What advice do you have for someone reclassifying their MOS in the National Guard?

SSG Raymond Tobin — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 18:48:31 -0500

I'm currently in the reserve and looking to reclass for a change of pace. I was considering switching to my state NG unit and becoming an 11B, but I'm also interested in switching to civil affairs. Any suggestions for MOS's? (interested in combat arms) What is your favorite MOS and why?

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 23 at 2014 7:58 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 19:58:35 -0500

Well, let me put it like this: Do you want a meteoric career on active duty? If the answer is yes, try to get into civil affairs. Their pickup rate from SSG through MSG is through the roof. 11Z pickup rates hovered around 9% this year, Civil Affairs easily quadrupled the Army average of 10-11%.
It is a demanding MOS with a high threshold for initial entrance and can feature a lot of nontraditional deployments, so this is definitely something to talk over with the family.

On that note: I don't have a favorite MOS. While certain aspects of specific MOS appeal to me, I think I only have MOS I would not want to be in right now. CBRN comes to mind.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2014 4:30 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:30:14 -0500

All depends on what your state NG has to offer. That or the surronding states (if you are willing to drive a little further). I've done Infantry and Cav. Loved both of them, but to be honest I would have rather done 13F in a LRRS unit.

Reason: Infantry is Infantry. Cav is glorified Infantry with less walking... 13F (Forward Observors) offers the best of both worlds. You can be attached to the 11 series, 19 series and work wit hyour Artillery series. You can also work in small teams to go scout out the targets and call in fire. Just my opionion.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 28 at 2014 3:42 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:38 -0400

If you are interested in deploying, MP. The system was running out of MPs and security forces from all branches because there was so much road to patrol and so many detainees to detain and detention facilities to run, there just were not enough units to go around. Artillery, ADA, even Infantry units were sent to Ft Dix to train as MPs - mostly on the detention side - prior to going to theater. We even had an Airborne Infantry Bn from the 82nd running a detention facility (weren't too happy about it, but we needed the manpower and at that point - 2005 - there wasn't much ground combat going on).

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2014 9:09 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 21:09:14 -0400

I've been an AD 19D, a NG MP, and now I'm a NG 15T. I enjoyed being a Scout...when we were doing Scout things... which, in my short time, was about 75% of it prior to 9-11.

I enjoyed my deployment as a MP. We had a PTT mission which meant we didn't deal much with detainees and didn't have to worry about prisons or any of that nonsense. It was all combat patrols.

15T is my favorite though. It helps that it's been my dream to get it. It's a good job and I've encountered a lot of good people. It also transitions well to the civilian sector. Promotions are slow though because of the very limited number of slots.

In the end it really depends on what you're looking for out of your MOS and your career. Do you want a good transition to the civilian sector? Do you want deployments? Does the speed in which you rise through the ranks matter? Is AGR or the Technician program something that you're interested in? All things that you need to ask yourself.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 5 at 2016 7:49 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 19:49:29 -0400

You can always go 68W. If your looking the challenge it's definitely there. You can work with multiple combat arms units and do all the high speed things as well. However it will help set you up in the civilian world as well. You'll attain a NREMT cert and CPR as well which is good for any job. It's a fun job with its downsides but it's an option nothing less.