Joining the military

I have a question for those who have/are serving. I've always had a desire to join the military, but my parents were both opposed to the idea, so my life took another path. I'm now 25, married, and have a successful career in IT. But, I still have those thoughts occasionally and wish that I could have experienced what life in the service has to offer. I'm working as a government contractor, which is what brought on this line of thinking recently. So my question is regarding joining the military with previous experience and skills. Are there any benefits to joining under those circumstances? Would you even be able to work in your area of expertise? How does the money compare to the civilian side?

You can tell that I obviously know nothing about military life. I just wonder if I'm completely crazy for even entertaining the idea.

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Comments

SteveLord

Both Guard units serve the state and the nation (this is also the primary difference between them and the Army Reserve). Until mobilized by the DoD, their Commander in Chief is the governor.

Having military equipment, personnel and structure turns them into an invaluable asset to any state that suffers the wrath of mother nature. The Army Guard has vehicles and numbers. Whereas the Air Guard's aircraft (especially choppers) are extremely useful.

By the way, pay for state duty is not too shabby either. Your unit also has a little more power if you need to be excused for an emergency during a state mission.

Rappeller

I am currently in the guard as a 25B. 25U is another one that fits in with IT. I joined the Guard so I could help locally. the local unit was Field Artillery so I joined it, 6 months later we were notified that we were going to Iraq. 2 months later I was in Baghdad. I came back and lost my civilian job 2 years later due to my entire department being moved to India. Found a job in the Guard as a technician, changed military jobs and now here I am. Several things to point out is that 2 of my previous commanders worked in the area (not the department) and gave me a lot of advice on how to get into the federal system.

Rappeller

USERRA -

Employers:
The law applies to all public and private employers in the United States to include federal, state, and
local governments, regardless of size. Providing that the service member meets all criteria, USERRA
requires employers to provide the following:
Service members:
In general, if the employee is absent from a position of civilian employment by reason of service in the
uniformed services, he or she is eligible for reemployment under USERRA by meeting the following
criteria:

Allow employees to participate in military service
Prompt reinstatement back into job following military service
Accumulation of seniority, including pension plan benefits
Reinstatement of health insurance
Training or retraining of job skills, including accommodations for disabled
Protection against discrimination
The employer had advance notice of the employee's service
The employee returns to work in accordance with USERRA guidelines
The employee has not been separated from service with a disqualifying discharge or under

other than honorable conditions

SteveLord

Rappeller wrote: »

I am currently in the guard as a 25B. 25U is another one that fits in with IT. I joined the Guard so I could help locally. the local unit was Field Artillery so I joined it, 6 months later we were notified that we were going to Iraq. 2 months later I was in Baghdad. I came back and lost my civilian job 2 years later due to my entire department being moved to India. Found a job in the Guard as a technician, changed military jobs and now here I am. Several things to point out is that 2 of my previous commanders worked in the area (not the department) and gave me a lot of advice on how to get into the federal system.

That's another thing. You can get a fulltime federal technician position. And these almost always require you to maintain enlistment/drilling status. Pay is off the federal (GS) scale. And I haven't seen an IT position starting for any less than $50K maybe. However, they can be competitive (and for good reasons.) Downside is since you still have to wear the uniform you have to shave every day!

erpadmin

SteveLord wrote: »

Both Guard units serve the state and the nation (this is also the primary difference between them and the Army Reserve). Until mobilized by the DoD, their Commander in Chief is the governor.

I'm confused about this.

When Hurricane Katrina happened, Bush stated he wanted to federalize the Guard, but couldn't because he didn't have the LA Governor's permission.

Yet, JFK was able to federalize the Alabama Guard so that African-American kids could go to school. (George Wallace wasn't going to give permission to federalize the Guard for that....lmao)

In the context of this conversation, was Bush wrong? I always thought that the Guard could always be mobilized by the President at anytime due to emergencies or what not.

SteveLord

erpadmin wrote: »

I'm confused about this.

When Hurricane Katrina happened, Bush stated he wanted to federalize the Guard, but couldn't because he didn't have the LA Governor's permission.

Yet, JFK was able to federalize the Alabama Guard so that African-American kids could go to school. (George Wallace wasn't going to give permission to federalize the Guard for that....lmao)

In the context of this conversation, was Bush wrong? I always thought that the Guard could always be mobilized by the President at anytime due to emergencies or what not.

Bush could have taken over. Look into the Insurrection Act of 1807. I am pretty sure that's what JFK invoked. It also received modifications after Katrina.

coty24

SteveLord wrote: »

The reason I recommend a recruiter, is you can get a general idea pretty quick over the course of a 10min phone call. Then come back here for some further insight.

All military enlistments are 8 years total. Typically in the Guard, its 6 years of drilling (one weekend a month/2 weeks a year) and 2 years on the Inactive Ready Reserve list. I can practically guarantee you that during that time, you will deploy at least once...good chance twice. Your employer cannot fire you because of it either.

There is an IT MOS, called 25B. But I recommend having a backup job....because of the strength issue. The training is going to cover a lot of CompTIA, some Microsoft and some Cisco material. Most that join the guard, do it to do something OTHER than what they do the other 28 days of the month.

If you get a few years under your belt, and REALLY know your stuff..you can go to Warrant Officer school for the IT classification. WOs are basically subject matter experts in the military. Not all are chopper pilots. But again, slotting you for it might be hard.

I am a 25B, served in active duty and the national guard presently, and I concur with everything that is said. Warrant officer is the direction that i'm trying to go. Going back in as prior service right now isn't going to happen enlisted wise. Officer I'm not really sure but it's a better look. The only reason i'm staying in the national guard and not getting out completely is the health insurance. I pay much lower premiums and whatnot by comparison. PM if any one want further info.

2E151

coty24 wrote: »

The only reason i'm staying in the national guard and not getting out completely is the health insurance. I pay much lower premiums and whatnot by comparison. PM if any one want further info.

True story. I work for a pretty good company but the difference between their health premiums and the National Guard Tricare is several hundred dollars a month. For my specific company I think the acutal difference is like 300 dollars a month.

And the National Guard is the only place where you'll make more once you retire than when you served. My supervisor just retired as an E-7 with 25 years and will collect over 1000.00 a month plus Tricare for the rest of his life.

No matter how frugal you are in life once you retire your investments are finite. They have an absolute dollar amount. You won't out live a government pension. Not to mention retirement health care. If your trying to insure yourself after retirement that'll be very costly. Most people don't calculate that into their retirement plans. A retiree from the National Guard has Tricare once he hits retirement age.

On top of the pension they also have a 401K program. I know troops working for me who invest 100% of their drill check into that 401K program so once they reach 59 they'll have a good pension and a very hefty 401K.

2E151

coty24 wrote: »

I am a 25B.

CPN Operator?

wastedtime

2E151 wrote: »

CPN Operator?

I have done that before, but there is a lot more to 25B then that.

2E151

wastedtime wrote: »

I have done that before, but there is a lot more to 25B then that.

Truth, but that's the only frame of reference I have with the 25B & 25N series. I work at the Army training hub so I interact with the JNN & CPN operators.