Why do people seem to have a lower opinion of the National Guard than the Army Reserve?

2016-10-03T23:37:33-04:00

So I served proudly in the Missouri Army National Guard for 7 years, ETS'd for a short time then I came back and switched over to the Army Reserve. One thing that always seemed to bug me while I was in the Guard was that it was always seemingly looked down on like "a step below" the Army Reserve, whether it was from AD or from civilians who would say "Oh so you're not in the REAL army"

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2016 1:34 AM

2016-10-04T01:34:07-04:00

I don't. Not sure why other's do. We all wear a uniform.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Oct 4 at 2016 6:43 AM

2016-10-04T06:43:05-04:00

Yes, this is a holdover from the Vietnam War era when the National Guard was looked upon as a dodge to stepping foot in Vietnam and when a majority but not all National Guard units were just muster units for older Veterans to serve out the remainder of their service in peace. It was BS then and it's BS now. Many people forget that NG and USAR units compromised a large chunk of the Soldiers taken captive in the Phillipines in World War II, that later took part in the Bataan Death March. Some forget the role the National Guard played in the Berlin Airlift. And there were plenty of National Guard units that served in Vietnam. The reputation reared it's ugly head again in the 1980's, when the Democratic Governors banded together and attempted to prevent their National Guard units from deploying to Central America, I believe led by everyone's hero, MA Governor Micheal Dukakis. At the time the Democrats thought Central America was going to be Vietnam part II and passed all sorts of obstructionist measures in Congress (one of them made Marine LTC Oliver North famous when he ignored it......Boland Amendment). President Ronald Reagan took the Democratic Governors to court and won decisively that he had the right to deploy troops from the NG anywhere he wanted on the face of the Earth without their consent. That was the last I personally heard of the NG being a protected service that never deployed, early to mid part of Reagan's tenure. After that they started sending NG units to Korea, Germany, Central America, etc, etc. But during the 1980's still the majority of NG units remained CONUS and it really was not until the GWOT that you had mass deployments overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq. National Guard was largely passed over for the first Gulf War in the early 1990's in favor of direct musters from the IRR to Regular Army units. Thank the Pentagon for that decision, NGB attempted to fight it but was rebuffed.

Response by SSG Robert Smith made Oct 4 at 2016 10:40 AM

2016-10-04T10:40:16-04:00

Because they on do soldier skills once a month. But people overlook the fact that they have to have other job skills to hold a job on the outside. Unlike active duty where they are trained for 1 job and that's what they do their whole career.

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2016 1:39 PM

2016-10-04T13:39:33-04:00

I can't speak for the army guard, but it is not this way in the air guard. I have worked with active duty and reserve personnel during my 23 years of service and I can say that prior to 9/11, the guard wasn't up to the level of the active duty, but I think the same was true for the reserve units. But after 9/11, guard members have served along side the active and reserve personnel with the guard member's skill being the same as the active duty and reserve. I was a paralegal in the guard, while I might not have done all the duties that the active and reserve paralegals did, I had the skills to know where to look for guidance - instructions, reach back to the JAG community worldwide.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2016 9:03 PM

2016-10-04T21:03:50-04:00

Because they just do not realize the many differences between the different services. Most people do not realize that the Guard is older than either the Reserves or the Regular Army. Not that it makes any difference which has been around longer really. Many Guard units can trace their lineage back to the Revolutionary War. Guard members also bring a lot of various skill sets to the fore. We have E-4's in our units that are accomplished businessmen, ER nurses, Paramedics, many Emergency Response and Police that deal with crap everyday. You more than likely will never get that kind of training as an E-4 in the RA, yes sometimes our PT scores aren't as stellar or our marksmanship might lag a little. The majority of National Guard soldiers bring much more technical experience to the table than their counterparts in the RA.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Oct 4 at 2016 10:55 PM

2016-10-04T22:55:16-04:00

I regret to say this, but while I was Active Duty I was someone who looked down on Guard & Reserve personnel, and the Guard more so. I, in my limited experiences working with the Guard & Reservists, felt the "part-timers" to be less proficient and adept at their jobs than those of "us" who lived, ate, and breathed our MOS every single day. 'How could they possibly measure up only training once a month?' was my thought.

As for the Reserve vs. Guard, I felt the Guard was the "inferior" of the two due to less training and and smaller budgets available for training than their Federal counterparts (whether or not it was true, it was what was in my mind).

After finishing Active Duty, though, I went in to the Reserves for a while during my college years and there I gained a new appreciation and respect for those personnel. I saw not only what they had to work with in terms of reduced budgets and time in general, but I also gained a respect for what the individual members brought in terms of their civilian skills and experience. The Reserve unit I was in, in terms of cumulative skills, was far more "well rounded" than the pretty well military-only skill sets I was accustomed to.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2016 11:06 PM

2016-10-04T23:06:31-04:00

A lot of folks just seem to have to have somebody to look down on, to make themselves feel better.

For real issues, there are always units that exemplify people's stereotypes.

Response by CW5 Sam R. Baker made Oct 5 at 2016 8:43 AM

2016-10-05T08:43:41-04:00

Folks should realize that the things that one may "look down" on a particular COMPO are individually driven and experienced. I can speak from a foxhole/cockpit where we have trained with BOTH the ARNG and USAR to deploy to Afghanistan with an active duty unit. Both units have embraced the active duty SOP, are eager to learn and share experiences and service. This will be the norm going forward and everyone needs to embrace the fact that all THREE COMPOs are shrinking and will have to rely on each other going forward.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Oct 5 at 2016 11:32 AM

2016-10-05T11:32:35-04:00

I think that it may be a carry-over from the sixties and seventies when the Guard was a favorite refuge for people trying to avoid Vietnam. True some Guard people did go to Vietnam but it was rare and voluntary. During that same period of time the reserves had lots of former active duty people. Today I don't see much difference since all are being deployed.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 17 at 2017 3:22 AM

2017-08-17T03:22:27-04:00

Iv'e had the opportunity in being and working through all 3 components. Soldiers are Soldiers and the only difference is what component they occupy. Yes full-timers live and breathe it 24/365 but don't underestimate reserve or guard. Realize to a degree we're all serving to obligation or retirement. Experience and quality differ but we all went to the same BASIC, AIT, BOLC or respective courses. Don't treat your brethren any different.