Reserves vs National Guard

Buckeye:
Forgive my ignorance, but does the Army National Guard even have 66H slots?

The Army National Guard and the Army Reserves are both considered the "reserve components of the Active Army." Personnel in each still have to meet the standards of the Army, such as physical training aka PT, height/weight, qualifying with the M16, etc; but they are considered "part time" (committment of at least - one weekend a month and 2 weeks per year). Being in one of the reserve components allows the individual to finish school and choose where they want to live as opposed to active duty, who move you where they need you making it harder to complete college.

The National Guard has 2 missions. 1) a state mission, which is called up by the Govenor (such as natural disasters in that state) and 2) a federal mission, which is called up by the President (such as deployment overseas). National Guardsmen are funded by the state unless they are called up by the Federal Governement, then they are funded by the federal gov. Training budgets for the National Guard also come from the state.

People choose a different compoment usually based on the benefits that each are offering at the time. At the time I enlisted, the Army National Guard was offering 100% of my college tuition, while the Army Reserves was only offering 80% (I believe that has changed since then). Most of the all the other benefits were the same, like the amount of the GI Bill, Life insurance, etc.

So, I enlisted in the Army National Guard. I was in the Florida National Guard for 9 years as a supply clerk. I've been called up for state missions (called up by the Govenor) when the hurricanes pounded the state in the 2004 & 2005 hurricane seasons and I've been called up to Federal Active Duty (a presidential call up) in 2003-2004 to Iraq.

Once I finished nursing school, I spoke with a recruiter so I could transfer to a medical unit and change my military job from a supply sergeant to a nurse. He adviced me to transfer to the Reserves instead of staying in the National Guard. Reason being, since the National Guard was funded by the state, nursing slots were limited. AND if I was able to get into a slot, it would be difficult to get promoted. Promotions in the the National Guard stay within the state. I would have a better chance for promotion on the Reserve side (the federal side) because there are more slots.

So, 2 years ago I transferred to the Reserves as a nurse and as an officer. Same Army, same standards, different component. If you are considering joining the military, I reccommend going the Army Reserves route. The Air Force right now is difficult to get into right now. I work with a girl who is in the Air Force Reserves as a sergeant (how I was before I transferred) and she is having a tough time getting transferred into a nurse slot. If you have a BSN you will go in as an officer. If you are an RN, I believe you have to get your BSN before you can be promoted to Captain, which normally takes like 5 years anyway. If you go in as an Officer (it's called "Direct Commission"), you'll be a 2LT (Second Lieutenant), you don't have to go to basic training (boot camp), but you will need to go to Officer Basic Course (OBC), which is in San Antonio, TX. I had a blast when I went and is nothing like boot camp!

Also, if you talk to a recruiter about joining, don't forget to ask about a bonus. When I transferred, they were giving $30,000 (paid over 3 years)!

Hope this helps! Good luck to you! If you decide to join, let me know...I'll be more that happy help you with anything you need! Soldiers looking out for Soldiers!

If you are looking into the Ohio Army National Guard, there are no vacancies for 66H whatsoever. I am an enlisted soldier with 13 years in and 2 Bachelor's degrees, the most recent a BSN and am casing my options. You could join up as "excess" and get absolutely NO incentives like bonuses or student loan repayment, but at least it gets you in the door to being an Army National Guard nurse. Keep in mind that the National Guard in Ohio has very VERY few nurse positions period, and I am told there is a "waiting list" for those positions if they become open. The Air Guard, I am told by a recruiter, is overstrength for nurses as well. Reserve RN positions are wide open with lots of good incentives I hear. Just my $.02.

Glad to be of help. Good luck whatever you should decide, military service is very rewarding in whatever branch you serve.

It is the same way in SC. I spoke with a National Gaurd Rec yesterday who told me there are no nursing positions open and he already has a long waiting list. He told me to go and speak with the Army Reserves (which I had already done) and I plan on going that route. BTW I have heard a lot of not so good things about some recruiters but my Army Reserve recruiter was awsome!

Just for kicks and giggles, ck out the Air National guard for positions open for Flight Nurse. I chose that route because it was close to my home and I really wanted to be a flight nurse. It's all fixed wing, no helicoptors, and you can work with either US residents in need or with transporting military injured/ill. It was some of the most satisfying nursing I've done, and also the most fun. I worked weeks and weeks (way back then we didn't do over time)and saved days off, holidays, vacations day, military days, etc and went active duty to fly guys home from Nam by way of Phillipines, Hawaii, to the US>
I also did training missions all over the world. Learned a great deal, professionally and personally.
Flying is da bomb and nursing in the air is the greatest high possible -- pardon the pun.