Is transferring from Active to ARNG doable and where is the nearest USAR base?

Jake Lang — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 18:37:36 -0400

Hello RallyPoint, quick question over here. I’m planning on enlisting active duty pretty soon and I heard that you can do two years active and two in reserves. Once my time in active duty is up, I plan to serve in reserves/guards near home. With that said, the closest Army base to me overall is from the CA ARNG. My recruiter said that the ARNG is another situation on its own and that it would be complicated to transfer over.

So I gotta ask:

1. After my two years of active duty, how easy (or hard) is it to transfer from active duty Army to ARNG, if it’s even doable at all?

2. If it is doable, how would I go about transferring from AD to ARNG?

3. I live in the Ventura County California area, where would be the nearest USAR base (preferably with an engineer battalion or element)?

Thanks again everyone and hope everyone is doing well.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 6:47 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 18:47:23 -0400

IF....and that's a big IF....a Two Year contract is available, then yes after the 2 years is up you can transfer to the National Guard. However, most Initial Active Duty Contracts are 3 or 4 years. All you would need to do, really, is seek out your unit's Retention NCO to talk about your options on going to the National Guard. Or Reserves. Which ever you prefer. Do the paperwork, then bide your time.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 8:55 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 20:55:47 -0400

you cant do just 2 years active duty any more. Minimum contract is currently 3 years plus IET training so 3 years x amount of weeks. when you enlist, you are obligated to 8 years at a minimum. so that can be 3 years active, 5 years in the guard or reserves. Get the mentality that you only have to serve 4 years in both out of your head now.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 9:11 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 21:11:21 -0400

USAR stands for United States Army Reserve.... Are you interested in the Reserves or the Guard?
There are multiple guard and reserve units in California. When you come to the end of your active duty contract (more than 2 years) you will talk to a retention counselor (similar to your recruiter) that will help you transfer to NG or USAR along with finding you a unit.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 9:27 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 21:27:07 -0400

You will do a minimum 3 years, plus however many weeks are estimated for your IET.
Some MOS options require 4 or more years minimum.
Once you are six months from your ETS on active duty, you will be required to meet with a Reserve Components Career Counselor, and you can contract directly to the Army Guard or Army Reserve unit that you are interested in, if you want. Otherwise the rest of your 8 year commitment would be IRR when you get out.
The Army Reserve 315th EN BN and the Army Guard 578th EN BNs are in southern California.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jul 3 at 2020 10:18 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 22:18:00 -0400

You can't just transfer to the ARNG from AD....or any other Reserve Component to AD. There were split contracts being offered for a while. I don't think they do 2+2 contracts any more but you can ask. Once you enlist AD, you are there until you complete it, then you may enlist in the RC. If you don't complete your AD enlistment satisfactorily, you may be barred from AD and the RC.

Towards the end of the AD enlistment, you have the opportunity to enlist in the RC (Reserve and ARNG). Once you ETS, you then start your RC enlistment. Doable? Happens all the time. There are RC recruiters at each post to funnel you to the Guard or Reserve.

Ventura County and an Engineer Unit. Depends on what flavor of Engineer unit. You may find one close by, you may not. The CaRNG website could help you. The Reserve as a unit locator you could use.

PS: The Guard and Reserve have a limited amount of "bases". A Guard Armory or Reserve Ceneter may be a stand alone complex or it may be on an existing AD installation, not limited to just Army installations.