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Typically across the branches you will see that (but of course there are always caveats):
NG tends to offer full scholarship or near full college scholarship tuition, whereas this is not the case in the Reserve.
NG tends to be harder to get promoted in since there is a much smaller billet number due to them operating to the needs of the state rather than the federal government.
Here's my take on this from what I've experienced. (9yrs active USMC, 20yrs TnANG)
Guard units are "stand alone". They have a mission and they seem like family. Guard dogs stay in the same unit forever. The different units of the Wing typically deploy to work alongside their countrparts in the Air Force, or they team up with other Guard units and form a deployed unit, taking over the duties in a deployed location.
If you're interested in Airfield Firefighting then this is the place to learn that.
Emergency Management has some compatible outside jobs (civilian) for great pay but that's mostly chemical warfare stuff, gas mask, Shelter-in-place stuff. You'll be training the whole guard unit how to survive a disaster or nuclear, biological, chemical attack. never seemed that exciting. Sometimes you'll work out disaster plan for the base and work with local agencies in exercises, etc.
More later
Okay, chores partly done, back to the topic.
The Air Force Reserves are attached to an active duty Air Force unit and will support that unit in whatever mission it has.
I don't know too much about the reserves.
I think the med flight units would be amazing. Lots of potential flying time there, depending where you are.
Start close to home since that's where you want to be. See what kind of unit is near you. Most Air-anything units fly something. Refuelers, fighters, drones, cargo.... But there has to be support in place so you'll have acft maintenance, flight ops, medical, finance, supply, support equipment, fire/rescue, Civil Engineers.
btw, I was in CE for a while - the Fire Department belongs to them and also plumbers, electricians, HVAC, heavy equip, carpenters.... CE can be a great place. The Guard CE units were on a 3-yr rotation so you might get a 6-month stint somewhere.
Okay, back to chores. There's ceiling fans to clean! (I'm on furlough :P)
So you recommend ANG over active duty AF for fire fighting/medical jobs? I'm looking at fire fighting, emergency management, or aerospace medical service. I'd like something that I could possibly use in the civilian world, but at 25 I feel like my time is running out.
I would always recommend active duty over any Guard/reserve. I think Guard is better than Reserve, personally. Aeromed is so totally awsome. Why not write down questions you have about each field. Make contact with the closest unit to your home and speak to some of the people that are in those fields. What's important to you, that's what you should shoot for. Don't settle for less. Also, research those fields for civilian jobs and pay. USAjobs.com will show you what's out there now. EM pays GOOD when you can find an opening. Don't forget there's sequestration and hiring freezes in some agencies right now.
26 years of Army National Guard. Work full time for them as technician as well. I did active duty for 8 years prior but I have really loved my time in the guard. I hope to do 4 more years and then hang up the boots to only be seen on Veterans and Memorial day.
Right off the street? Not likely. If you come off active duty, then yes, it can be done... I did it. But that was years ago and today's fiscal realities are likely going to intervene.
The way we hired personnel was to take them as traditional (part-time) Guardsmen and then they could compete for a full-time position, either as an air technician or as an AGR. Because they got to work in the shop as a traditional the hiring official had a good idea of their abilities. For someone off active duty, a lot of ANG units still move them into a part-time slot (initially) to see if they want them full-time. And then some guys come in from active duty to a full-time slot, depends on the unit.
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