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I am considering joining the National Guard. i spoke to a recruiter and he was saying something about if I really like the guard and want more that i can get released from the guard and transfer to the army active duty could anyone confirm this or is he pulling my leg. i originally wanted to go active duty but cant because i am married and have 3 kids and the dependent rule with the army says that i cant have more than two kids so what he told me is to get my foot in the door by getting into the guard and this way im already i the system and i can just transfer out any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

can you go from guard to active, yes, however its not easy while currently in the guard because of your contract. Its much easier to wait till the end of your current enlistment and then switch.
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how many years did you sign up for?

Go NAVY and let me get your info for a referall

When I was in you could switch to active from guard or reserves pretty easily until you were out of your MOS school once that was done it depended on your unit.

As everyone said, yes it is possible. That three kid rule is a recruiter tool to get you to sign up through him. I know a lot of guys that had 3+ kids and they are all serving currently. He is just trying to get his numbers.

Do you have a college degree?

Understand, if you want to enlist, the guys you will be around are all 18-20 years old, and are on a totally different wavelength than you are at 24. The Army deploys for 13-15 months at a time, can you and your family handle that if you are active?

Check all possibilities before you do anything and if you have any college work what so ever make sure you look into officer programs as well.

rOniN wrote:Understand, if you want to enlist, the guys you will be around are all 18-20 years old, and are on a totally different wavelength than you are at 24. The Army deploys for 13-15 months at a time, can you and your family handle that if you are active?

What he said. The Marines, however, only deploy for around 6-8 months (my first deployment was 7 months exactly, my second was only 6 and a week or two).

Although, I wouldn't join the Marines... rofl. Especially with a honking family that you have.

What compels you about the Army? Is it just you wanting to get into the military? I would say go Air Force... the AF seem to be more family-oriented. Just sayin.

Do the Air Guard. You're can choose where you want to be stationed from (A recruiter DID NOT tell me this) A pilot out of the 108th Air Refueling Unit told me this. Deployment he said is from 3-6 months at a time. I believe you go down to your base one weekend a month and a week out of the year.

*EDIT*

The Air Force is the best!!

But seriously the Air Force is your best bet, they actually take care of there people there, no offense to any other service member here. You may be teased about the "Chair Force" but it's what ever. Honestly though the Air Force is your best bet to do if you want to do Active Duty.

<-- Air Force and does 8 month deployments with 9 months off then 8 months on again.


Just don't fuck up and get a shitty job like me...lol.

I know several people with 3 kids who enlist... but like previously said. You MUST talk it over a lot to make sure it's what you want. Regardless of branch you will spend a lot of time away from family and you will miss a lot of "firsts" with your kids.

LowNSlow wrote: Regardless of branch you will spend a lot of time away from family and you will miss a lot of "firsts" with your kids.

so true...

i am one year away from getting my associates degree in graphic design at itt tech.
he said that with my 28 college credits trough itt tech he can get me in as a E-3 specialist but i still have 34 college credits from other schools that i can add would that help me get a higher rank?


me and the wife already talked about it and she fully supports me the reason that i want to go national guard at first its to see if i like it i have always wanted to join the military and this way i can in a way get a taste of it and if i really like it i can go full time

the air force is also my other option but i was told that you cant have more than one kid last time i checked ill look into that again

srtjesse wrote:
the air force is also my other option but i was told that you cant have more than one kid last time i checked ill look into that again

Pretty sure that's false.

Joining the national guard to get a taste of the military?... Umm... join the Marines, and get sent to Afghanistan to do a mission where they drop you off by helo in a Taliban-infested city... that should give you a pretty good taste

Nah, but on a serious note. How would joining the national guard give you a taste? You spend your time protecting America at home, right? I don't know, maybe it's just that I've served almost 4 years in the Marines that I think lowly of the other branches. But I also don't get how the national guard would give you a taste. Ya know? Sorry, don't mean to bash...

And I'm a little drunk, I think... I can't think straight lol.

I apologize if I offended anyone.

lol its cool


by it will give me a little taste of the military i mean it will show me how it is to live the military life its something i have always wanted to do and if i like the national guard ill consider moving up to active duty

srtjesse wrote: he said that with my 28 college credits trough itt tech he can get me in as a E-3 specialist but i still have 34 college credits from other schools that i can add would that help me get a higher rank?

The highest you can go is E-3 in any branch of service, they won't let you go any higher then that unless you go through R.O.T.C

DuhNeon179 wrote:

srtjesse wrote: he said that with my 28 college credits trough itt tech he can get me in as a E-3 specialist but i still have 34 college credits from other schools that i can add would that help me get a higher rank?

The highest you can go is E-3 in any branch of service, they won't let you go any higher then that unless you go through R.O.T.C

unless you have a bachelors degree the highest you can go is E-3 PFC. Doesnt matter how many credits you have, i had around 60 some credits and an associates degree, that was only good for an E-3 upon entering. Its really not that big a deal though, you earn your E-4 SPC pretty quick if your in a good unit.

oh ok good deal thanks for all the info im super exited i cant wait to get in i just have to pay some tickets i have and im good to go

On a side note if you do, do the National Guard, they do pay for your R.O.T.C if you ever decide to become an Officer. I was offered it, from a Col. Only because I'm best friends with his son but turned it down. Just another thought to think of if you do choose the National Guard

i just got back from drill this minute (yep i love this site that much) so i won't comment right now, but what MOS are you looking at? because that has a lot to do with if the state will let you go active or not. also i would suggest reserves for a taste, because there are more promotion opportunities (again MOS based and state based) but in the reserves you can drill near home but actually belong to a unit out of state. in the guard you have to wait for your front line leader to die, retire, move on, before you can go up in rank (its a little more complex than that but that is the down and gritty version) again we can give you advise til we are blue in the face but it is state and MOS specific more than anything.

i still dont know what my mos is going to be. i am in las vegas
the national guard base is actually a couple of blocks from my house . thanks for the info this really helps allot.

duhneon

thanks for that ill look into that and ask the recruiter how i can get into the R.O.T.C program

thanks all for the help and info

what mos's are you looking at

im looking into something to do with engineering architecture or autocad thats what im going to school for right now

well i would try and figure out how many slots are available for the combat engineers and how full the slots are. one way is to see if the bonus is low or high or not at all. if it is a critical mos then the bonus will be high and there is a better chance of promotion. if it is low then the opposite is possible. obviously this is not fool proof. also just because there is an armory close to you doesn't necessarily mean that that is where you will drill in the guard.

ok thanks for the info

With your college credits, your recruiter is required to let the officer side of the house know about you. You would need a bachelors degree from an accredited 4-year college.

ROTC is a program you can only get into at a 4 year college, and by now you would have a hard time competing for a scholarship slot since you would most likely be in the sophomore range credit wise. It's still an option but you would have to do a lot of impressing to get it. If you enlisted and served for a tour, it could be possible that they would let you go to college on your GI bill and go through an officer candidate school after you earn your degree. I know quite a lot of reserve Marines who have done that.

Sounds to me, that the recruiter has you right where he wants you. You seem very eager to drink the cool-aid. Make sure you research every option before you make up your mind because this will effect the next 4 years of your life.

If you want to know more about how recruiting works or more info on the officer side of the house let me know and I'll tell you anything you want to know. I did a recruiting b-billet for a year.

Semper Fi

ok will do thanks for the help

treat it like youre buying a car. cause once you sign the contract it is all "needs of the army"! and don't take their word for anything always double check what he says on the internet, army website, etc.

ok thanks

go active army, it's a pain in the ass to get released from the guard to join the active side of the house. The army isn't even currently accepting guard and reserve to come into the active side of the house.

Army - pretty good life but very dependent on your job
Air Force - best one, hands down
Marines - treat you like crap but you get brainwashed on how cool it is to be a marine
Navy - stuck on a boat for months at a time, hmmm no thank you.

I wouldn't join the guard looking for a career, it's a part time thing.

neonpla wrote:go active army, it's a pain in the ass to get released from the guard to join the active side of the house. The army isn't very rarely accepting guard and reserve to come into the active side of the house.

Army - pretty good life but very dependent on your job
Air Force - best one, hands down
Marines - treat you like crap but you get brainwashed on how cool it is to be a marine
Navy - stuck on a boat for months at a time, hmmm no thank you.

I wouldn't join the guard looking for a career, it's a part time thing.

Fixed it, so now 100%

^^You don't get brainwashed on how cool it is to be a Marine...you come to realize it's true.