Army National Guard Inquiries

[JohnnyRooks]

Hey all,

i will make it really quick. i'm very much interested of joining the national guard. i already made an appointment with my army recruiter buddy on tuesday. so i want to ask your opinions just to make sure my buddy won't give me any BS since he has been recruiting for the last 2 years..

I'm a physical therapist by trade, love my job, very stable career and there's nothing more to say except deep inside i wanted to serve. i have a wife and son and 1 more coming this July.

I'm 32 years old, chunky but not obese.. not physically gifted. I'm 5'7 short in stature... i already started my starvation diet and lost 15lbs already. i need to go back to 180lbs. of which i will prolly in before the end of the year. rest assured i will be in my peak physical form when i go to bootcamp.

so what are the chances of me being deployed overseas? do you guys think i will be able to pass more like survive in the boot camp? what would be the best MOS that is related to my current job? if ever i passed how many days in a month that i will be away from my family?


your help would be much appreciated.

[CavTrooper]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

Hey all,

i will make it really quick. i'm very much interested of joining the national guard. i already made an appointment with my army recruiter buddy on tuesday. so i want to ask your opinions just to make sure my buddy won't give me any BS since he has been recruiting for the last 2 years.. :

Dang, worried about getting screwed over by a buddy? He aint much of a buddy is he?

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

I'm a physical therapist by trade, love my job, very stable career and there's nothing more to say except deep inside i wanted to serve. i have a wife and son and 1 more coming this July.:

Good stuff, its nice to find people who want to serve just for the sake of serving.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

I'm 32 years old, chunky but not obese.. not physically gifted. I'm 5'7 short in stature... i already started my starvation diet and lost 15lbs already. i need to go back to 180lbs. of which i will prolly in before the end of the year. rest assured i will be in my peak physical form when i go to bootcamp.

Dont starve yourself, eat right and excersice. You dont have to get down in weight, just have to have the right body fat percentage. People have different body styles, for some, the max weight is totally unrealistic.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

so what are the chances of me being deployed overseas?

100%

If anyone tells you different, theyre lying.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

do you guys think i will be able to pass more like survive in the boot camp?

Its a head game, if you can keep your cool, youll be fine.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

what would be the best MOS that is related to my current job?

You already stated you have a stable career, why not do something that will be fun instead of something related to your current career? If not, theres tons of medical careers but you are limited to what the NG units in your area have.


[QUOTE=JohnnyRooks;2007526]if ever i passed how many days in a month that i will be away from my family?

NG is 1 weekend a month, two weeks a year, until you deploy overseas (1 year min.), do in state missions, border watch, wildfires, floods, natural disater stuff... you have to talk to your unit to get the real low down on what they do.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

your help would be much appreciated.

Good luck and have fun.

[hk-p2000]

good luck in the guard. I join the guard last year and will go to boot camp this march. why not join and think about boot camp in 6 months later for your ship date. in the mean time you will go to RSP see you there.

[docsmileyface]

What your able to do in the Guard is sort of dependent on what kind of units are around. If you want to be EOD but the only thing that's around your area and you aren't willing to travel is an MP company, chances are you'll need to fill a slot related to that MP company which probably won't have anything to do with EOD stuff.

[cc56]

If you are worried about deploying don't join. In your head you should expect to get deployed, and if by chance you don't you are lucky. I was in the guard 3 years before I got sent to Afghanistan.....Where I am now. Basic is all a head game, the weak, lame, and lazy, make it through. Ya you would have to see what is around before you assume you can do a job.

[resistor]

Your recruiter will be lying to you when his lips move.

I agree with the previous statement, go and do soemthing fun. Shooting and blowing **** up is fun. Nuff' said.

At 5 7" you will fail the height weight standard. Probably should be 155-165 if I remember right.

Yep, youre getting deployed. Afghanistan, Africa, other third world vacation spots....

One weekend a month, teo weeks a year...riiiiight. If youre dedicated it takes much more than that. Depending on your unit, you can do 2 to 4 day monthly drills, your 2 weeks a year can easily turn into 3 weeks. Not counting all the other times you get called, files, floods and all that. Be realistic about it and be sure you'd be ok with the commitment, because thats what it is if you want to be good at it and be an asset to your command. You'll get alot more out of it if you do.

You can do whatever you put your mind to and commit to succesfully finishing.

Good luck!

[ChuckBooty]

Take your time losing the weight....there's not rush. If you starve yourself just for your MEPS physical you're just going to gain the weight back and not be able to ship to BCT.

And yes...you will be deployed. If you don't want to deploy than don't enlist. There are programs that will render you non-deployable for up to two years (and that can be in your contract) but that's only for a six-year enlistment. You'll go after that.

And by the way...if you want to join the Guard you need to talk to a National Guard recruiter....not an Army recruiter.

PM me if you have any more questions...I'm a Guard Recruiter (and I probably know all of the Guard recruiters in your area. I'll refer you to an honest one).

[CavTrooper]

Originally Posted by ChuckBooty

And by the way...if you want to join the Guard you need to talk to a National Guard recruiter....not an Army recruiter.

Thank you for clarifying that for the folks. If one thing gets under my skin more than anything its people thinking that the National Guard is actually the Army.

[CavTrooper]

Originally Posted by resistor

Your recruiter will be lying to you when his lips move.

Cmon down SGT, we can talk about that one.



Bring a 5 gallon water jug and a towel.

[grnt]

If you join the cal guard, 100% chance you will deploy when you are done with AIT. They need bodies, not specialty qualified soldiers. I have seen field artillery guys deployed to do an infantry mission. Infantry units that go downrange doing FOB security, Route security, and convoy security. If you are medical services, transpo, MP, you end up doing what your trained for. Combat arms, you do what they tell you to do.

1 weekend a month, 2 weeks out of the year, deployed every other year should be your motto. Accept it. I got Guard buddies that are going on their 4th deployment next year. Never went regular army, just keep getting deployed by the guard.

Guard is no longer a strategic reserve, its an operational reserve. Just go to HQ and you will see alot of staffers with no combat patch, but when you go company level, most guys that been in have it. My old infantry unit in the guard, everyone had one, except the FNG, but they went forward to get theirs as soon as they stepped into the armory.

Been their, done it, got a t-shirt.

[ChuckBooty]

While it is possible to deploy more than once during your initial enlistment, you're STILL stabilized for two years post-deployment (and that's Army reg...not just Guard). The guys that go every other year or whatever are giving their consent to deploy.

The other thing is that the Guard doesn't "need bodies". We're overstrengthed right now (TOO MANY soldiers). That's why they raised the minimum ASVAB score from 31 to 50. And that's why they're pushing a lot of the old timers out.

[JohnnyRooks]

thank y'all for the replies.. i really appreciate the help. i will keep you posted one of these days.

BTW i'm not worried of being deployed overseas.

[Maddog5150]

Originally Posted by grnt

If you join the cal guard, 100% chance you will deploy when you are done with AIT.

I call B.S.! SHENANIGANS!!!!!

OP. Seriously consider what you are thinking about doing. Active duty sounds really good and you get to travel and do fun ****. Right now I'm kicking myself for my choice but thats a whole other story, my response to the qoute should give a hint at my disgruntledness.
On a plus if you joi the guard you get monies for college. On a negative, murphys law will single you out. If you want to stay home and be a physical therapist you will get sent to bum **** egypt. If you want to go out and actually serve, you will be stuck home. Catch 22

[CavTrooper]

Originally Posted by Maddog5150

I call B.S.! SHENANIGANS!!!!!

OP. Seriously consider what you are thinking about doing. Active duty sounds really good and you get to travel and do fun ****. Right now I'm kicking myself for my choice but thats a whole other story, my response to the qoute should give a hint at my disgruntledness.
On a plus if you joi the guard you get monies for college. On a negative, murphys law will single you out. If you want to stay home and be a physical therapist you will get sent to bum **** egypt. If you want to go out and actually serve, you will be stuck home. Catch 22

Quit cryin and go Active Duty!

[thebloodsonthewall]

Originally Posted by CavTrooper

Quit cryin and go Active Duty!

Thanks for convincing me to go Active Duty.

[grnt]

AD is the best

[armygunsmith]

Absolutely, go active duty first! Now, not everything that comes out of your recruiters mouth is a lie, but it's close. With that said, get EVERYTHING in writing because once you're in the system and it aint in writing, it didn't happen. Also, how much college do you have. Your amount of education will affect at what rank you join the Army. If going enlisted, its better to go in as an E-3 than an E-1. Also get that in writing if you qualify for joining at a higher rank. If you have enough college to join as an officer, i suggest you look into a "Green to Gold" program if its available. Basically, you'll join the Army as an enlisted, go through basic training then conduct you MOS training and any additional training after which you will get a commission. Oh, did i mention to get everything in writing? Good Luck.

[dustoff31]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRooks

I'm a physical therapist by trade, love my job, very stable career and there's nothing more to say except deep inside i wanted to serve. i have a wife and son and 1 more coming this July.

So do both. Registered Physical Therapists are eligible for commissioning in the Army Medical Specialist Corps. Tell your recruiter you would like to speak to an AMEDD (Army Medical Department) recruiter before you enlist.