Tension between National Guard and Active Duty Army?

Served in both, finished as AGR. I enjoyed both and would stack National Guard Soldiers up against their active duty counterparts all day long. US Army is on both uniforms and either one would have your back.

For two years, I spent a few weeks each summer at Camp Williams in training exercises with the Special Forces National Guard... Deployed 7th SF Group to assist in the training. I had a lot of respect for NG the troops! They fit in well with the active duty SF and were well thought of!

The 164th kick the hell out of Japan, fighting along side the Marines

Thankfully I have had the opportunity to train and observe both active duty and the Guard over my 20+ years in the Army. I was a Master Gunner in Ft Benning and trained my soldiers most every day on maintaining the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Bushmaster 25mm Automatic Chain gun, the 60, the TOW System, up to the qualification ranges. Repetition on these procedures made my soldiers very knowledgeable and proficient where as our counterparts do not have that opportunity as 1 weekend a month does not make soldiers proficient.

For my final two years in the Army I was sent to Ft Chaffee AR as an OCT (Observer Controller Trainer) We trained soldiers from light Infantry Units to heavy Units, from Arkansas, Ft Hood, Ft Polk, panhandle of Oklahoma, MO, Idaho, to NTC. The heavy Units were trained on operation/maintaining the Bradley to qualification tables. In speaking to the multitude of Guardmans who have the Bradley’s most all said they did not have much direct contact with them. They also explained, as COL Roach said, most of them were older, not in the best of health, and liked to train inside when it was hot or trained inside when it was too cold.

They often expressed that the senior leaders found it more like a mini vacation from family and an opportunity to “party.” I believe most all active duty soldiers have the same sense of the Guard as I initially thought. My very first experience with the Guard as an OCT was observing them do simple map skills, to moving to their Objective, to setting up an ORP. I was left scratching my head as I had been from Berlin as a light Infantry Battalion to Ft Benning as a Heavy Unit soldier and had never saw the things like they were preforming. I corrected the leaders along the way to no avail. Then came the ORP. Yes it’s hot here in AR and you must be in full uniform in front of them the entire time.

They set up their ORP and set out to stripping down because they were too hot. Some of them even had their private weapons strapped on their side, loaded. I couldn’t believe my eyes and I took the LT and the E-6 to the side and made it clear that no one will be out of uniform during this training period and their private weapons had to be moved back to their Armory or their vehicles. No it did not go well but I had no sympathy whatsoever as I was setting the example.

Then came a light unit out of North West Arkansas led by a now Congressman. His name; COL Steve Womack. His unit was clearly trained and with only a few most all of them were in pretty good shape. They expressed that COLONEL Womack was tough on all his soldiers because he refused to believe that his unit enlisted in the Guard just to party and have mini camps. He also believed that his unit was able to fit in with their counterparts on active without much of a transition issue.

Professional, extremely intelligent in all Military fields of operations, fantastic communicator, and in great shape. COL Womack wanted it straight as to how the operations went, the deficiencies, their knowledge of Military skills, and this was in the field as he knew that the take home packet would be a watered down version of what he now knew. He changed my mind of the Guard and to this day I make sure to keep supporting him as a Congressman because he’s done a lot for Arkansas, the River Valley, and the Veterans who live in his district.

From what I have seen and heard over the years since I retired is the the Guard and Reserves have upped their standards as they too deploy almost as much as their active duty counterparts. God bless you all.

Many times I had the joy of Training with, and evaluating NG Units in the USA. From a 'Weekend 4 Wheel Drive Club' (their description) to the superb units I dealt with in the Gulf War Zones. Each unit did their job. Some Active units could learn from some of the 'Weekend Warriors' that I dealt with also. They were able to get the job done with out all the BS many Active Duty Units are bogged down with. Everyone is a link in the chain that keeps the wolves at bay. Your specific job is to figure if you are a strong link, an average link or a weak link that breaks the chain and build on that.

At 25th ID we had a great relationship with the Hawaii Army NG. Many of them had some serious combat time and were very well trained in jungle warfare. Of course there were differences but we both had contributions to make and respected one another.

I served in both. Yes! It's love-hate! LOL

I've been AR, NG & Reserves! A lot of 'griping' that I've heard has been pretty good natured, just giving each other a hard time. The snottiest was when I was activated for Desert Sheild/Storm. On the flight from Germany to Saudi - some active duty (carrying his big boom box on his shoulder) said all the Reserves should go home - they could handle it!! All I could think was that yep - most of us would rather be at home. Me - I left a 14 yo with a nephew watching him. Yep - single parent, my parents were ailing, & now where for the cats, dogs or horses to go. Might be a bit light on the physical side of it - but we had to pass the same MOS tests & be just as proficient in our MOS's as active - all in one weekend a month & 2 weeks annual training! Reservists & NG's ROCK!!

Sir, as you know, the National Guard and Reserve's are held to the same standards as active-duty units. They undergo training at a different pace but are expected to meet the same criteria as active service members. Add on to this the fact that they also have civilian jobs that require them to be split three ways, family, civilian employer, and Guard or Reserve duties. This is not the way it used to be many years ago when they were weekend warriors. They deploy on a rotation basis with active units. In the case of the Guard they are also providing state support to fight fires, provide COVID vaccinations, work in food banks and many other duties as determined by the State. They are also used to quell civil disturbances such as the Capitol January 6 insurrection. I was active-duty years ago. Currently I volunteer as the WA State Chair with a DOD office titled, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR.mil). Our mission is to Educate, Inform, and Mediate. We work with both employers and service members regarding USERRA. This is the federal Act which protects citizen service members from workplace issues that endanger their employment due to being a Guard or Reserve service member.
My son is an Active Duty LtCol and had the opportunity to be assigned to the WA NG 81st SBCT for 2 years as their S6 (Signal). He found the soldiers in the Brigade to be highly motivated and dedicated troops. The Reserve components are an integral part of all service branches and make up about 46% of all service members. Those of you reading this might want to consider becoming an ESGR volunteer in your state!

Here's my perspective as someone who only served in the guard and was only ever "active" while deployed or training.... Guardsmen and Reservist might not be as young or fit as their active counterparts (i.e. e6 type guardsman might be older or a little less fit than e6 active duty) but like Col. Roach says those guardsman are usually skilled professionals in the civilian world and can help solve real world issues. I was 11C and I know for 100% fact the only skill that taught me applicable to a civilian job was how to read a level. The way I look at is it doesn't matter if you're a little out of shape, a little older, not as proficient in all your battle drills, what matters is can you effectively complete your mission