My boy is joining the National Guard

Congratulations something to be proud of for sure

Did you go with him to the recruiters? Was there any discussion of what MOS your son wants, or that he is being steered towards? An 82 ASVAB (or whatever his actual test score will be) is good but may not get him the best technical jobs. I'd want him to be ready to walk away (not sign the actual contract) if he doesn't get the MOS that he wants.

Sounds like you are raising a man. Congratulations to you, thanks to him!

Congrats, in all honesty though, I would recommend going active duty over guard or reserves, it will take him forever to earn education benefits in the guard, and if he is planning on going to college, guard and reserve can be pretty disruptive depending on the units training requirements. Better to do 4-6 years active, learn a skill or trade, and earn his post 9/11 benefits, all while getting paid decently and possibly getting some travel opportunities

MinnesotaMulisha said:

Yes. There were a few that popped out to him, one of which was Chemical Operations Specialist.

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Oh, fuck no! Despite the fanciful description in the recruiting brochures, the reality of that MOS is baking (or freezing) in a butyl rubber suit while scrubbin' down trucks with bleach.
How's about aviation mechanic?

kl3309 said:

Oh, fuck no! Despite the fanciful description in the recruiting brochures, the reality of that MOS is baking (or freezing) in a butyl rubber suit while scrubbin' down trucks with bleach.
How's about aviation mechanic?

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Or something medical, lab tech, heck medical logistics has been good to me for the last 14 years.

MinnesotaMulisha said:

Yes. There were a few that popped out to him, one of which was Chemical Operations Specialist.

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Dont do it. 95% of their time is spent doing inventories since they are considered Sensitive Items. They have machines/detectors that they will never use.

They may run a CS gas house once a year since its mandatory, at least in Active Army.

Make sure he does a job that transfers over to the civilian world. If he likes emergency medicine have him become a 68W.

Doc

15 series, is helicopter maintenance.

Or have him become a mechanic for tracked vehicles. He will get a lot of experience amd he can come out and work for these huge strip mining companies making 6 figures.

Doc

Is medical imaging available in the NG?

Aviation is an easy money MOS. If I was to do it all again that’s what I would do. never walk anywhere. If you go to the field, you have tents with floors!

do active duty for 3 years to get full Ed benefits then get out and join the reserve and start stacking money in the aviation sector. Guys around here are starting out $30+/hr working on helicopters. If he stays in a flight unit he will get flight pay and a rapport for the full timers that wrench on the birds for the reserve units and possibly become a miltech fed job. White collar welfare doing what you love!

To advance in the national guard, usually somebody has to die or retire. Good ole boy system that rivals Washington DC.

If he can get into a field hospital or a charlie med, he will have a ton of medical options. Radiologist tech makes about 90k in the civilian world. If he can get the Y6 identifier as a 68W, which is heart catheter tech he will start out over 6 figures.

Doc

Just say No to the chemical field!
Aviation is a good bet and most of those guys can pull in extra hours when they want to. NG aviation gets used for a lot of things so he would have the option to jump on orders if he wants to. Also they get used for lots of things so orders may happen a lot. What does he want out of this? Your question is like asking what scope should I buy but not giving any other details. Too many unknowns.

What no love for the under 20 mos numbers guys ?

No seriously everyone is giving good advice. Active first knock that shit out quick for that gibill. Get him out of your house for a few years and learn some decent skills. I always recommend medical, IT and aviation.

Better quality of life and better skills on exit.
The military should be a stepping stone somewhere else have a plan. If he loves it and wants to stay great go green to gold have the army pay for it and continue your service

The only thing I would consider is the aviation Warrant Officer program. If I didn't qualify for that, I'd just not even go at all.

There is a severe shortage of pilots, and helicopter pilots even more so.

HVAC/Refrigerator mech, electrician, or any trades oriented MOS is the direction I’d go.

Supply admin or warehouseman would be good too.

Not the most sexy MOS, but they all guarantee a nice paying job upon EAS. Plus as a guardsman, he can put those skills to use making good money at good jobs in between his activations.

End of active service. I think the national guard might call it something else.

First off: Congrats on the dedication to the services that protect the USA.
Second: Considering the current mantra about the National Guard and funding there could be a HUGE issue with getting training. I recall quite a few NG soldiers in AIT "awaiting" funding to just be able to start training. Some were released to go home until their units funded their schools.

Just have a good conversation with as many NG people as possible that are in your area. Active duty has some advantages/disadvantages so weigh them as best possible.

Army aviation: Why walk when you can ride! Go Aviation!!!

MinnesotaMulisha said:

What is EAS?

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Marine for ETS.......


OP- why is he joining? Is he trying to learn a trade or to serve? Most of the skilled jobs in the NG may give him the initial training needed in the CIV world but nit the actual knowledge to do it in the CIV world.

If he is doing it for the GI Bill for Collage then do something fun. And as mentioned before, just do a few years active and then go NG.

Lots of good advice flowing here. Only thing I can add is to get a couple of ASVAB study guides from Amazon or your favorite local bookstore and hit those hard for a week or two. If he can get into the 99th percentile (not as hard as you would think), then he can get any MOS he wants. I definitely recommend going with an MOS that translates to a marketable job skill. I went the other direction and got into combat arms. If he decides to go the fun route, he can always try for 18 series

Frederick_77 said:

All the good hybrid civlian/Guard membership required State jobs are in Supply.

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Working for the state is for those who can't make it in the private sector.

MinnesotaMulisha said:

My son (17 and going to be a senior this year) has decided that he is joining the National Guard.

He’s signed all the paperwork and is going to MEPS and to take the ADSVAB on Wednesday.

So far, I know he’ll be doing one weekend a month through high school and heading to basic next summer.

He scored an 82 on the pretext for the ADSVAB for what that’s worth.


I know there’s quite a bit of military experience here (none of which attributes to me) and I’m hoping some of you can fill me in on what I need to know.

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How willing is your son to disobey illegal or unconstitutional orders?

This is a serious issue that's particularly relevant today.

I did the whole National Guard route. It *can* be a good gig. After he gets all the "hard charging" soldier MOS training, he needs to get a "civilian desirable" MOS. I picked up four MOS while I was in, to include the fun Combat Engineer. Look for training which requires a Security Clearance to perform the job. A clearance normally increases your post-military pay by about 20-50k a year with many employers who do work for the Government.

Many of the MOS in the military do not translate to civilian jobs, and though they can be fun, it is important to have at least one which directly translates to a civilian job which pays well.

He can re-take the ASVAB in about 6 months (as I recall). Gift him "The ASVAB study Guide". Working through that book typically raises most people's score by at least 10 points. His score of 82 is Solid, but a score of 92 or higher will kick open doors for him which were previously un-openable.

He needs to research the units in his area. They are frequently a mixed bag. Some units are amazing to serve in, others are just clusters of Cliques which keep the "outsider" from promoting and advancing. Then, he needs to pick a MOS which meshes with the needs of the better units.

He needs to have a "love me book", of all of his schools, special training certificates, and awards. The Military is notorious for not submitting records to the central repository. I have several medals which did not get recorded, and only got them added because I still had a copy of the paperwork. The same is true of a school I attended. These things are important for Promotions and other advancements.

Best of luck to your son.

Who is his recruiter ? I may be able to get intell on his deposition on truthfulness and his ethnics about
making sure his recruits get the best contract for them .

Recruiters are driven by the needs of the military. I never met one who really focused on the needs of the recruit. They get bonuses for finding someone to fill a difficult to fill slot. Expecting complete honesty from a recruiter is in the same vein as believing the stripper really wants to go to bed with you. Ultimately, your research have more value than the words from most recruiter's mouths.

First, Post 911 GI Bill is not the only tuition assistance available. The National Guard has federal tuition assistance. While it does not cover all the tuition depending on the cost of the school ($250 per semester hour), it can take a significant chunk out of the tuition.


Second, while you cannot get the Post 911 GI Bill unless you have active duty time, there are other GI Bills available to National Guard members who do not have active duty time (Chapter 1606). This in conjunction with the federal tuition assistance is usually enough to take care of the tuition of most state schools. Also there are GI Bill Kickers that are given to specific MOS's and people in certain units

I went through college on the Federal Tuition Assistance, GI Bill, and got a kicker for being 11B. I had no access in college to the Post 9/11 as I had no active duty at that time. You do not need to go active duty to get educational benefits.

Another option that some do in college is to do the ROTC program. If you become a contracted cadet, when you do your one weekend a month drill, you get paid as an E5. Also If you become a contracted cadet, you get a living stipend. This is another option to help with college expenses if your son is looking at becoming an officer.

I will add that the MOS's your son should pick should be one that will give him some kind of marketable skill outside the military. I was one of the dumb ones that picked 11B because I wanted to feel like a hard ass and get the $20,000 signing bonus. This job gave me next to no jobs skills that translated to the civilian world; things like technical skills or professional certifications. There are several different jobs that give you all kinds of technical and professional certifications that allow you to walk into great jobs on the civilian side. I can remember when I was a commander in the National Guard, I was counseling one of my soldiers as his contract was coming to an end. His MOS was 35T Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer/Integrator. Part of this soldiers training was to get some of the highest levels of professional IT certifications. Add to this the soldier had a Top Secret clearance because he worked on networking Top Secret systems. After I gave this soldier the typical retention speech, this soldier who had only done 6 years in the National Guard, he responded; “why would I stay in when I make six-figures in my civilian job?” A job he got based primarily on his training and certifications from the Army.


Also try not to let the bonuses for different MOS’s drive his decision. While that money sounds cool up front, it is better to choose an MOS that will give you skills and you will be happy with. Often too the recruiters try to push the bonuses because the bonuses are directly tied to the Guards vacancy and needs. If they recruit into those critical vacancies, it looks good for them. However, it does not mean it is good for your son.



Obviously the available MOS’s you can enlist in are dependent on the units your state has and their vacancies. However, if your son has any knack for computers, I would look into the new cyber jobs as those will only continue to grow in demand. Also he can look into intelligence and maintenance of the systems. If he is more interested in the mechanical side of things, look into being a maintainer of airframes. The Air National Guard is a great option for fixed wing, and the Army Nation Guard focuses more on rotary.



Final thing I will say is on the ASVAB. The overall score is not the only thing that matters. There are various sections that determine if the person can do different jobs. For example the GT is one that is commonly held in high regard.