Army National Guard
 

I just got back from the Army National Guard armory to meet with my recruiter and it went pretty well.
Anyone here planning on joining the military or are in the military/ have been?

Twice in my life now, I've thought about going to OCS. The first time was my senior year of high school, the second time was last year. So far, I've wound up not doing it, even though it's something I've wanted to do since I was 12.

If I don't have a real job when I finish my M.A., I'm going to apply to OCS for sure, though.

Well if your not sure on what you want to do you should consider the National Guard.
You only show up one weekend a month and 2 weeks a year and its illegal for you employer to not hire you, fire you, or deny changes in salary because of activities related to the national guard.

I've been a Canadian army reservist for 3 years - I've been on active duty since January and I'm going to Afghanistan in September. Quite frankly I wouldn't join the National Guard - I've worked with them and the ones I've met are fairly switched on troops (some of them were pumps but thats true of any unit), but if you want to be in the military and go overseas join the regular army.

Join the Guard and you may find yourself being forced to deploy at a time which is going to completely fuck up your real life. If you're in the regular army then that just plain is your life, but as a part timer a mandatory call up can really screw you. Believe me, I've seen it happen.

The big difference between our system and yours is that I volunteered to do a tour on the rotation of my own chosing, I wasn't compelled. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the Guard and I'd never tell someone not to join the military, but thats definately something you have to go into with your eyes open.

Well I've already started on the paperwork for it and I'm dead-set on doing it.
Honestly I'm more interested in this national guard thing than college.

My recruiter also said that the unit there was last deployed in 2007 so it isn't eligible for deployment until 2012 unless there is a surge and if I do get deployed well then good otherwise what's the point of drilling?

I used to know a guy in the Nation Guard and I used to call him a "Weekender" sometimes to piss him off. It was all in good fun though. He wasn't fond of "Yahoo" either... :)

I'm not too interested in the military, I've always been more interested in police work. If other jobs don't go well, I might try to be a state trooper.

That's interesting because I'm thinking of joining active duty Army after I get out of college to become a cop in Baltimore city.

I am typing from the barracks at tracen Yorktown. In week two of BM class a school.

I thought about joining the Marines, but right now I'm working on joining the police

Thanks, but no thanks. I knew someone in the National Guard who figured he could do it at the same time that he was enrolled at a trade school. Then Katrina hit.

Also, my goal is to become an intelligence analyst. If I qualify for OCS, my goal would be to see if I can go to the AIC.

But that's what their for isn't it.
Otherwise it would be the train for no reason and get paid for it guard.

No disagreement. I just don't think I could handle it. Anything I do, I do full-time.

Great to hear. :)

The only slight problem I would have is I think the stupid school psychologists/psychiatrists or whatever may have put me down as having ADD in elementary school which is BS but since I've never taken medication for it and have maintained a 2.8 GPA or higher my HS career I should be good.

The psyciatrisats had me done since i went to counseling when my parents were divorced back around when i was 8. Its no biggie.

:Dif you were to ask my mom, shed tell you that i've been joining the service since i was 5. i'm pretty much set on the Air Force, maybe doing a little of everything, Special Ops, crew chief on Planes/choppers, Security Forces, etc. I just want to get experience and i want to paintball while i do it!

Does having moderate color blindness completely kill my chances in military and police? I just mess up blue and purple sometimes, but I was wondering.

I think of in "Little Miss Sunshine" how the kid who refused to talk until he joined the airforce flipped out when he learned he was color blind and couldn't join.

Take this color blindness test

http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp

I know in the CF color blindness will only keep you out of pilot or intelligence, I don't imagine it's much different in the US.

Far as deployment goes, it's very easy to say thats the reason the military exists when it's just an academic exercise. It's alot harder to live it. You don't really realise it until it happens, but you're not putting your life on hold, you're walking away from it. World keeps turning while you're gone and the life you come home to is not the one you left. I wouldn't open myself up to that at any time whether I volunteer or not.

Well I'm not so concerned about that, the only reason I'm going to college anyway is so I have something to do when I get out of the Military. (assuming I get in that my BG check is good)

As for the world turning, well that's what you have facebook for.

The moderate color blindness is allowed with a waiver which is fairly easy to get. YOu can get waivers for surgery, etc, as long as you can show you are fit to perform required duties.

I took the color blindness test and only couldn't read the 2nd and 3rd on the left. All the others I could see fine, which kind of muddled up my score for the test, since it is very specific.

I could just imagine being a cop patrolling around in my Ford Crown Vic and see a car fly by only to have to radio it in as blue.... or purple. :rolleyes:

Well maybe if you can get a waiver in the military you can be an MP.

I just swore into the National Guard.

Nice man, when you going to start training?

I processed today at Fort Meade and I'm scheduled to ship to Basic and AIT on January 11th at Fort Benning.

Well, work out, try to work on doing crazy amounts of things real fast (timed objectives sucked, we almost always failed) and remember to bring extra razors, you run out of that qick. Bring a lot more socks and underwear too, physical fitness wears those down quick.

A .22 cal boresnake is a damned useful thing to have too.

They probably provide that, being in good shape and time management skills help a lot. I wish id been in better shape whn i started boot.

I doubt they provide a boresnake, all I got in my (Canadian) basic was an issue cleaning kit with a rod and patches. A boresnake in no way replaces these things, but it's damned handy to run through your barrel before morning inspection when it's spent all night sweating carbon from the CLP you used to clean.

That said, if your Sgt is any damned good he will find carbon no matter how well you clean your weapon - he showed me after the course how he'd run his finger along the inside of the ejection port and get some every time.

I'm joining the US Army 1st Cavalry division when i immigrate to the United States.

I hope to do a bunch of Grunty shit like wearing Keffiyehs and decorating my helmet. I hope to get a lot of action and trigger time as well.

Immigrate soon, it's nice here. :D

And why does everyone wanna join the Army? There are other occupations to try, and if it's for the guns, their are more fun gun jobs out there too.

Just saying. ;)

I wanted to join the US Military since i was ten. First i wanted to be a marine. Then didn't want to be a "special" soldier, just a regular grunt, so i wanted the Army. And yeah, the US is really nice. Gonna immigrate in two years.

Just hope you aren't doing it to see action and get in "the shit". Chances are you'll hold down a four year job doing something based on your class choice.

A friend of my dad's was an engineer and fixed vehicles for four years.

I want to be a rifleman. And what is this four year job thing? I though they were one year tours?

1 year tour overseas, you sign an 8 year enlistment. 4 years active duty, 4 years in the reserves.

Active Duty? Does that mean that when my tour is over i'm going to be sitting in my ass in some base in the States?

Also, when i wiki'ed Active Duty, this turned up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Duty

No thanks. No thanks....

I'm sure i didn't expect that.

You deploy and when your back you train for the next time you deploy.