What was funny about that were the two guys that had their jaws wired shut that very year standing up for me, ready to scrap if needed. I miss 'em.
Enough hijack, back to the thread. :)
National Guard SF
- Thread starter sgtlew
- Start date
What was funny about that were the two guys that had their jaws wired shut that very year standing up for me, ready to scrap if needed. I miss 'em.
Enough hijack, back to the thread. :)
jester281
Verified SOF
Did a stint in 11th at Dix 93-94. All were prior AD. Worked with 'em in both gulfs and on a couple contracts across the pond. No worries other than the normal chemistry or the delusions of youth.:2c:
19th DOES>:{ have access to NET training. The problem is funding troops to go to the NET training. We could have guys in school year round if we could find a pot of money to pay them. There is always the "points only" option, which is a load of crap and a slap in the face as far as I'm concerned. For those of you not familiar with the guard, points only orders are where you are on orders, receive points towards your retirment, but receive a no pay due.
The issue with 19th and 20th isn't the caliber of SF trooper in the ranks. It's the layers of paper work and command structure to get money and approval. I use this analogy. You are a 10 year old boy who likes to do boy things. You live with your mom (the state in which your SF unit is assigned). You tell your mom you want karate lessons. Your Mom tells your Dad (USASOC, etc) to cough up some extra child support for Karate lessons. Your Dad sends extra money to the child support office (Group HQ, Utah Natl Guard). The Child Support office takes a little off the top (all those Mormon kids aren't going to feed themselves!) and then sends the Karate money to your Mom. Your Mom has a flat tire and uses the Karate money to fix the car. You go without karate lessons and learn how to fight on the street. You come back and teach all your friends how to fight on the street and start your own company, winning a govt contract. Your Mom gets mad at you for doing things without her permission and tells you to take your hands out of your pockets. I digress.
There is a stigma in being "part-time" SF. I believe this comes from the days of the "paper-tabber". There was a time when NG personnel attended the SFQC via correspondence course and MTT's. No offense to any high speed paper tabbers out there, but my experience with the the ones I have met has not been at all positive. These guys are becoming extinct. And with all the experience from the past few years and civilian jobs, guard SF guys are worth their weight in gold. We will always have to prove ourselves to our AD brothers. I don't see that as such a bad thing. It just makes us try harder.
One more advantage to NG SF: We don't give a fuck. Mission first. This isn't our career, so if some light bird wants to shit down our neck for taking care of our boys our completing the mission the way it's supposed to be done, it doesn't have a lasting effect. We'll just go off orders and make six-figures serving our country elsewhere. (Ironically, I think this could be one source of resentment from AD guys).>:{
11th and 12th were Army Reserve units. 19th and 20th are Nasty Guard. There were money and political reasons for deactivating the reserve units. I'm not old enought to remember them. But I've heard tales.
Short answer is: probably not. Especially with the addition of 4th Bn's.
rockclimber
Unverified
question
Gentlemen,
having stepped on my crank earlier by starting a new thread instead of posting in this one, I am now in the right place and would like to pose some questions to the BTDTs.
To frontload some info about myself: I'm about to graduate college and am weighing my options, trying to decide between a NG Rep-63 and an AD 18x contract.
This thread has been helpful in answering some of my questions. I've also PMed some board members and the responses I got were very varied. Some responses I got were along the lines of:
Could you gentlemen humor me and break things down a bit more? I know that a lot of guys serving on NG have jobs with the government in LE etc., so it's no problem for them to go on deployments. Is it a common thing though for guys to be going to grad school while also serving on a detachment?
I'm not trying to stir the pot by eliciting responses like "GO XY, it's better than YZ".
I'm just trying to make an informed decision and it seems that if NG SF is a compromise to such an extent that I wouldn't have the opportunity to "progress my civilian life" I might as well join AD and have a steady income and less headaches trying to complete my masters degree between JCETS and deployments.
Thank you for your time.
Gentlemen,
having stepped on my crank earlier by starting a new thread instead of posting in this one, I am now in the right place and would like to pose some questions to the BTDTs.
To frontload some info about myself: I'm about to graduate college and am weighing my options, trying to decide between a NG Rep-63 and an AD 18x contract.
This thread has been helpful in answering some of my questions. I've also PMed some board members and the responses I got were very varied. Some responses I got were along the lines of:
Could you gentlemen humor me and break things down a bit more? I know that a lot of guys serving on NG have jobs with the government in LE etc., so it's no problem for them to go on deployments. Is it a common thing though for guys to be going to grad school while also serving on a detachment?
I'm not trying to stir the pot by eliciting responses like "GO XY, it's better than YZ".
I'm just trying to make an informed decision and it seems that if NG SF is a compromise to such an extent that I wouldn't have the opportunity to "progress my civilian life" I might as well join AD and have a steady income and less headaches trying to complete my masters degree between JCETS and deployments.
Thank you for your time.
J
JJ sloan
Guest
I am finishing my degree and have been on a NG detachment for some time now. Some guys choose to do more than the minimum NG requirements, that is why they are always deployed. I am one of those guys and have not had a "real job" since 2002. Nevertheless, it is possible to hold down a job, go to school and do the NG SF thing. I know alot of guys that do. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I concur with my brother.
I am one of those guys who has chased deployments and schools staying on orders since 2004 with another deployment coming up shortly.
NG SF is different than AD in quite a few aspects many of which are more political than anything else. Others have to do with the amount of time we put into team related needs prior to and after deployments in the evenings after leaving our civilian jobs. That said, I cannot imagine doing anything other than this -including being AD.
As for jobs, many of us are firefighters, paramedics, LEO, FBI, DSS, NASA rocket propulsion engineers, etc...as well as other civilian sector jobs.
Being NG SF requires a greater dedication than a weekend a month/ 2-weeks in the summer. It is life altering and worth every minute...
And FWIW, there are several guys who finished their undergrad degrees on my last trip and I hope to finish my grad degree during this trip.
Best of luck in your decision.
Crip
I am one of those guys who has chased deployments and schools staying on orders since 2004 with another deployment coming up shortly.
NG SF is different than AD in quite a few aspects many of which are more political than anything else. Others have to do with the amount of time we put into team related needs prior to and after deployments in the evenings after leaving our civilian jobs. That said, I cannot imagine doing anything other than this -including being AD.
As for jobs, many of us are firefighters, paramedics, LEO, FBI, DSS, NASA rocket propulsion engineers, etc...as well as other civilian sector jobs.
Being NG SF requires a greater dedication than a weekend a month/ 2-weeks in the summer. It is life altering and worth every minute...
And FWIW, there are several guys who finished their undergrad degrees on my last trip and I hope to finish my grad degree during this trip.
Best of luck in your decision.
Crip
I'd have to agree that that things within a State controlled military unit can be be more political then a Reserve unit, having served in the Air NG. My time in the SF was in a Reserve(s) unit 17th & 12th SFG(A). IMO, it was a large mistake to do away with the SF Reserve Groups. I think the should have gone the other way or better yet leave it the way it was. As I recall an NG SF Group in Alabama had a few political based problems.
I understand some people devoting a lot of time to their chosen Reserve or NG unit; however, I can also see why such devotion to their unit and and does cause them to have problems with their civilian job, which in most cases is their real pay check and career. I know as an LEO supervisor I had people who continually asked for schools and or active duty assignments. This of course, leaves that LE unit and or shift with one less man/women, whose position can't be replaced. This get's old in a hurry. In most cases the LE field is still better at accepting these continued absences then the average civilian jobs. I know in my own case, I had to walk a delicate line with both my careers; especially being a Bomb Technician and SWAT team Commander. It is especially expensive and time consuming to train a Bomb Tech and the unit is small as well.
In many cases, one has to decide which career he/she wants to do the best with, especially in pursuing promotions and/or special jobs, within their civilian job.
I understand some people devoting a lot of time to their chosen Reserve or NG unit; however, I can also see why such devotion to their unit and and does cause them to have problems with their civilian job, which in most cases is their real pay check and career. I know as an LEO supervisor I had people who continually asked for schools and or active duty assignments. This of course, leaves that LE unit and or shift with one less man/women, whose position can't be replaced. This get's old in a hurry. In most cases the LE field is still better at accepting these continued absences then the average civilian jobs. I know in my own case, I had to walk a delicate line with both my careers; especially being a Bomb Technician and SWAT team Commander. It is especially expensive and time consuming to train a Bomb Tech and the unit is small as well.
In many cases, one has to decide which career he/she wants to do the best with, especially in pursuing promotions and/or special jobs, within their civilian job.
With no intention of trying to revive an old discussion, would anyone happen to have a working link/way to watch the aforementioned NG SF ODA documentary("Hunting the Taliban")?
I thought I had a better link for you but it's busted..
I have acces to it. PM me for details.
Your inbox is full, I would like to check it out, so shoot me a PM if you have time!
Thanks Ravage
Any particular reason you can't just post the link?
I would like to see it again as well Ravage, PM me when you can.
It's not from a torrent site or anything. Uploading it onto a private server. But as FF stated, we'll keep it via PMs. I'll clear my PM box.
O
OldMan
Guest
Let me ask, if I want to go to SF in the guard, I have heard that SF prefers if you have not akready attended a bunch of schools (ARC, RSLC,etc) and for the same reason they prefer to recruit from lower enlisted or e-5 and below, because (presumably) you may have learned this or that which is not necessarily how it is done in SF. Is this true?
I already have reservations for ARC, RSLC, and ARC this FY, but if im just spinning my wheels then maybe I should adjust fire.
I already have reservations for ARC, RSLC, and ARC this FY, but if im just spinning my wheels then maybe I should adjust fire.
Just because one graduated from a bunch of schools does not mean one is trainable nor that one is fit for SF... It is very possible that that individual is nothing but a badgefinder whose command knows the best way to keep that individual from screwing up the command is to keep them TDY-T, and allow them to promote by virtue of points. This may or may not be your case, it is not an aspersion, just a general observation.
Have you passed SFRE? Have you talked to the NG SF recruiters? Have you talked to anybody in the NG SF units around you? It sure does not sound like it... which is a huge fail, you are asking somebody else to do your leg work there Sarge, which is very un-NCO, and definitely not wht SF is looking for. Go back to "GO" - do not collect $200, do not post on this thread or any other thread asking anything about SF until you do a little research (like wtf SF is all about), and then let us know why it appears you have been farmed out to so many schools ... and the answer "I was Guard bumming, but non-deployable" is a fair answer - not a good answer but a fair one.
In another post you listed a bunch of training that would have taken 14 months to complete in one year - to include an MOS change... and you are looking at another MOS change in a year... an MOS that at a minimum is 2 years to achieve if you get selected? Something is not right here, you need to be honest and upfront about your background. How many MOS's have you had on your way to "making NCO" last year?
You opened the can of worms - convince us that we should eat them.
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