Did your hs graduate go into the National Guard directly from hs?

[DianeJM]

If so, I'd love to chat with you about his/her experiences.

My dd17, who will graduate next spring, is looking at going into the National Guard for 3 years. She has just started to mention this, but she sounds like she's very interested. I thought this was a part time thing, maybe things have changed. I've got to look into it online but have not done that yet.

 

If your child has done this, could you relate what it was like for him/her and for you? What kinds of questions should we ask? There was something in their literature that appealed to her, not sure what it was, but for one thing, I think she likes the idea that they pay for higher education afterwards... I'm not sure yet how I feel about the idea, I'd hate to think she could be deployed, do they do that?

 

Thanks,

[Staci in MO]

But they do deploy. My niece's husband's National Guard Unit got deployed to Afganistan, and a high school friend who is in the National Guard is currently in Afganistan for a year. When I was growing up they told people that the Guard wouldn't send them overseas, but that was 20 years ago and times have changed.

 

Another high school friend did her training over two summers, before and after our senior year. Then I think she had to drill one weekend a month and a few weeks over the summer every year while she was in.

 

Hope you can get some more answers that pertain to homeschooling.

[Tullia]

Bump...

 

Interesting questions; I have no personal experience with a child joining the guard out of high school. The roles of the Guard and Reserves have changed quite a bit in the past 10-15 years, though.

[Alyce]

It is a part time thing but they can be deployed which then makes it full time but pay also reflects that. Employers are supposed to hold their jobs for them until they return but if it's a hard ship they can fire. My friend went into the Reserves and they immediately put him into school. He didn't have to serve his time before he got money to go to college but just like with any service scholarships you must agree to serve so long in the Reserves after you finish school. Not sure how long he had to commit to. Actually he failed out of college and some how got out of his contract. Not sure how he did that.

[K-FL]

I know nothing, but what I hear. The Guard does deploy. Dig around military.com to get info. She may be better off with ROTC or regular active duty depending on what was attracting her.

[1Togo]

Our family and the families of friends have been investigating various aspects of the military and Guard for the last few years. Full-Time jobs with the Guard exist, but they are rare. The Guard expects service and output before they hand out stateside, full-time jobs. As mentioned in other posts, the Guard deploys. The Guard was recruiting heavily in our area (the Gulf) because they were involved in the oil-spill cleanup, but Afganistan or other war zones are strong possibilities.

 

As regard other branches of the service, a good friend of mine and I both have sons in the Navy. Our sons scored very well on the ASFAB and had many career choices. If your child wants to serve their country and can handle the restrictions and rigor of military life, all branches offer a wide range of careers. Language school is an excellent option for young people with that gift. The language people are well-protected because their training is expensive, and their post-military options are good. Completion of A school usually comes with bonuses of various levels (in the thousands of dollars). A young woman in our church joined the Air Force because they have a training program for teaching. She was offered substantial money ($180,000) for her education and commitment.

 

However, if you have a child pursuing a military career, make sure you get everything they want in the contract. When our son signed up, the Navy offered a clear contract and did not switch out jobs at the end of boot camp. This does happen in other branches. Also, be aware that if your child is not successful in their training or does not cooperate, they will be punished.

 

In short, the military is a wonderful option for some young people. However, it is a serious decision because the military is the real world in every sense of those words.

 

Bonita

 

P.S. With this economy, all branches of the military are flooded with high quality applicants, especially since the military often picks up the tab for college debt. Getting a good offer isn't a given as it was in the past. If you child wants a military career, their high school work and test scores must be strong. We put together a portfolio just as if our son was applying to college. In addition, if your child wants an intelligence job, they will need references and to be out in the community. Even so, you might spend several hours with an FBI agent who probes every aspect of your child's life from birth.

 

P.S. Also, your child must have fortitude and spiritual strength to keep their faith and values in the military. It can be a rough environment, especially in the lower ranks.

Edited September 22, 2010 by WTM Moderator
Corrections & Adding

[Julie in MN]

P.S. Also, your child must have fortitude and spiritual strength to keep their faith and values in the military. It can be a rough environment, especially in the lower ranks.

 

:iagree:

 

My oldest son went into Army Reserves right out of high school (same boot camp as regular Army). He was a little shocked at some of the rough behavior of boys from different parts of the country. He valued the experience, but it was intense at first. Expect tears in boot camp but be amazed at their graduation ceremony.

 

I do think that you have to go into the military knowing that you may be deployed into the war, and that you may just generally be told to do things that your recruiter didn't tell you. Once you are in, you are under command and you don't always have a say. I like the idea of that Navy contract, but I do know someone who was promised schooling in the Navy but was sent out on submarine duty all the time, where there was no school... I'm sure looking over the contract carefully will help lots.

 

That said, there are some career paths that make you less likely to be sent overseas. My son's Army Reserves unit was in charge of training officers to go overseas, so they basically did their overseas helping over here. My niece is in foreign language training in the regular Army, and so she's stayed here.

 

My dad was in the Air Force National Guard all the way from Vietnam through his retirement as a colonel. As a pilot, he of course couldn't avoid travel, but he was stationed out of the same base here all those years. But I do think the National Guard overseas duty has increased hugely, especially for the part-timers.

 

One other important thing to think through is whether she wants to be an officer. I think if my son re-enlists, he would do it as an officer. His original goal was just to have a "regular experience" but now he sees the price of dedicating all those weekends and summer weeks to the Reserves at pretty low pay, and the officer jobs just look more interesting to him now.

 

One thing to note: My ds received Army scholarships for college, but for the most part those just reduced the amount of grants he received, since the grants are need-based and if he had scholarships they said he had less need?!

 

Julie

[DianeJM]

I appreciate your input, thanks TONS!!

 

Great to hear the personal accounts and the facts that we would not have otherwise known about.

Very valuable as she decides whether she wants to pursue this avenue or not.

She was interested in part time I think, but I think she was more or less on the curious side rather than having already decided to go in that direction.

I spoke with her, and she seems a bit less inclined right now.

 

Thank you all so much; this was very helpful information.

Blessings!

[maryr]

Our son is at Marine Corp bootcamp right now after graduating from 13 years of homeschooling (I still can't believe we did it !! So I like to say it a lot :0)).

 

He investigated several military options before choosing the Marines. My advice is to shop around for a good recruiter. He got one recruiter that promised the sun and the moon because he wanted to sign him up. Others were very uninformative. His recruiter he signed up under was excellent. He took the time to talk to all of us, answered questions and got us answers to those he didn't know and he spoke very realistically to our son.

It is tough for him right now but we all feel like he is where the Lord has led him.

 

mary