army or army national guard?

Question

whats better?

Answer 1

i vote for army national guard!

Answer 2

Army National Guard

Answer 3

Army.

You have more opportunities in the regular active Army than the National Guard. I have spent time in both and I can tell you that the Army is way better.

The National Guard is a backwater of the U.S. military so they don't get good equipment or a lot of money since they are mainly funded by the State they are in. You will only get decent equipment when you are about to get deployed to go "across the water."

That and the National Guard is one huge good old boy system. You have obese Sergeants that haven't passed a PT test in years but they still end up with getting promotions and awards because their brother or cousin or drinking buddy is in the right place. I have seen one Specialist shot perfect on the rifle range, perfect on the PT and has done all his schools like PLDC and BNCOC, and he had 6 years in yet he was passed over several times by other Specialists that barely showed up for drill weekends and I don't think I have ever seen them take a PT test but they were friends with the active duty National Guard guys that worked in the Armory.

You think I'm kidding but this is reality in the National Guard with units placed in small towns where half the family and their buddies are in the same unit and if you are an "outsider" coming into their unit you will be lucky if they will requisition you new boots. Horrible nepotism and incompetence in the National Guard.

The only reason I was in the National Guard was to get retirement points.

Answer 4

Army National Guard. Don't let the others tell you about "fat people", bogus training etc... Army National Guard follows the regulations just like the Active Component. They get deployed just like everyone else. They train just as hard and as long as the others. You still the get the schooling (some states tuition is totally free), retirement as well as a contribution to the Thrift Savings Program.

I have been on Active Duty for 5 years, Reserves for 2 years and 20 in the Guard (both as Title 10 and Title 32).

Answer 5

I have been both, I was National Guard first and Loved it so much I went active duty.

I would suggest that you join the Guard and if you don't like it you only do it part time or you can move and change units. If you want to go active you can volunteer for deployments or active duty within the guard or change to the regular army all together. You don't have the flexibility going from regular army first.

If you do join the army first let me refer you to a recruiter and then I get some money and I'll split it with you.

Answer 6

Army is better than ANG. Because Army lets you reside a home at the base, have the job in the base, and overseas or any state when you are on the duty and go back to training when you are called after the completed 12-week or less training.

And ANG is the home where you live with your parents or on your own and being there for training every 6 month.

Answer 7

The ANG is basically like a state's militia and you can hold a civilian job at the same time. You train one weekend/ month and two weeks/ year. When you are in the Army, you are in the Army full time. Which is better? I guess that depends upon what you want to do.

I considered the Army and the ANG, but I decided to join the Marine Corps :). If you want to know why, email me, because it would take me too long to type it all out.

Answer 8

It depends on your goals. I have spent time in both and they both have their advantages. If you are looking for a career with good benefits and retirement, join the Army. If you are looking for some good training while you go to college or even something to do once a month, join the guard. The only real downside to the guard is long deployments. This can be frustrating if you have established a life outside of the military.

Answer 9

I see more and more people joining (or rejoining) the ranks of active duty personnel after having served in the National Guard.

It's not that active duty is so much better; it's that it is more often than not, the lesser of two evils. The National Guard is getting burned out. What was supposed to be a force called on during national disasters has become an ersatz pool of reserves deployed just like the active duty forces, but with less preparation and far more social and economic impact. There is a Minnesota National Guard outfit that has clocked 22 months in theater over in Iraq (I gagged when I heard this in NPR en route to my Company Formation) and that is unconscionable. National Guard and Reserves just get abused. When you deploy active duty personnel like me (average age: 19-20) who don't have much to hold them back, that's one thing. When you start deploying 30-something people with professional careers and families, who take a huge pay hit to deploy, who aren't present for the running of their businesses or the support of their families and communities for months and months at a time? Something is wrong. The National Guard is made up of people who are often the pillars of their community; police officers, firemen, business owners, good church-going folk. You take these people out on endless rotations and expose them to becoming casualties, and something happens to the communities you take them from.

So what I see is a lot of the single (and sometimes not single) people in the Guard go active, if only because if they're going to deploy, they want full benefits and a more stable deployment schedule. I don't find it that bad per se considering the circumstances, but if I left active duty and went Guard? I wouldn't expect to have much of a life outside. Getting two years out to finish graduate school? Not on my life. Putting a down payment on a home? Not with the income hit I'd take from deployment. Starting a business of my own? Not if I'll be gone for over a year. Spending time with friends and family? Probably not.

So really, it's upto you and how much you are willing to sacrifice from your life, on whether you go active or Guard. And sacrifice has always, always been the name of the game when it comes to national service (especially military service) so bear that in mind before you swear that oath and put that flag on your shoulder.

Answer 10

It depends. I am in the Guard. I chose to be in the Guard because I want to go to College without any deployment interruption. Guards will pay my tuition 100%, will pay GI Bill, Drill payment, Bonus, many other payments. I am doing this to get some Military Background for my career.

If you are concern about going to the war, then you will be the first. Because Army and Marines are the first to go. I will volunteering to go to the war to get some background and exprience, but after completion of my college.