active duty vs national gaurd?

Crystal - posted on 04/18/2010

with army u have insurance and a paycheck every 2weeks and u dont have to worry abt not having a job nation guard u only a weekender and only get paid for that weekend and u have regular job thats it my hubby use to be a recruiter he had so many of the nation guard come to him to become active and its very hard to get the national guard to release them sometimes u have to get ur congressman involved before they will release them i would tell him if he was going to do the guard go talk to the army reservatist every army recruitting station have one and talk to them its better to do the army reser than guard its easier to switch even though they dont wont u to but its alot easier than switching with the guard

Sarah - posted on 04/18/2010

My husband is in the Reserves. The pay really sucks and we don't get benefits. Active duty I have heard, from my uncle who is active duty, is not very family freindly, but you have all the benefits. I don't know anything about the National Guard and how they work. My husband paid once a month and the check usually runs about $400, but that will get higher as his rank goes up. Active duty you can count on two pay checks a month. The 1st and the 15th plus benefits. pay will also go up as rank gets higher. Hope it helps.

Amy - posted on 04/18/2010

the guard doesnt have a very good pay check. my husband is in the navy and we love it! you dont really move as much as i thought. we moved here in january of 09 and are stationed here till august of 2012. the only reason i didnt live here for 6 months and moved to missouri is because i got prego between christmas and january lol. but with active duty you get paid pretty well. after taxes our check every 2 weeks up being about 1300. that includes BAH-housing, BAS-food, and when he is on deployment for more then like 30 days we gt family seperation pay which is another 250 dollars. plus full coverage health insurance.

Jessie - posted on 04/17/2010

My husband started out national guard in 99, then he enlisted into the Army in 02. As for moving around honestly really depends on what his MOS (job) is if he is active duty. I know some people that move about every three years and then there are some that have stayed put for five to 6 years. One of the main differences about being guard and being active is that if he goes active your child is covered fully with medical, you will be also one you all get married. And there isn't a fee for this. but if he is to go national guard then he will have to pay the premium in order for you all to get medical insurance. Another great thing about active duty is what other company will pay you to live all over the world. I know moving is an issue with you. but my husband currently has orders for Korea.

Erica - posted on 04/17/2010

Hi! My husband and I were, before we got married, National Guard in Washington state. He did the weekend a month and also active duty national guard before he ETS'ed and we are now active duty Air Force. My biggest question would be is he looking for this to pay the bills or just a side job? If he wants it to pay the bills then he should look going active duty and my advice would be Air Force if he can and is willing to be highly motivated. Benefits are different for guard and active as well. Do not believe the recruiter if he says that your husband will be able to just get a full time position in the guard, its very hard to do and can take quite some time as well as time and service. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.