National Military Appreciation Month on May, 2024: NATIONAL GUARD QUESTIONS?

May, 2024 is National Military Appreciation Month 2024. Philanthropy in Motion: Day 131: National Military Appreciation Month National Military Appreciation

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First off, I am sorry to hear that you do not want Army. The Army National Guard is the largest branch of reserve type military.

To answer your question about, "What does the National Guard do in general?" The National Guard is a subdivision of the larger Army system. Unlike Active Duty and Army Reserve who is federally controlled, the Army National Guard is controlled by the individual state in which it based. The federal system regulates the National Guard training standards and overseas deployments. The State (governor), although, can halt a National Guard unit from mobilizing to a overseas assignment, like Iraq. But, in turn, the federal government can refuse/reduce funding to the state, inadvertantly forcing the governor with complying with the deployment. Domestic deployments like disaster relief is regulated by the state governor. The National Guard, as you can see, as a dual obligation . The National Guard recieves all active duty Army benefits when mobilized/activated. Otherwise the National Guard does monthly drills (one weekend a month training).

To answer your second query, there are programs where you can recieve training toward your college degree. A commissioned officer candidate training course in nursing or medicine is available. My best advise to you is talk to a National Guard recruiter.

If you do not want to go Army, there is the Air National Guard. It is more limited in its options, though.

Active Duty Army or National Guard?

Some of the best officers I have known went guard/reserves and since they were complete studs with accompanying degrees that were marketable, they found employment easily.

Don't let anyone tell you NG/Reserve officers are not competent, usually the only ones saying that are the CJ/General Studies majors who cheated the system to get AD infantry, aviation etc. and couldn't do anything else.

Reserve Component

Pros: Flexible, looks good on applications/CVs, citizen soldier skill set, usually choose branch

Cons: Part-time, more than a weekend a month usually...

AD

Pros: Full time, immersed in military lifestyle,best benefits

Cons: Not flexible (needs of the Army), government mindset of the workplace can gimp you when real life hits (ccivvy world just doesn't work the same),dealing with BS you can't escape

Military to civilian life?

Because you've been living in base housing (and probably having "rent" deducted from his pay)...you can expect to pay at least one month's rent as a security deposit plus one month's rent upon signing a lease for a place to live...this is only because you have no rent payment history...you'll be entitled to a VA home loan, which is great if you think you'll want to buy a home (although I was always grateful that we rented at first and bought a home only after we were very familiar with the area...). As a general rule of thumb, multiply your total gross income by three and that's the top end of the amount of house you can afford to buy...the "no money down" feature about the VA Loan is wonderful but means that your house payment will be higher each month....there are so many pitfalls regarding buying a house upon moving into a new area that renting for a while makes sense, IMHO....

You've probably been paying for telephone and cable TV, however...and therefore have payment histories with those companies.....because you're going to be moving to a totally new area, you can expect to pay a deposit for the telephone, cable, and utilities in the new city...and be happy if you don't have to....you might talk to your local service providers now and ask them if they will provide a payment reference letter for you...in the past any "deposits" were waived when I presented such a letter in my new city...and this assumes you've made timely payments, of course...you'll also have insurances to pay (i.e. vehicle, renter's / homeowner's)....you can call your insurance company and ask for rates for the new area...take a telephone book from your old city to your new one....(and a base telephone directory, too)....also take old payment stubs from all bills you currently have (I assume you maintain good records...)

Make sure you and any children are enrolled in DEERS or equivalent health care system before he gets out. Get all medical files from any of your local health care providers to hand-carry to your new city...there may be either an active duty military medical presence or a VA hospital in your new area; if so, a call to them now to learn about any enrollment or sign-up requirements would be a good preparatory step...

...Your husband needs to get copies of his evaluations, awards, and any other "letters of appreciation," etc. that he can use during the resume-writing process as well as present during a job interview, for example...he also needs to establish a list of those willing to be his professional and personal references.

As far as schools are concerned: The best way to judge a school system is by knowing their percentage rate of graduation...see if there's a school system with a 97 percent graduation rate or higher, lots of extra-curricular activities, etc...also ask how many of their teachers have degrees in the subjects they teach....visit the PTA's national website and the local school districts' websites to learn more...

Start watching / listening to / reading local media in your target city to become familiar with local news (and you can do that on the Internet)...

Visit CareerBuilder.com and research the job market in your target city to become familiar with local employers and their needs...write a great resume...establish a list of professional and personal references for yourself......if children are involved I'm sure at least one of you (if not both) will need a job with medical benefits in case there's no military medical care available for either you or any children...and the VA charges for meds and procedures, too...so you may want to inquire further now, before leaving your old city...

...and don't forget to file a change of address form with the post office in your old city!

Hope this helps!