good in the short term, you can learn a lot, grow more mentally tough and get fit, you can learn to follow orders and complete a task. Some great positive things.

Con's.
Think longer term, think what really is important to you, your morality, things you might be ordered to do that might not line up with what you belive. Think of killing someone. Think of getting blown up and living, was it worth it. Are we doing the right thing where ever we are doing it?

What I mean exactly, I joined to support and defend the constitution. I didn't join to go to war for oil, to increase our Empire, to contol people that don't want to be controlled, to look for weapons of mass destruction in a county that didn't do one thing to the US.

The US has never been invaded since the war of 1812. We have had the most powerful military in the World and I'm sure we have done many a good thing, there are folks out there that hate us not because they see these good things, but because we are on their property.

Look at both sides of any coin. When you talk to a recruiter (salesman) be sure to talk to someone else that maybe hasn't had that pleasant of an experience. As everyone grows older their way of thinking could change. 20 years ago, I thought being in the Army was cool, and what not. Now I see things differently. I have changed, the country has changed, the world has changed.

I'm not whining, or bitching or complaining. I'm talking real life beliefs that I have a hard time dealing with on principle. I have a hard time listening to idiot leaders who have no clue.

read some articles from Karen Kwiatkowski,

or take a look at
http://www.bringtheguardhome.org/


Just go into this with both eyes wide open.

 

No that is far from the truth. A NORMAL deployment in the Corps is 6-7 months every now and then depending on your unit you may have to do 12-13 months.

The navy is about the same depending on your job. Ask that old squid glc about that haha some corpsmen (doctors/nurses) can be non deployable.

What ever you do take everyones advice. go in wanting to do it its just just bootcamp or one weekend a month its the next 4-8 years. but if you think kicking in doors, shooting guns on tax payers dime, getting free technical training and so much more is something your interested in then definitely go talk to a recruiter

 

I have talked to a recruiter and here is where everything stands. I would do basic training this summer for 10 weeks. Then I would defer my admission to ATM till the Spring of 2011. The fall of 2010 I would complete my job schooling for whatever job best fits me in the Guard. Then once I started my schooling I would take the ROTC classes which would make me undeployable until I graduate. For the NG you sign 3 or 6 year contracts. In order for me to get all of the educational benefits such as tuition reimbursment I feel that for the first term a 6 year contract would be the only way to go and then after that choose the amount that best fits me. I would most likely graduate in 2014 or 2015 with my degree and as an officer which would leave me 1-2 years on my contract. My only obligations while in college would be one weekend a month and 2 weeks during the summer of work for the NG. Once I graduate I could or could not be deployed which would not be an issue for me. If I wanted to hold a civilian job such as construction manager which is what I'm getting my degree in my obligations would be the same. I think I covered pretty much everything that me and the recruiter talked about

 

If you want to get into construction, look at the Navy Seabees.

 

If i was you i would go look into Sam Houston State instead of A&M if you are looking into the national guard. we have a national guard station here in huntsville and a lot of national guard students. most of them doing the exact thing you want to do.

 

just an FYI, everyone that joins under a non prior service contract signs an 8 year contract but its usually broken into segments. for example, if you sign up for 6 years national gaurd, you will serve out the rest of the 8 years in IR status (inactive, you dont drill or anything but you are still under a contract and can be called up for duty if needed). ask youre recruiter, he will tell you the same thing.