Reserves vs National Guard

athena55, BSN, RN · Aug 18, 2009

Buckeye:

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

Buckeye RN/EMT-P · Aug 18, 2009

athena:

not sure what kind of postions are available...was hoping to find out myself! just spoke today with an emt attached to a guard unit here in ohio who suggesting looking into the guard b/c they have rn positions. she thought there were more/better benefits in the guard - but didn't have any specifics. i was hoping someone on here would know. just me being thorough and collecting as much info as possible, i guess.

:cool:

DNM-BSN · Aug 18, 2009

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!

Buckeye RN/EMT-P · Aug 18, 2009

dnm:

thanks for the detailed response - really cleared up my questions. i have to agree, sounds like reserves is the best option from what you have described. really appreciate the offer for help in the future. good luck to you and stay safe.

mariaceline · Aug 18, 2009

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.

Buckeye RN/EMT-P · Aug 18, 2009

maria:

thanks for your post...saves me alot of time. your $.02 is worth every penny! :cool:

mariaceline · Aug 18, 2009

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

allieshannon · Aug 20, 2009

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!

iodine66 · Sep 19, 2009

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.

AF46N3E · Oct 10, 2009

I agree, I truly enjoy the Air National Guard. Nursing slots in the Air National Guard can be hard to come by but it is definitely worth the search, especially if you are willing to drive or fly during drill weekends, etc. I have been in the Air National Guard for 1.5 years now and I absolutely love it. In my state when I was looking there were no avail nurse slots but the recruiter at the unit I called told me to just call around to various units and see if any within a distance I was willing to drive had a slot. After looking high and low I finally found one. We do have a state and federal mission which can require extra time away at times but we've had wonderful opportunities to hone our skills and learn in new places. In fact we just returned from our two week annual training time over seas in England. It was wonderful!

FST6 · Oct 14, 2009

You won't find many nurses in the national guard because most of their units are combat arms or combat support oriented. They have relatively few medical units. At most they have what are known as "Charlie MED" companies who typically provide battalion aid station (Level I) medical care. This means they lack surgical support and typically have a P.A. or physician and medics. Occasionally nurses are added to the Charlie MED. The Army Reserve carries the medical mission for the different reserve components. In fact, 65-70% of the military's medical support comes from the U.S. Army Reserve. You will have no trouble finding a nursing slot if this is the route you choose. Good luck and thank you for joining the fight.