Expert: John L - 12/18/2008

Question
Hi John,
I asked an army recruiter to explain the deference between army and amy national guards. He said army belongs to Federal and national guards is state’s, people can be laid off in national guards if the state government doesn’t have money. I asked him why some people still go to national guards if their jobs are not secured as well as army’s.  He said that national guards has some jobs army does not have.
He also tried to make me feel national guards will do most dangerous job. He said when he was in Iraq, he was in green zone, and the guards were in red zone.
Are they true?
Thanks


Answer
In a nutshell, your recruiter is flat out lying to you.  The Army and National Guard are one and the same almost.  We all go to the same basic training and same specialty schools.  The difference is the National Guard is part time and the Army is full time.  The Army reserves are also part time.  Here are some things about the Army.

Army:  Full time solider-live it , breath it.  Always training for the next mission.  Depending on unit, expect to deploy every three years at current tempo (but it is going to slow down)
Full time benefits- no cost health care- no cost housing (barracks for single,  on base housing if married and available.  If not available, you are given an housing allowance to help with an apartment.  All jobs available if you qualify and slots are available for when you want to leave.  After joining you are in a non paid status until you leave for boot camp.  Great college benefits after you serve active duty.  Typical bonus is $8k to $13k, but can be more.

Reserves:  Part time service, after AIT (specialty school) you come home and drill one weekend a month and 2 weeks a year in your job.  No combat jobs are in the reserves, they are all support units.  College benefits are $4500 a year plus GI bill $329 a month. You only get paid for your one weekend.  Can be called up for overseas duty with the regular army.

National Guard:  same training as above, then one weekend a month.  You cannot get laid off due to budget.  If a unit moves , you just transfer to another unit.  Guard is 97% federal funded.  In The Guard, we are on standby in case of state emergencies, like hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, forest fires, any thing the governor of your state thinks we can be of help on.  Your unit may be called up for these issues.  This is what the appeal to the Guard is for allot of people.  We are First responders in times of need.  Your unit is usually within 50 miles of your home if possible.

School benefits: $4500  year (like reserves) 329 GI bill, plus whatever your state gives you for being in the Guard.  So much more than the reserves.  each state is different on education benefits.  

Bonuses are $20k for all who join right now, no matter what job.

We can get called up to help the Army overseas as well. We do the same missions as the Army.  His unit may have been in the green zone, but its not like they stay there.  The "red zone" as he called it, is just where action can be.  If you notice, Iraq war deaths are low now overall.  So far this month, only 2 Americans have died in a war zone.  More people died while I was typing this on our highways.
We do deploy, its part of the Army mission.  You typically know 9 months ahead of time, train up for 3 months, then in your mission for up to 9 months, then back home, back to one weekend a month.  Allot of our soldiers are full time students, getting heir degrees for free while serving.

I recommend that you talk to a Guard recruiter too. www.1800goguard.com    The main question is where do you want to be in 5 years?  College or full time, work and part time military.  Do your homework, ask tough questions, its your life, and the Army recruiter should respect that and not tell you fibs about another service.  Any service you join is good enough for me.  And I thank you for your interest in serving the greatest nation on earth.  if I can be of anymore help, let me know.

Good luck.