Army Reserves or Army National Guard which take care of the Soldier better and why?

For any of you frustrated by promotion in the NG (and I have heard a lot of grief in this area) we will gladly accept you in the Civil Affairs community. CA only exists in USAR and limited AC. You will have no problem getting promoted as long as you take care of your education, APFT, etc. Plenty of CPT/ MAJ and SSG/ SFC slots available in all units. People avoided us during the war due to very high OPTEMPO, but now you will find we are one of the sexiest units in the USAR. Fee free to contact me and I can steer you to a unit near you.

>>Reserves<<

BLUF - The USAR provides the mid to high speed Citizen Soldier more options and personal control.

In the last year I've been asked this A LOT by my former ARNG family. They know I left a great ARNG career in 2013 to join the USAR. I miss the people, but don't miss the imposed limitations of ARNG force structure and strength management.

First, I'm a prior-enlisted Officer with ALL ARNG & USAR time. Seventeen years total service (11 ARNG - 6+ USAR). I commissioned in ARNG and made MAJ (on time) so I'm not a cry baby about my time there. In fact I still pay NGAUS dues because I love what that organization does for veterans! Now read on...

Back in 2006 COL (Ret) Hunt (former ARNG LTC) warned me, "an AGR glass ceiling was coming" to the ARNG. He saw it in UT and now my state when he moved here. He joined USAR for more career potential. BUT as a 1LT/CPT I was committed to the NG BCT I just deployed with and ignored him.

Fast forward 6 years and he was proven right. I left NGB because of these statistics:
1. >80% of the KD jobs were held for AGRs or MilTechs ('08-'12)
2. >85% Field Grade Assignments from '08-'12 were all Full-timer moves/promos
3. 100% BN XOs - 90% BN CMDR - 100% Bde Cmdr in this state were full-timers ('09-'13)
4. 100% ILE and 95% ILE-AOC classmates were AGR or Techs
5. AGR/Techs = 12% of total man power in my state and they were one of the top 5 states!
---->Do the math....

Honestly I LOVE my NGB friends and mentors, but USAR offered me HUNDREDS more options, roles and capabilities. There are ALSO as many GREAT leaders here (O, WO and NCO) as in ARNG.

Most (not all) of the stronger leaders I'm bumping into in USAR are also former ARNG leaders who crossed over.

BLUF - USAR provides mid-to-high speed Citizen Soldier more options and personal control of their career.

It really depends on who you are and what you want.

Speaking as an AR officer, the Reserve has a decided deficit of Abrams MBTs..... Seriously, the USAR has (almost) no combat arms. For some that is a bane, for others a blessing. It definitely has an impact on the overall organizational culture. I would tend to say that it is easier to get burned out in the NG.

In my experience, the USAR is a better place for promotions for the non-combat arms and for senior-level promotions in general. With an important caveat. In the state guard, you need to be in a position at the next higher rank to get promoted. As you move up the ladder, there are fewer and fewer of those positions - and somebody is camped in them! NG stops at the state border. The exact same thing is true in the USAR - except that you can look at positions throughout all of CONUS, assuming you are willing to travel. A lot of people are NOT willing to travel, which is a bonus for those of us that are.

Neither has an edge, it is the command that makes the difference.

If your life takes you from state to state, I would recommend the USAR over the Guard. You would have a more consistent experience, and from what I understand, the transfer authority is more easily obtained.

I would have no trouble referring a soldier to the MO NG. I can't say the same for KS, IL, and AZ.

Guard facilities tend to be more dispersed. If you live in a rural area, you are more likely to find a local position with them than the USAR.

USAR vacancies seem to be easier to come by. I've dealt with numerous officers who left the Guard for USAR since it was their best chance for promotion (my command doesn't process enlisted NG to USAR transfers).

My major dislike of the Guard is philosophical. I don't like how they are employed to circumvent posse comitatus.

Having done both my opinion is National Guard . They had way way better soldier care, I felt like they were my family! Everything got taken care of in a timely manner it was more organized. You knew times and dates for EVERYTHING. When I came off IRR I went to a reserve unit thank god I did not add additional time to my contract. This has by far been the worst nightmare ever. Things get passed down at last min I literally got my report time the night before drill this last time and I had to buy the shit out of someone to get it. Nobody "knows" anything.... It's ridiculous. Also the education benefits are WAY better with the Guard. Bc u can apply for both state and federal aid. This based on my personal experience though....it may vary from person to person and unit. This reserve unit im in right now is so bad turned down a 20 grand re enlistment bonus.

I have only been in the Guard. I really can't say much for the Reserve. I have been in RA and NG for a while now. As an infantry officer the Guard has been good me. I got another deployment and Ranger school out of it. I work now at the Ranger Training and Assessment Course at Fort Benning now. I have been on the Active side of he Guard for a good while. But these assignments are hard to come by. I only got it due to my experience and being Ranger Qualed. I am already looking for what my next step is going to be. Being combat arms the Guard is really where you have to go if you want to be in a BCT and get some time. I know that RA has some cool jobs like CA but it all depends what you want. I was asked to visit a CA unit when I got back from Jordan last year but I got picked up by NGB. So I am still interested in it but it will have to be down the road.

Does civil affairs need Public Health Nurses? I'm a public health nurse (not just in title from a short Army course) but with a Masters in public health nursing and board certified Advanced Public Health Nurse. I love my unit but would be interested in using more of the public health skills beyond the unit level..

It all depends on how you want to progress in your career. Im in the NG and my state has an entire IBCT which is fortunate for me being I chose 11B for my MOS and live about a mile or two from a unit and my unit is about 16 miles from my house in the next town. Once I am promotable to SSG i have the option to choose state wide for possible promotion. Even though i most likely with try for my own unit I am to fond of being heavy weapons to switch to a light unit.

Both normally take care of their soldiers. There are some skill sets that one may have versus the other such as combat arms in the Guard or CA in the Reserves. I have found that when there is somewhat of an openness soldiers can switch back and forth between the Reserve and Guard. This allows for more options in skills and slots. Usually this opportunity diminishes with rank on both the NCO and officer side. Exceptions are there for the talented and politically astute however. Here in Washington State there was one BG in the Army Reserve that switch over to a slot in the Guard. Of course, he was an aviator and well placed in the FAA (civilian job) in a special situation taking command of an aviation unit.