Should I change MOS to 12A or remain 25A?

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 11:16:24 -0500

I have been a 25A for the past three years AC. I am transferring to the National Guard and their strength management is asking if I want to remain Signal or change to Engineer. I have 10 years of enlisted experience as an Engineer. Does anyone have experience as an officer or senior enlisted within an Engineer or Signal unit within the guard?

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Feb 18 at 2021 1:23 PM

MAJ Ron Peery — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:23:03 -0500

What type units are there in your state, or close by? Signal units tend to be rare in the Guard, and therefore command opportunities are also rare. And then, of course, it's a matter of your personal taste. Which would you prefer to be?

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Feb 18 at 2021 2:40 PM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 14:40:37 -0500

I started Infantry enlisted and commissioned, the switched to the Engineers when I joined the KyANG. The two best jobs I had in the Army was Engineer Company Commander and Assistant Brigade Engineer. Kentucky had two battalions of Engineers, one heavy and a Divisional Combat Engineer, so a lot of slots and they were short handed at the time. I liked the job.
Engineer units do get deployed quite a bit, even when I was still around, both Federal and State duty.
I would look at the units in the state to see how many positions are around. You will have to complete whatever the call EOAC to complete your branch qualification. Be aware the Bridging and Power Distribution courses can be real buggers.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2021 8:37 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 08:37:52 -0500

I would change. In the reserve component it's fairly easy to change back to another MOS you hold.

Response by COL David Turk made Feb 21 at 2021 7:40 AM

COL David Turk — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 07:40:54 -0500

Not Guard, but AC and Reserve Engineer Officer. Was enlisted MP. Aside from having different buttons on your class “A” and dress uniforms (at least we used to), there’s probably a lot more opportunities for Engineer Officers down the road (particularly in the Reserves). You can even be assigned to a USACE office. There was a reserve unit in the DC area that also supported USACE. And, USACE loved to bring engineer officers on short tour active duty (if you wanted it).

Good luck!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 23 at 2021 11:28 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 11:28:26 -0500

If you plan on staying in the Guard to complete your 20 years, I recommend changing to Engineers. As was already mentioned, you can always revert back to 25A if a promotion opportunity opens up and the Guard will send you to the engineer transition course. Depending on the state, we are woefully short of Signal officers in the Guard so opportunity to make O4 quickly is rather high and non-competitive. After that, your options will decrease and be limited to O5 Signal at State DOIM JFHQs or a Division G6. We don't have many ESBs to get O5 command time. In this respect, the Engineer world would be better. Having more MOSs as you gain rank opens more doors for promotion once you become DA-select. While it kills me (as a Sigo) to recommend Engineers, it makes the most sense based on the information provided. Don't forget that we now have a lot more Cybernetwork Defense slots in the Guard (17A types) and that may be more attractive if you are a Network Engineer/IA type person on the civilian side.

Response by LTC Andy Nelson made Mar 2 at 2021 5:27 PM

LTC Andy Nelson — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 17:27:38 -0500

Dependent on state and number of Engineer slots in that state. As an Engineer officer in the National Guard you will be also see many interesting state missions.

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Apr 27 at 2021 8:39 PM

MAJ Ron Peery — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 20:39:25 -0400

Oh, something else I should mention: if you are considering leaving Signal Branch, it's best to keep it to yourself. Signal branch gets kind of testy about that, and they have been known to "lose" paperwork.