Should I Go Active or Stay in the National Guard after ROTC?

You can choose to go National Guard by making yourself a GRFD (Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty) cadet. Active you'll have to compete for with OML, if you don't make it to active you're automatically put into the reserve forces.

As far as aviation goes, no matter if you're active or reserve you will fly the same minimums. Aviation in the Guard/Reserve is a little different in that you have to come in during the work week and fly to maintain your hours, and you get paid every time you do. So for instance at my civilian job I take a half day every week and come in to fly 2-4 hours in a Blackhawk to maintain my currency and hours, and I make up the lost hours at work by coming in an hour earlier or staying an hour later periodically. I know of a lot of guys in my unit that fly full-time civilian either has charter pilots, commercial, EMS, or just CFI.

That being said Aviation in the Guard is a select group that you generally have to contact the Officer management office for each state in advance and coordinate. Each state has different packet and interview times to make it into aviation. It's not necessarily hard, it just requires some advance work and thought. I started working on it the summer before my fourth year (and I was a 4.5 year cadet).

When you say you are contracted, have you actually signed an ROTC contract? If so, you are no longer an 11B Soldier but a 09R SMP cadet. Also, if you are on a scholarship, you already made the decision. The only scholarship option for a sophomore student in the National Guard guarantees you will go into the NG upon commissioning. If you are non-scholarship contract cadet, you can compete for active duty. Aviation is very competitive so you need to talk with your instructor on what you need to do to position yourself for success. Much of that will be your grades and PT score so you should excel in those areas.

I would always recommend going active as a LT. I did not and regret it. Reserve ROTC comissionees get the last pick of BOLC course dates, so you graduate find a job wait four months then leave for six. It's not a good combination for success in a civilian career. Also there isn't really anything for a reserve LT to do so the experience you get early in your active officer career is well worth it. Having a guaranteed job (provided your GPA is decent) is well worth it. Also if you want to transfer back into the reserves after your initial commitment is up you'll be way ahead of your peers, and the military experience looks good to.

Your decision depends on what type of lifestyle that you want once you graduate: Do you have a undergraduate degree, and/or technical competencies that translate directly into a civilian career? Do you have a family? Do you want to pursue a career as an Active Duty Officer? Those questions will help you establish what kind of path you wish to choose.

As an Army Reservist, I have a civilian career, alongside serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, which is certainly time-consuming at times, yet equally enjoyable.

If you want to compete to commission directly into Active Duty, focus on your education, and G.P.A. first and foremost—your academic standing is the most important contributing factor impacting your accession score, followed by your APFT score (and physical fitness).

I recommend taking the time to learn about the other branches as well, because if you choose to pursue an Active Duty commission, your branch selection is not guarantee; you’re competing for your branch choice with your peers across the country.

Each component (Active Duty, ARNG, and USAR) have their pros, and cons. Being informed about what comprises each component will help you in your decision. For example, if you choose to pursue a military career in the ARNG, or USAR, but still want to experience a “full time” military experience, there are opportunities within both of those components to serve in an Active Duty capacity via MOBCOP Tour of Duty.

Ultimately, begin to assess what kind of post-graduate life that you want to live, pursue the commissioning path that aligns with your vision, and maintain an open mind for opportunity, and discovery.

It really depends on what you want and where you want to go with your life. I’m not aviation but I chose to go Reserves in order to be able to pursue my veterinary degree prior to going active. I also know several people who freshman/sophomore year really wanted to go AD and then decided as an upper semester that their life goals had changed and went into the guard/reserves instead. You’ve got some time to figure out what’s best for you still

Active Duty!

Never been Guard but don't most of the officers go active for a few years to learn hands-on leadership of soldiers before going to Reserve or Guard Status?

Stay in

Go Active or Stay Guard. Well...what do YOU want to do? Do you want an Army career, or do you have solid plans otherwise? Having “been there done that,” I’d recommend going active if you don’t have a solid plan, and enjoy “playing army” enough. That creates risk to getting branched Aviation, but if that is your major, and you get good grades (above a 3.5), and do decently well on other accessions categories, you should be competitive. If you want to guarantee your branch, you need to get yourself into an AVIATION unit in the Guard (that infantry stuff needs to be O. V. E. R. ... sorry brother) as an SMP. If you’re contacted, as stated by others, you’re no longer an 11B anyway, you’re a 09R, and you’re not a PFC anymore...you’re a E-5/CDT (meaning your pay grade is E-5 and your rank is CDT. You are not a SGT.)

So, again, what do you want more?...Active Duty or Aviation? You may be able to have both, but I don’t know what you’re OML placement would look like :)

What's your options for a civilian career? In my opinion, an 0-1 active duty makes pretty good pay in comparison to other recent college graduates. Also, you may always have wondered what it's like to experience the active duty life, and I hear it can be difficult switching from guard to active down the road.