Army National Guard or Air National Guard? (reserves, Air Force, Navy)

[artyst]

my son is considering enlisting in the army national guard. i don't know anything about the army ng or the air national guard. can anyone do a comparison for me??

[Kalbo]

Two different missions. Guard units are ran the same way. The import thing is to find out what guard units are in your area the missions of them are. Once that is done your son will get idea of what kind of job he might have. For example if your ANG unit is a security forces unit he might have a similar job to joining the Army guard such as infantry. On the other hand his ANG unit could be a F-16 unit where things would be much different from. Whatever choice he makes the training he gets will stay with him for life, and niether is a bad choice.

[artyst]

thanks kalbo....he's going to look into that. we're in phoenix, az.

[Zig'sbird]

Ok, here is my take on it but first let me give you a little back ground

Last time I deployed, I would occasionally work with an airman. The poor soul was one of about 5 total AF guys on my base, which was an Army base.

Where I used to work in my civilian job, there was one woman that I would talk to all of the time. She used to be Army Guard, but transferred over to the AF Reserves and have since been trying to get me to join.

So in general, what is it like?

At least for the Army Guard, your experience will depend on two things. First is what type of unit is he joining. For most of my time I have been combat arms (as most Army National Guard units are). Most of my time has been Air Defense Artillery. Twice in my career my job (MOS) has disappeared from my state. The first time for some reason I joined an Intelligence unit. Our Colonel in the MI just stunned me because I was not use to that type of unit. Imagine coming from a combat arms unit where a common line is "You're paid to do, not think" However, the MI Colonel would always say "You're here to exercise your mind. That is your most valuable asset."

However, after about a year a new ADA unit was started up and I was requested to from my former commander to come back to the ADA.

Again, my state eliminated my unit so I had to find a new home. The ONLY unit that I found that fit my mentality was Infantry.

So what is the second thing that dictates how your unit is run? The command. Our 1SG came out of a LR RP unit and was Ranger qualified. Our commander is a former Marine. While in Iraq, my unit was not view as others as NG, but instead as Infantry. On the pad that we lived on in Iraq, you could tell a major difference between my Guard unit and the active units. On my pad was an active HHC unit, an active Transportation unit, my Guard Infantry unit, and a small Reserve Quartermaster unit. Our CHUs were right next to the Trans portion unit and let me just say that the Active unit lacked discipline - big time. I FIRMLY believe that a unit's discipline is based solely on the unit's NCO corps which is directly answerable to their 1SG.

So, when looking at an Army Guard unit, mission and command will dictate how a unit is.

So, a direct comparison? Since I do not have a direct experience with the Air Guard I will have to rely on the two people at the beginning of my post.

Overall, one major difference appears to be in how the Army and the Air Force spend money. The Army appears to spend it first on gear and equipment while the Air Force spends it first on quality of life and then on gear and equipment.

On my first deployment I was on an Army base as stated earlier. Since the living quarters were to Army standards, it did not meet AF standards. While I was ecstatic about my living space, my buddy in the AF had double the space that I had, and the AF paid him a little extra money each payday since his living space was not up to AF standards.

Likewise, this was his first time around Army troops. He could not get over how we treated each other, especially how our upper NCOs and our officers would talk to us. From what he saw, he stated that in his time in the AF, he has never seen an officer or NCO talk to someone as bad as what was normal in the Army. Simply put, he was in a culture shock. My one female friend how joined the AFR also stated that over there she is treated like she has a brain as opposed to how she was treated in the Army Guard. Adding the two together and to me it appears that the AF side of the house treats its people SO much better than what the Army does.

Along this line is another difference between the two. I am still debating joining the Air National Guard. If you do not live within an easy commute of the your unit, the Army Guard will give you a cot so you have a place to sleep at the armory. Supposedly, as I have been told by a couple of people, the Air Guard will pay for a hotel room for you. And this is just for a drill weekend.

As a parent, I also have to point this fact out to you. The AF does not deploy into a combat zone for as long as the Army does. Being in the Army Guard, I was gone for right at one year. I believe that Air Guard that time is only 4 months, with some being gone as long as 6 months.

Traditionally, again from hearsay, the Army promotes quicker than the AF. One the Guard side though it's probably different. For a lot of people in the Army Guard promotions can be rather difficult since a slot has to be open for us to move up. More or less, as you get up in rank, you have to wait for someone to either retire or die before you can get promoted - and I'm not joking. I'm not sure how the Air Guard works promotions.

Hopefully, this answers some of your questions.

[artyst]

wow, thanks zig'sbird. this is all very complex. my son is definitely thinking air force or air national guard. maybe you can answer how these two differ? why would someone choose the guard over regular service?

[Zig'sbird]

I originally chose the Guard over active duty so I could go to school while still being in college. While in college I also joined ROTC but eventually quit due to at the time having a very short temper. For others they join the Guard because of always wanting to do the military but don't want to commit to active. They want to see what it's like and then try to go to active duty at a later time. Still more join because they always wanted to be in the military but at this time in life they have a good job and can't do active duty. Overall, although there are a million and one answers, those are the most common.

What's the difference between active and Guard? Tradionally Guard is one weekend a month and 2 weeks out of the year once initial training is finished. However, with the current wars going on your son will deploy. How often I do not know, but my unit every third year we're gone. Please note though that I'm Army National Guard.

Active AF is actually a pretty good gig. I'll admit that when I was younger I made a mistake with the Army. Most services are jealous of the AF by how life is in the AF. The only 2 services I was really famaliar with was the Navy and the Army. Since I hate water I only had one choice.

Anyways, for the rest of the branches, we view the AF to be corporate America but this uniforms. They still have rules and regulations, but things are more relaxed shall we say. You will not have someone jumping you for having hair longer then a quarter inch on the sides of your head. After all, in the infantry, there are regulations, and then is what actually happens

One thing about the active AF - they still live the high life for the most part. A buddy of mine has a son in the active AF and once received a call from him. His son was 'out in the field' and wanted to call his father. My buddy looked at the caller ID and his son was calling from a hotel. Personally I think his son called just to rub it in his father's face

If you son is really thinking about it then active is the best answer, especially with the economy the way it is.

Has your son ever talked to anyone in the active AF who is not a recruiter?

[artyst]

thanks again zig'sbird. good info i shared with my son. he is considering active AF but he hasn't talked to anyone in the AF. he does have a lot of questions that i guess he will have to get answers to from a recruiter.

[Crew Chief]

Artyst, I served 23 on active duty in the USAF and truly loved it! If your son has an idea of what kind of job he wants, he should check out all of the service branches to see how things work in each branch in his desired specialty. As Zig'sbird says, the Air Force generally spends more on people programs than the other services. But ALL of the services have their good points. The perception is that it is easier to get promoted in the Army than the USAF. The reality probably depends on what specialty you serve in. Also, enlistment and reenlistment bonuses depend on the specialty chosen, as well. I had the pleasure of working with all of the other branches and I found great people wearing the other uniforms. Best of luck to your son!

The Guard and Reserves definitely offer the opportunity to stay close to home (with deployments) versus being stationed anywhere in the world on active duty. Again, as Zig's bird says, it depends on what your sons' other goals are; education? a local job besides military service? There are plenty of options available.

[Summer Edwards]

With all my best wishes to all of you, I would like to know from you which is the best: joing to AF, national or reserve or the Army in general especially Im not a US citizen and I have worked with US Army for not less than 2 years as atranslator and really I like joining to the US Armed Forces With much appreciation........

Originally Posted by Zig'sbird

Ok, here is my take on it but first let me give you a little back ground

Last time I deployed, I would occasionally work with an airman. The poor soul was one of about 5 total AF guys on my base, which was an Army base.

Where I used to work in my civilian job, there was one woman that I would talk to all of the time. She used to be Army Guard, but transferred over to the AF Reserves and have since been trying to get me to join.

So in general, what is it like?

At least for the Army Guard, your experience will depend on two things. First is what type of unit is he joining. For most of my time I have been combat arms (as most Army National Guard units are). Most of my time has been Air Defense Artillery. Twice in my career my job (MOS) has disappeared from my state. The first time for some reason I joined an Intelligence unit. Our Colonel in the MI just stunned me because I was not use to that type of unit. Imagine coming from a combat arms unit where a common line is "You're paid to do, not think" However, the MI Colonel would always say "You're here to exercise your mind. That is your most valuable asset."

However, after about a year a new ADA unit was started up and I was requested to from my former commander to come back to the ADA.

Again, my state eliminated my unit so I had to find a new home. The ONLY unit that I found that fit my mentality was Infantry.

So what is the second thing that dictates how your unit is run? The command. Our 1SG came out of a LR RP unit and was Ranger qualified. Our commander is a former Marine. While in Iraq, my unit was not view as others as NG, but instead as Infantry. On the pad that we lived on in Iraq, you could tell a major difference between my Guard unit and the active units. On my pad was an active HHC unit, an active Transportation unit, my Guard Infantry unit, and a small Reserve Quartermaster unit. Our CHUs were right next to the Trans portion unit and let me just say that the Active unit lacked discipline - big time. I FIRMLY believe that a unit's discipline is based solely on the unit's NCO corps which is directly answerable to their 1SG.

So, when looking at an Army Guard unit, mission and command will dictate how a unit is.

So, a direct comparison? Since I do not have a direct experience with the Air Guard I will have to rely on the two people at the beginning of my post.

Overall, one major difference appears to be in how the Army and the Air Force spend money. The Army appears to spend it first on gear and equipment while the Air Force spends it first on quality of life and then on gear and equipment.

On my first deployment I was on an Army base as stated earlier. Since the living quarters were to Army standards, it did not meet AF standards. While I was ecstatic about my living space, my buddy in the AF had double the space that I had, and the AF paid him a little extra money each payday since his living space was not up to AF standards.

Likewise, this was his first time around Army troops. He could not get over how we treated each other, especially how our upper NCOs and our officers would talk to us. From what he saw, he stated that in his time in the AF, he has never seen an officer or NCO talk to someone as bad as what was normal in the Army. Simply put, he was in a culture shock. My one female friend how joined the AFR also stated that over there she is treated like she has a brain as opposed to how she was treated in the Army Guard. Adding the two together and to me it appears that the AF side of the house treats its people SO much better than what the Army does.

Along this line is another difference between the two. I am still debating joining the Air National Guard. If you do not live within an easy commute of the your unit, the Army Guard will give you a cot so you have a place to sleep at the armory. Supposedly, as I have been told by a couple of people, the Air Guard will pay for a hotel room for you. And this is just for a drill weekend.

As a parent, I also have to point this fact out to you. The AF does not deploy into a combat zone for as long as the Army does. Being in the Army Guard, I was gone for right at one year. I believe that Air Guard that time is only 4 months, with some being gone as long as 6 months.

Traditionally, again from hearsay, the Army promotes quicker than the AF. One the Guard side though it's probably different. For a lot of people in the Army Guard promotions can be rather difficult since a slot has to be open for us to move up. More or less, as you get up in rank, you have to wait for someone to either retire or die before you can get promoted - and I'm not joking. I'm not sure how the Air Guard works promotions.

Hopefully, this answers some of your questions.

[doug1980]

Well I was Active Duty in the Army and then went Air National Guard. Totally different. So it all depends on what he wants to do. Growing up I wanted to be Rambo, played Army all the time blah blah blah. Well I got to do just that in the Army. But it wasn't as fun as I thought. A lot of marching, running, walking. Lots of uncomfortable nights sleeping in the dirt, freezing my butt off or sweating it off. Needless to say I found out real quick it wasn't for me. So I joined the Air Guard. It was much better and more of what I wanted. In 3 years with the Army I made it to Specialist E-4. I joined the Air Guard as an Airman First Class E-3 since there was a year gap in my service, then made E-4 6 months later. I made E-5 at my 4 year mark in the Guard then was eligible for E-6 after 6 years but got instead. Bottom line is it all depends on what he wants to do. The Army is all about war. You train for war constantly. The Air Guard is more of a traditional job. I did CE (Civil Engineers) so I built things. The Air Guard offers more comfort to it's people than the Army does and deployments are much more fun in the Air Guard. Hope that helps.