Which state would you recommend for joining the NG, Maryland or Pennsylvania?

Jason Duey II — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 18:19:43 -0500

Is anyone in or had experience with either the Maryland or Pennsylvania ARNG?

I’m extremely stuck in deciding whether to enlist in the Maryland or Pennsylvania national guard. Long story short my mother lives in PA and I’m going to college in Maryland at the moment. I’m open to transferring to PA, but I’m not sure whether I want to stay here or go there.

I’m curious if anyone has any recommendations of one state over there other as all states have different benefits and such. (Ex: PA pays 100% tuition and MD pays 50%)

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 8 at 2021 6:28 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 18:28:06 -0500

It depends on what you want to get out of the guard. Do you want free school? Go PAARNG. Do you want to stay in MD? Do MDARNG. Also which of the states has a slit available for you close enough to where you live that you're willing to make the drive? For me it's a 90 minute drive to my unit from where I live. You have to be aware of that as well

Response by SFC Chuck Martinez made Feb 8 at 2021 7:43 PM

SFC Chuck Martinez — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 19:43:53 -0500

I would chose Maryland, not to far from DC, Pennsylvania would never be my choice! There is a lot to see in Maryland a lot of opportunities. I worked that area for 4 years with the DOD Police, boots on the ground during the attack on our pentagon! The Vietnam memorial was my favorite place to visit, always looking for my lost brothers on the wall!!

Response by SGT Carl Forsman made Feb 8 at 2021 9:18 PM

SGT Carl Forsman — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 21:18:04 -0500

Maryland used to have a LRS company, not sure they still do,but that is a fun infantry way to go in the NG

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Feb 8 at 2021 10:37 PM

SPC Erich Guenther — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 22:37:04 -0500

So with the NG, the larger the state, the more slots and opportunities you have. The larger the state the more budget you have. Compare Texas with MD. Texas has Airborne, Special Forces, etc. MD cannot afford those. It's because Texas has a larger budget and much more population.

Response by SPC James Neidig made Feb 9 at 2021 12:48 AM

SPC James Neidig — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:48:35 -0500

I spent 4 years in the PA Guard then went active Army PA has a fully strength Division lots of chances for extra active duty time,, in my 4 years there I had Almost 2 1/2 years of active duty time That was in the 90s and only 6 months of that was oconus the rest was in the US

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2021 1:16 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 01:16:20 -0500

I’ve been an 11b in the PA guard for 5 years and almost 4 in IL before that. Go PA guard, more opportunities. Just whatever you do don’t go to the 56 Stryker brigade. Trust me on that. Go 2 brigade, 55th brigade or the Combat aviation brigade. PA is a great guard

Whatever you do not the 56th

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2021 4:26 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 16:26:58 -0500

If they have the MOS you want, I would go with PA. More resources, more flexibility.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2021 8:19 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 20:19:07 -0500

There appears to be a couple of things going on that are resulting in your conflict. You want to join the National Guard, and it appears it is important for you to be closer to your mother since you mentioned her. You are open to transferring colleges from MD to PA but money for school appears to be a factor.

Both states have different education assistance program outside of the chapter 1606 GI Bill you will receive after graduating from advanced training. PA offers $8,000 per year Educational Assistance but you have to attend an approved PA school (there are 400). You can get 100% tuition at any PA state university. MD has a State Tuition Waiver - 50% tuition. MD also has State Tuition Assistance Reimbursement (STAR) which reimburses MDNG Service Members (SM) up to 100% of tuition and related fees. You can easily find these with a google search. So paying for school is
covered in either state.

Beyond location and paying for college, there are other factors that should still consider. As several others have pointed out, career opportunities are very different due to the size of guard population. PA has 15,000 soldiers while Maryland has 4,500. Bigger means more opportunities.

I recommend you research education benefits and college options in each state, and Army career fields. Make a simple list comparing the positives and negatives of each alternative. Then rank each one based on importance to you. Keep in mind with any decison there are always tradeoffs.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 11 at 2021 1:52 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 13:52:14 -0500

I joined the PAARNG back in 2008, it was a great stepping stone for my military career as a whole, I used it to learn my trade, network and then moved into the Army Reserves back in 2016, then moved onto AGR in 2020. If your looking for school benefits, make sure you look into the amount each state funds towards school. Best of luck to you!

Response by SSG Patrick O'Flaherty made Feb 12 at 2021 12:39 PM

SSG Patrick O'Flaherty — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:39:29 -0500

Pennsylvania. Much more professional and disciplined.

Response by 1SG Patrick Sims made Mar 5 at 2021 6:46 PM

1SG Patrick Sims — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 18:46:14 -0500

Decide what you want to do in the guard first. Do you want to learn a skill? If it's just to play soldier one weekend a month rethink what you're doing.

Response by SMSgt Michael Gleason made Mar 26 at 2021 4:54 PM

SMSgt Michael Gleason — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 16:54:08 -0400

...and the larger the state, the more traveling you might have to do to attend drills and AT.