Is it possible to enlist in National Guard 11B and obtain Airborne in the contract?

Matthew Ferrara — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 10:23:03 -0500

Or is it reserved for already enlisted/seniority?

I’m in contact with a recruiter from back in 2015 who out of the blue emailed me yesterday and repeaked my interest in the Guard.

Here’s part of a reply he sent me to that question...

“...11B is easy to enlist into. Airborne school is very rare for an Enlistment contract, but I’ll look into it. Those slots are very competitive and usually awarded to those who’ve already enlisted.

You’d have to be in peak physical condition to be considered for Airborne school. For your height I believe the weight limit is 189 lbs (or <24% body fat). Also, do you know the Army Physical Fitness Test standards and would you pass if given the test today?

Yes, 11B is the pathway to Airborne school, Air Assault, Ranger, and Special Forces among others. My office parter is infantry and my boss is a former Ranger. Both love it...”

Should I just keep in contact with him and see what comes out of it? Anyone out there in the Guard 11B went Airborne? I want to achieve Airborne to push myself and also have the doors open to greater and very much more demanding positions, i.e; Ranger school.

Thanks for reading and reaching out.

Response by SPC Bradly Martin made Dec 5 at 2018 10:42 AM

SPC Bradly Martin — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 10:42:08 -0500

Get 70+ in each of your pt events and stay squared away, you’ll get schools in the guard.
Only school that’s given out like candy for active is air assault or crossing over to 18 series. Shouldn’t be an issue getting airborne.

Response by SPC Bradly Martin made Dec 5 at 2018 10:44 AM

SPC Bradly Martin — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 10:44:32 -0500

Or skip all the bull and go active 18x from the get go, make it through the pipeline, grow a beard and do cool guy stuff.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Dec 5 at 2018 11:00 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 11:00:57 -0500

Your Recruiter is correct very rare for NG enlisted contracts but there is one caveat to what he says about it being rare. If you enlist in a National Guard Unit that is on jump status it is highly likely you will get Airborne in your contract or after being with the unit for a while. I know the Texas National Guard has both a Special Forces National Guard Unit as well as a regular Infantry unit on Jump Status. Texas has the budget to afford that though and not many other states do. So if your not in a large state with a lot of population. Texas, California, Florida, New York, Illinois...........your not likely to have the higher speed NG units available to you. Though I have to confess I have no clue where all the NG Airborne units are. All I know is there is one in Texas for Infantry and one for Special Forces, there used to be a third for Public Affairs but I think their jump status was revoked. One in Atlanta for USAR but it is a parachute rigger unit in Atlanta. At most in the United States probably only a handful or so of Airborne NG units. They are expensive because every so often they have to jump from a plane and paying for that cost $$$ so your not going to find them in the less densely populated states. From what I remember both Illinois (Elgin?) and California have Air Assault NG units.

Response by SFC Harry H. made Dec 5 at 2018 11:10 AM

SFC Harry H. — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 11:10:24 -0500

Try to get in a LRS unit and you MIGHT! Highly doubtful though. I was a 290-300 PT and I was still denied.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Dec 5 at 2018 12:03 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:03:20 -0500

Matthew Ferrara you usually get to Airborne in the reserve components by going to an Airborne unit (one on jump status) with paid parachute positions (PPP) on the Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE). Unless you are going to an Airborne unit, it is unclear if they can rustle up a slot as an incentive type slot. AD side this happens as a retention incentive or under the condition that soldier becomes available for reassignment to an Airborne unit to fill a PPP. Those that enlist with it in their contract on AD, are going to an Airborne assignment.

Air Assault may be easier to get to. It's two weeks (so you could do it for AT). Light infantry really needs air assault qualified personnel or Sling Load Certification (SLRT far more in depth school for sling loading and includes low cost, low altitude LCLA parachute ops, no badge) trained personnel especially if they are going to JRTC or Afghanistan. It's how you move people and stuff and stay supplied. The OK ARNG used to run an Air Assault school at Camp Grueber OK. It appears the only permanent Air Assault School is the Sabulski AAS (TAAS) at CampbellOccasionally there are mobile teams that go out to different Army units to conduct TAAS curriculum and qualify personnel. Once upon a time there were many 10th MTN, Ft Rucker, Chejudo in South Korea, 25th ID in HI, Italy with the 173d and even 11th ACR even had one in Germany.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2018 12:44 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:44:12 -0500

I would go talk to a current recruiter, one because things change, and two because some of what hes saying is wrong. Not a lot of airborne national guard units, so they dont like to pay for it. But that doesnt mean it is impossible.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2018 12:46 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:46:29 -0500

Depends what state you'd enlist in. Some state and some units within those states get alot of funding and schools than other guard units. If you want a hard school, do air assault. Way better. Much more physically and mentally challenging and much more likely you'll get it in the guard. Airborne is jumping out of a plane 5 times and you'll never do it again.

Response by SGT Russell Wickham made Dec 5 at 2018 12:48 PM

SGT Russell Wickham — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:48:34 -0500

I can't stand sitting in classes. Death by PowerPoint. I don't know how the NG is, but in the reserves we had to jamb a month worth of classes and paperwork into two days which meant I got to use my MOS exactly 0 times the entire 3 years I was in. Maybe it was just the unit I was in, but going in month after month and not doing my job was horrible on moral. If you have a high speed team or squad leader, you might get to do a little training in between all the paperwork and briefings, but it takes a special unit to make that happen.

In my opinion, active duty is the route to go if you want to be the tip of the spear. Enlist for an airborne unit (it includes an airborne contract) and don't let MEPS talk you into anything else (they will try). Prove yourself fit and smart by doing your job and staying out of trouble, and those high speed schools will start opening up, especially if you are a PT stud.

Response by SPC Casey Ashfield made Dec 5 at 2018 12:59 PM

SPC Casey Ashfield — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:59:42 -0500

It is possible to get Airborne school while in the Guard. On occasion they do offer Airborne school to Guard soldiers but slots are rare. For one you have to have very good APFT scores. They are not going to send someone to Airborne if they have little chance of passing, and you do lots of running at Airborne. Another is when you are in the Guard you are "on loan" to the Federal government from your home state to train when you go to BCT/AIT/OSUT. Any extra loan time from the state to the Federal government is time consuming for both sides to process.

Best way to get Airborne is enlist with it in your contract as either 18X or 11X MOS. Any half way decent recruiter should give you a diagnostic APFT at the office to even determine if you are eligible for 11X or 18X.

And to help yourself even more, talk to an actual 11B. A recruiter is trying to sell the Army to you, usually from a prospective they know nothing about. I helped out in a recruiting office for a year and heard recruiters do it all the time. Supply, field artillery, admin recruiters describing things like Airborne, Infantry, and Air Assault in horrendously inaccurate detail. 11B in recruiting offices is rare, so if you run across one be sure to chew their ear off about the MOS you want to go into from someone there.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2018 1:00 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 13:00:06 -0500

I went to Airborne and Ranger (and many other schools) while in the Guard. If you want to go to airborne school as a Guardsman, then you need to be in an airborne unit. I believe all LRS companies have now been inactivated, however there are companies on jump status in Texas (and I believe still in Rhode Island, Indiana, and Georgia).

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Dec 5 at 2018 3:07 PM

SFC J Fullerton — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 15:07:48 -0500

If Infantry, Airborne and Ranger are your goals, you should consider Regular Army. All of those could be guaranteed in your contract, provided you qualify and a vacancy exists. You would be hard pressed to having anything but 11X guaranteed to you by joining the guard. What you have to understand is that when you enlist into the NG, you are enlisting into an actual unit. If its not an Airborne unit, they are not spending their limited funds on sending you to Airborne School just so you can earn a badge. Sure, it may be "possible" to get those schools later as a Private in the NG, but so is winning the Lotto. Your odds are about the same.

Response by SFC Joseph McCausland made Dec 5 at 2018 5:15 PM

SFC Joseph McCausland — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 17:15:15 -0500

Here you go Matt... I thought you would enjoy this... over 7 million have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-2puqqmycM

Paratroopers Static Line Jump From C-17

Paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division perform static line jumps from C-17 Globemaster III aircraft over Sicily Drop Zone at Fort Bragg, Nort...

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2018 9:14 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 21:14:24 -0500

In the Army Guard, you are not going to get Airborne school on an enlistment contract unless you are contracting for a position in an Airborne unit.
If you are talking about the Ohio National Guard, you can try to contract for the SF company, or try to get to the SF company after you get in.
If you pass SFAS, you will go to Airborne school prior to SFQC.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Dec 6 at 2018 1:21 PM

SGT Richard H. — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 13:21:36 -0500

I'm going to fall in with the crowd that's telling you to consider active duty. I served in the Marine Corps, and after ward went to a reserve Airborne unit, and loved it so much I decided to go back to active duty, but went Army Infantry the second time around. I'm sure you're young if you're considering joining at this point, and 4 years +- seems like a long time, but take it from an old guy...it's not. Down the road when you're looking back it will seem like the blink of an eye, and you'll have a lot of great memories that you just can't get anywhere else.

Response by SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA made Dec 7 at 2018 7:03 AM

SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 07:03:29 -0500

The easiest way to do that is to get an 18X contract. If you just want Airborne and not SF, drop SF *after* you graduate Airborne School.

Response by SFC Thomas Howes made Dec 7 at 2018 1:46 PM

SFC Thomas Howes — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 13:46:33 -0500

I only know of to Airborne units in the NG both are in Texas 19th SF and the 36 INF has a airborne unit

Response by SGT Armand Boucher made Dec 7 at 2018 6:02 PM

SGT Armand Boucher — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 18:02:55 -0500

Tell the recruiter what you want and have it written very clearly in your contract. Most of the time they'll lie and try to get you to agree to a verbal contract. Airborne school can be added to your enlistment contract so you'll go directly there after AIT. PS join air force

Response by CPT Brad Wilson made Aug 30 at 2020 10:44 AM

CPT Brad Wilson — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 10:44:22 -0400

If the unit you join has Airborne slots then yes. It all depends on the type of Infantry unit you are in. A Guard Mech Infantry unit will not have any Airborne slots because you can’t parachute a Bradley out of the back of a C17. Here in the Utah Guard we have the 19 SF Group and they do have Airborne slots since it’s a key part of their mission. When my Artillery Bn was towed we had 4 Air Assault slots every year because that is a mission or towed Field Artillery. We lost those slots when we converted to Paladins because you can’t sling load a Paladin under a Chinook helicopter