Hello

I'm trying to get as much feed back I can in deciding weather I should enlist in the reserves or NG. My MOS is Dental Speacilist. How fast can I be deployed? and for how long? I'm married w/ 3 children. Please Help Thanks

Yes, you can be deployed with either component.

I think the news said that deployments are 12 mo.s now, from start to finish.

Ive been in both. (not as a dental specialist)

Some questions for you...


Are you done with schooling?
NG offers more educational money (ie tuition assistance)

Are you looking to deploy?
Both offer opportunities to volunteer with other units.

What is your civilian job?
How old are your kids?
Does your spouse/bf-gf work?
Will he/she work?
What will be your rank when you enlist?...you said that you already have a mos so im assuming you are prior service, is that correct?

Reserves are bit more flexible when transferring if you had to move out of state, annual training is often overseas, not at your state military installation, more opportunity for adsw and rma days,etc..

Each has its perks.

If you have specific questions, fire away.

Yep noestoyqui is right about reserves being more flexible. And if guard which im in ever gets de-activated from War staus monies going to be hard to come by state's wise. I'm trying to go active and in the Guard theres much red tape then reserve.

quote:

Originally posted by trun10tion:
Yep noestoyqui is right about reserves being more flexible. And if guard which im in ever gets de-activated from War staus monies going to be hard to come by state's wise. I'm trying to go active and in the Guard theres much red tape then reserve.

So you have been in both the Reserves and the Guard then?

Well,

I'm prior service Navy and presently in the National Guard but got my 368 in to go back active duty Navy the biggest difference is that in the N.G. you are a soldier first then you have an M.O.S. so with that being said if you want to join the part time service for work experiance then you better join the Navy reserves if you want to get deployed then join the N.G. and if you are a male the chances of you getting deployed are twice as good as if you are female but remember just because you are a female dosn't mean no deployment it just means you won't be in a combat unit but you might be attached to one as support or in a trans unit so the choice is yours speaking from both sides of the fence good luck with your desicion

From my experience, National Guard units are more spread out and you are more likely to have one close to your home. ie: Here in AZ, all the Reserve units are in the Phoenix or Tucson areas. There are NG units all over the State.

I've served in both some of the bigger differences:

The Guard is made up of 54 state/teritorial commands with the Gov. as the commander in chief durring state functions, this is why they are inlcuded in the oath. This is also why they can offer better ed benefits, but not all states do this. The Reserve is made up of 1 single command.

The Guard is usually spread out over the state, where the Reserve is moving towards single facilities that house multiple units.

State laws govern some aspects of the Guard, such as punishment, where as the Reserve is governed by the UCMJ.

As posted before, the Reserve doesn't have any combat arms (few minor exceptions) but they have most if not all of the medical, psyops and civil affairs units. The Guard has a mix of combat, combat support and combat service support.

The Reserve you can be mobilized to fill another unit from somewhere else in the country for deployment. The Guard, this will only happen in your state.

The Reserve seems like they have a little more money for schools vs the Guard. But the Guard seems like they have more money for longer weekend drills.

Really there are pro's and con's to both and it'll be up to you to decide which best serves your needs. Talk to both recruiters and see if you can visit local units and see what you think.

The guard is also moving torward the multiple unit centers. They are combined Reserve Forces Centers. The center that my unit will be moving to in a few months will have about 5 units in it. 3 of which are Guard. One of the guard units is moving and hour and a half to this center.