National Gaurd?

[ridgid1]

Well I just home from the mountains This week to find that I was pretty much jobless and it is virtualy imposible to find anyone to hire me rightnow expesially making what i make in this line of work... I work in construction and with the economy the way it is nobody wants to spend any money right now.
So.... I was thinkin of joining the ARMY National Gaurd. They will pay me to go get my g.e.d wich i dont have give me $10 to $20,000 for an inlistment bonus, plus pay for me to go to college, all the binafits in the world, Training I cant pay for anywhere else, and still be able to come home most of the month...... Just not tottaly sure about it with the Goverments sittuation at the moment, so I thought I would post this to get some feed back from what you guys thought about it.

yea:confused:? or nay?

[methusaleh]

Good decision; are you sure that the regular Army may not be more what you need? That's a full-time career with a steady paycheck, tons of travel, and plenty of useful training.

I've done a total of about 13 years in the Army Guard over the course of several enlistments, but have not served since 2007. I don't know the recruiting situation these days, but I would not count on reporting for Basic immediately, it may take up to six months or so, during which time you need to have a job (I presume) to pay your bills. Heck, it may even take longer than that, but I am not sure. Once you go through MEPS, you will be able to drill with your new unit and get paid, but only as an E1.

Once you complete Basic and AIT, you will return home and need a regular job; the Guard is not a full-time job and should not be relied upon for a sole source of income.

When you meet with a recruiter, ask what MOSs have enlistment bonuses right now. If you want an honest answer from an outside source (recruiters can be like used car salesmen if you know what I mean), get your hands on a copy of Army Times newspaper, they usually run articles about MOSs with bonuses frequently. Then take the ASVAB (have you already?) and see if you qualify for any. That would put a larger chunk of change in your pocket once you are done with training.

If you want to get deployed, then you can purposefully choose an MOS that will place you in a unit that has a scheduled deployment in the foreseeable future. Or, conversely, if you do not want to deploy soon, an honest recruiter could tell you what units have just returned and who is scheduled to be deployed when.

[Rustyshakelford]

Well I just home from the mountains This week to find that I was pretty much jobless and it is virtualy imposible to find anyone to hire me rightnow expesially making what i make in this line of work... I work in construction and with the economy the way it is nobody wants to spend any money right now.
So.... I was thinkin of joining the ARMY National Gaurd. They will pay me to go get my g.e.d wich i dont have give me $10 to $20,000 for an inlistment bonus, plus pay for me to go to college, all the binafits in the world, Training I cant pay for anywhere else, and still be able to come home most of the month...... Just not tottaly sure about it with the Goverments sittuation at the moment, so I thought I would post this to get some feed back from what you guys thought about it.

yea:confused:? or nay?

Just remember, you could end up being activated and sent out on a nationbuilding expedition to some turd world country.

[cudalyon]

The Navy taught me one thing.

Never
Again
Volenteer
Yourself

I wouldn't trade it for anything, wouldn't do it again for nothing.

[RossA]

As a combat veteran, I truly appreciate anyone's motivation to join any branch of the military. One thing you will get out of it that you haven't mentioned is the satisfaction of one day looking back and knowing that you have served your country honorably.
NOTE: I am not accusing non-veterans of having never performed useful service for the country, so don't jump on me for that. I am saying, and I will continue to say, that service to the country in the armed forces is something different from anything else.
Now, a few questions to ask yourself. Do you have a wife and kids? If so, what would a deployment overseas do to them? Do you have a house to take care of? What would a deployment do to an uncared for house for a year or more? How far from you are the nearest Guard armories/military posts? How much trouble will it be getting to and from monthly drills? Remember, your town may have an armory, but you might not be assigned to that unit, depending upon your MOS and the "needs of the service." Even if you are assigned to the local unit, they probably don't do their monthly drills at the armory, they probably go to another military installation where they have more training facilities.
Can you afford to take several months (maybe 3-6) away from home for Basic and Advanced training? Some MOS's require longer training periods than others.
Do your homework. Ask lots of questions. Don't necessarily believe everything (maybe anything) the recruiter tells you without checking it out independently. DON'T SIGN ANYTHING!!!!
And perhaps most importantly nowadays: Are you willing to take the oath to obey orders when we have a government which may issue orders which would make most of us here puke?

[cudalyon]

Most importantly, do what is going to be best for your family.
What kind of construction do you do? Any experience with Cell Phone site installation?

[Big_Saw]

And perhaps most importantly nowadays: Are you willing to take the oath to obey orders when we have a government which may issue orders which would make most of us here puke?

This was the main factor for me when I chose to train as a PMC rather than enlist in the military...I decide whether an assignment/objective meets my moral criteria, and I can serve my country in the manner which best lines up with my world-view.

I appreciate most of our veterans (my wife is USMC (R), and I'm proud of her), but even the mil today is a mere shadow of its former self, because of pandering, pampering, and politics.....

[ridgid1]

I do int. trim , tile all types of remodeling

[methusaleh]

Ditto everything that's been said.

Yes, remember that just because there's an armory a couple miles from your house, does not guarantee a single open slot there. I have a friend who is in the 20th SFG in Agawam, MA, and lives in central Maine, he drives about six hours to get to drills, although that is an extremely rare circumstance. 99 times out of 100 the state TAG's office will not have recruiters assigning soldiers to units outside of the state. It's those crazy SF boys who will go the extra mile...or 300 miles!

You are more than welcome to share what you hear from recruiters with us here, or with my by PM, I am sure between all of us we can help weed out any "Bravo Sierra" that we suspect the recruiter may be telling you. Most recruiters seem to be decent, however there are always those rotten apples that make the whole bunch look bad. Talk to people you know who are happy with their Guard experience, and try to find out what recruiters are good people in your area.

[Rustyshakelford]

I do int. trim , tile all types of remodeling

Oilfield experience?

[ridgid1]

no oilfield experiance!!...lol....

The recruter does say they are offering $20,000 to inlist $10,000 after training and $10,000 after my 3 years.... where can I get an army times at?

I am studying for the asvab now, algebra? whats that? I have never been stong at math.... and I havnt taken a test or studyed for a test in like 10 years or more this worries me...........

[Zombie Axe]

Study a very basic book on electronics so you are familiar with the terminology. If you score higher in the electronics portion of the test a bunch of doors will be open to you. Go into a technical field where you get some beneficial training... IOW killing the enemy is easy... knowing how to repair a diesel engine or repair complex commo equipment will get you further in the civilian world...

Sorry to hear about your job loss :( Hang in there bro!

[cbprice797]

If you have any kind of heavy equipment experience from your construction life. That is a MOS that is useful in the military.

[oly]

In the late 70s the economy sucked and I couldn't find a job doing anything so I joined the National guard and when I came back the employers was more willing to hire a person that has been through some military than non at all.
and if there still is no jobs you can transfer regular army

[herbalpagan]

Most of the military papers are on line now. I found it helpful to read them while my son and son in law were in. I'm trying to talk my youngest into National Guard when she gets done with nursing school, mostly because it will pay her school loans and give her some experience and money.