Active or just the reserves???

Question

So I am for sure joining the Army...however I do not know if I want to join the reserves or go active...I have been thinking about this and talking about it for quite a while now and time is coming to the point where I really need to make a decision...any opinions would be nice or e-mails since I check that more often [e-mail] Thank you so much

Answer 1

I was on active duty in the Army for almost 8 years. On active duty you always know you could be deployed to a war zone at any given time. You're prepared for it. Your life revolves around that possibility. If you have a family, they are accustomed to getting by on your pay, and having you away for weeks or months at a time.
In the reserves, you'll have a life separate from the military. A civilian job, or college, maybe a family. Deployment creates a LOT more problems or reserve and national guard soldiers for those reasons. Most make more money in their civilian jobs. Their families suffer financially when they are deployed.
Reserve troops also don't get the same amount of training as active duty does. Weekends and 2 weeks a year summer camp sound great, until you get deployed somewhere with bullets flying. Yes basic and AIT are the same. But that is just he beginning of your training. I was in artillery. We spent an average of 12 weeks a year in the woods doing live fire training drills. When I got sent to Desert Storm I was very well prepared. While stationed at Fort Knox and Fort Hood, we had to supervise National Guard and Reserve troops attempting to live fire our cannons during their summer camp. Most of them didn't have a clue what they were doing, and would have killed someone if we hadn't been there. I wouldn't want to go to war with someone like that.

Answer 2

My military resume-

Active 1990-1994 (enlisted)
National Guard 1995-2000 (enlisted)
Army Reserve 2000-Present (enlisted and Warrant Officer)


I have seen it all.

I agree with the previous posters...you have to figure out what you want. Are you looking for a career and to be self-sufficient? Active is your best bet, then. The best thing about the Active Army for me was the fact that I was able to leave home and live on my own at the age of 18, still party hard, and also save at least $500/month for college.

As far as Reserve/National Guard goes, you have to obviously support yourself with a civilian job at the same time, which can be difficult. Despite laws and the sense of patriotism in this country, employers are reluctant to hire many Reserve Component Soldiers, due to deployments coming up more and more. I have seen this both in my own job hunting and helping the Soldiers who work for me.

If I could do it all over again, I would have stayed active, gone to Officer Candidate School...Think what you want about the Army, but the fact of the matter is that Army officers are some of the most intelligent and educated individual you will ever meet. By the time they are mid-career (Majors) most officers will have at least 1 and often times 2 masters degrees and a wealth of experience. In addition, the money is excellent...when you factor in the housing allowance, a Major makes close to $90,000/year.

"But I might get killed in Iraq..." Yea...that's true, but you also might get killed in a car accident on the way home from your civilian job, too. Statistically, it's not likely to happen.

Good luck. By joining the military, you're making a good decision.

Answer 3

I'm suprised to hear so many people rip on the Guard.

I've been active, reserve and guard now and I'd have to say that between the reserves and the guard, the latter wins hands down.

The Guard is better funded, has more MOS options, trains (in the field) more and consists mostly of guys who have spent considerable time on Active Duty.

I would never advise anyone to join the reserves. In my experience in a reserve unit, we just sat around every drill and never did any real training. It was mostly unorganized and people deploy as individuals out of the reserves instead of in units as with the guard.

Personally, my guard unit did almost as much MOUT (urban) training and live fire exercises as when I was on AD in the 25th ID. I guess that may vary from a unit to unit basis, but the reserves is definatly on a lower level than the guard mainly due to funding but also to the sort of random organization and crappy facilities the reserves are stuck with.

Answer 4

The first thing you have to do is ask yourself what you want out of the ARMY? What is your main reason for joining? Is it the college money, get away from home, start your career? What MOS are you looking into and do you plan on transitioning that job into the civilian world. These are somethings to think about before you join. For instance: My buddy was a Tanker, how can he transition driving a tank in the civilain world? Well I don't know any places that have tanks in the civilain world.

Reserves are cool, you can still keep alot of your freedom while serving, if you dont mind giving up a weekend here and there.

Active Duty: Are you ready to show what your made of, and just jump in and have the time of your life while meeting alot of cool people and seeing various countries. 100% college tuition plus 40,000 when your discharged. But remember the GI Bill isnt free, but it's worth it if you use it.

Remember there alot of people with the same questions going through their head, I know I asked myself the same questions.

Don't go National Guard.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 5

Do your research. My opinion is that the military is a two-tier system. Active duty is the top-tier and Reserve/National Guard is second-tier. Basically this means active duty units get the best/newest equipment, body armor, armored Hummvee's and Res/NG units get less or worn out equipment is not replaced as frequently.

This extends to all facets of military life. If you get injured you will be treated better as an active duty soldier and have better support than Res/NG soldiers. There has been a ton of press on this topic recently. Do your research.

Make sure to choose your military job VERY carefully. Will it transfer over to a civillian job that is in demand? If I were to do it over again, I would choose to be an Air Traffic Controller in the military. This would transfer over to the civillian world extremely well as the FAA is facing thousands of ATC retirements in the coming years. IF YOUR RECRUITER TELLS YOU THE JOB YOU WANT IS NOT AVAILABLE, DON'T JUST ACCEPT WHAT THEY OFFER. TELL THEM YOU WILL WAIT UNTIL THE JOB YOU WANT OPENS UP. YOU HAVE THE POWER HERE, THEY ARE DESPERATE.

Answer 6

I was active duty Army for 5 yrs and am now in the Army National Guard. I would definitely suggest active duty. You will get better training, and the soldiers you are deployed with (you will be deployed either way) will be better trained. The only set back of going active duty is that it sets back a civilian career, if you plan on having one after ETS (discharge).

Answer 7

I was very supportive of my husband when he was in the military, but I never had to have an influence into whether or not he went in or not.

All I can say is that without the military placing him in San Diego, my home town, I would not have met him, and I love the fact that he served our nation.

My children and I love watching fireworks, and I can tell them that their (step) daddy helped make them happen because he fought for our country.

The choice is yours, though, I hope the best for you since you will probably have to go to Iraq to fight for someone else's fireworks if you join the army, but you are appreciated for your willingness, whatever branch you serve in. Thank you, and I consider you a vet just by your willingness to go, its a hard choice since it is so high risk.

Please think it through if you have a family, it will have more to do with them than you, btw. If you can leave them for a year or two and its ok, then more power to you, I stressed so much until he came home to me. Also know that you can trust Jesus to bring you home....I know I did. I really got stronger as a prayer warrior when my hubby was gone.

God Bless you and thank you for thinking about it, like I said, you are a vet since you even considered it.

Answer 8

I am active and would recommend you do the same. The reserves is no longer "one weekend a month, two weeks a year". The reserves are carrying a huge burden in this war and will continue to do so. Balancing a civilian job and military duty is incredibly difficult. On active duty you know your job, get ready for war, and it doesn't change. Much less stress to me. Good luck thanks for your choice to serve.