i am thinking about enlisting in the national guard. i am talking to the recruiter in teh begin of dec.. i am still a little undecided. i was wondering if anyone has already enlisted and what their views are. whether or not you like it or regret it, the pluses and minuses of it. i want to get into the wheeled vehicle repair or the heavy vehicle repair. im going on to school for diesel tech and thought this would be a great way to learn more. also the money looks good too. and im paying for my education by myself so the gi bill would help alot. some of the things that make me undecided are being away from my family and girlfriend. they are a big part of my life and would not want to be away from them for 9 months if i were to go overseas. any opinions reguearding this would be greatly apreciated.
thanks to all who serve!

 

I've been active navy for almost 5 years. I joined when I was 17 the day after i graduated. It has it ups and downs just like any job. I know the guard is different. You can have a civilian job while you are in I can't do that. It is definately a good experience and you might get to see some stuff for free that you otherwise wouldn't get as a civilian.

 

I've been active duty Marine for two years, already been to thailand, the phillpines, Hong Kong, australia, and Japan where Im stationed. I love it, but its not for everybody. Active duty is a lot rougher on the family and gf(or wife in my case) then National Guard would be.

 

im active Marine also and i love it. i havnt been in that long so i havnt really been anywhere yet, but i enjoy it.

 

As an active duty Marine let me tell you something. DO NOT enlist for the money. DO NOT enlist for the uniform. And DO NOT enlist because you feel pressured by a recruiter. You know what, the military will be exactly what you make it out to be. If you go in with a chip on your shoulder it'll be a long *** enlistment, but if you go in with a lot of motivation and determination, and keep it well after boot (basic, for you Army types) you'll be locked on to do well and succeed. One thing I have to ask is why you want to go Guard and not active? I know it's hard knowing that you'll be away from your family and friends, especially your girlfriend, but trust me when you get to basic the only thing you'll hear from your DI is that your friends already forgot about you and your girl is with another guy. Sadly, although they do exaggerate a bit, it is true to some extent. Life will go on back home without you and your girl will forget about you. I'm not trying to discourage you or anything, but you know, once you hit basic you'll be bitten by the military bug and suddenly, what used to be top priority is now on the back burner and you realize you're capable of so much more, and the ties you had to home are only slowing you down. Just something to think about, you know.

 

wise words.

Semper Fi

 

one of the reasons i have been thinking about the guards instead of active is because im planning on going to college this fall. another one of the reasons is for the money and my college getting paid for, but alot of it is the fact of job security and the education i will be getting. also i want to be pushed and i want to go to be pushed to my very best. whenever i do something i do it to the max. i dont half a** it at work, or football or anything. if i do something i give it my all and reap all the rewards from whatever i do. i know it will put me far ahead of most people that are my age.

 

also, i want to thank all who are posting. i really appreciate it.

 

What's the status with this?? I was active duty Army from 88-92, and I went Air National Guard back in '95. Will soon be retiring, and it's been a great run! I got off active duty thinking I'm DONE with the military, but it's friggin' amazing how the camaraderie and military way gets in your blood. I've now been in a couple wars, several hurricane relief operations, and umpteen different exercises of various types. I'm in communications, and my military training paved the way to my civilian career. It's a good deal if you are committed and willing to give it your all.

Where are you located and which branch are you looking at?

 

im from wisconsin. i was thinking about going into either the air guard or national guard in my hometown. the recruiter said that my asvab test scores were high enough to basically go into anything. i was thinking about a chemical vehicle repair unit, which he said i just mainly would be working on very little chemical stuff because WI has so few chemical vehicles. still undecided as of now, but am leaning away from it at the present time.

 

I am looking just the same. I already went to school for automotive, I payed for it out of pocket, which was hell most of the time. I am now working towards going to a university to get my mechanical engineering degree, and dont wan't to have to go through the same ordeal. I took my asvab when i was a senior, and was told i couldn't be in the band since i didn't play an instrument (although I do now!) also both of my grandfathers and my step-grandfather (whom i do call grandpa too, btw) were in the service, only one regretted it.

the order and ranks in the military are appealing after years of jobs that have too many chiefs and not enough indians. I think it has hurt my once excellent work ethics and I need to be whipped back into shape.

my friends already forgot about me and I don't have a girl...

I am actually looking mostly at machinist, since i think it would be most benefitial to my goals as an engineer, rather than doing mechanics and getting "retrained" not to mention that living so close to the mountains all my life i have always wanted to be a part of search and rescue.

 

i think its a really good option, but it just isn't for everybody. most people, that i have talked too, are relatively pleased with what they have gotten into from it. a buddy of mine just got a job at fort mckoy and they paid for the tools and chest, which was taller than him btw, and hes like 5 ft 6 or 7. but he has put a lot of time into it too. also with the economy its kind of a good feeling for job security.

 

I am active US Coast Guard and love it. Sure at times it sucks, but all the training sure is good.

 

July will mark my 3 years AD USAF. I'm on my second tour to the desert right now in Iraq. It could be better, and it could be worse. As JoelNR said, it is what you make of it. I'll say that in the Army you could be over here for upto 18 months if they want, and the Army just treats their ppl like sh** in general. I'm with an Army unit right now, and I've trained with them a few times before.

If you really wanna be pushed to your fullest... DON'T join the guard, in fact most careers won't push you that hard. Things tend to be "good enough for government work", there a ton of down time. The biggest thing you'll be fighting is boredom, then sometimes you might work 40hrs straight. There are still too many chiefs, there are still worthless people that rank up and will be in charge of you. Double check things that LTs tell you. There is still plenty of crime, dudes rape dudes at night on army posts.<-- this is not BS, it's actually briefed every time I go to an army post;don't go out alone at night.

DO NOT believe most of what your recruiter tells you, he has a quota to make. Take care of your peers, but make damn sure you take care of yourself.

PPl put down some good points, figured I'd point out some of the bad. The way I see it most of the people and the job itself is barely different than the civilian word. The biggest differance is they have more control over you and you often times get treated like your still in high school, because the majority of people do still act like it.

But I do like it for a start to life, not a life, but a good damn start. Plenty of disapline, decent pay, good job training, gain A LOT of patience, meet some good people, learn followership(first) and leadership. You actually learn how to do a job, not like college. Free travel too.

 

26-year USAF (81-07) vet chiming in here:
USAF Guard and Reserve units tend to be happy places, but if you want the full four-years of college plus monthly living allowance just do an Active enlistment and then go to school on Uncle Sams dime.

I would not join the Air Force for any wheeled vehicle maintenance job or anything else that involves potentially getting deployed with the Army. Avoid Transportation. A bunch of them got tapped for convoy duty in Iraq, and Air Force ground combat training is nothing next to Army standards.

As they say, there are many ways to serve. My recruiters back in 1981 used to laugh about sending their ASVAB fails down the hall to the Army recruiter. Later, my buddies who became recruiters did the same thing. The Army always had lower enlistment standards because they have no choice. No insult to the service, just cold reality.

If you are a gearhead, work on aircraft instead and play with trucks on the side. I did Broncos, Phantoms, and F-16s as an avionics/engine mech/crew chief (cross-training is fun). Aircraft wrenching is a great career.

"I am actually looking mostly at machinist, since i think it would be most benefitial to my goals as an engineer, rather than doing mechanics and getting "retrained" not to mention that living so close to the mountains all my life i have always wanted to be a part of search and rescue. "

USAF machinists have nice comfortable lives, and the stuff Fabrication Flights do (machining, welding, etc) is interesting work.

Talk with more than one person on current duty who is doing the job you are interested in.