LoneRider
June 14th, 2008, 09:43 AM
Greetings:
How exactly is advancement in the Officer Corps of the National Guard determined? Are all O-2s, for instance, ranked against their peers throughout the Army (Active, Reserve and NG) or are they ranked against NG peers.
I ask because I'll likely be joining up coming from the Active Duty Navy (either as a senior O-2 or junior O-3, I just picked up O-2 two weeks ago), and possibly with Individual Augmentee experience. I know I will likely volunteer for any and all Reserve callups, to help make myself more competitive.
My father, a retired US Navy E-9, and formerly an Infantry Officer from the Phillipine Army (Dad gave his commission up because he disagreed with the use of martial law by the Marcos government to retain its power in the 1970s), warned me that I'd be against stiff competition and a steep learning curve, after all my peers at the O-2/O-3 level will have multiple combat zone deployments and will have already lead troops in the field. My father tempered this however with this: "As long as you keep up that strong work ethic, listen to your NCOs, and earn the same respect from your troops that you enjoy from your sailors on your present ship, that can be overcome..."
(As an aside, I hate to play my own bugle, but I earn my sailors' respect the old fashioned way. I give an order, let's say 'let's move this ammo to the other magazine' and promptly roll my own sleeves up and join in the effort, working alongside my own troops. I copied that from a couple Marine Corps officers who were my instructors when I was earning my commission.)
I spoke at length to the recruiting NCOs (I'm always of the mindset that good NCOs are the backbones of any unit) when I was on leave in Daytona Beach last Christmas and I was told a similar thing. I would like to ask for opinions/advice on the matter...
How exactly is advancement in the Officer Corps of the National Guard determined? Are all O-2s, for instance, ranked against their peers throughout the Army (Active, Reserve and NG) or are they ranked against NG peers.
I ask because I'll likely be joining up coming from the Active Duty Navy (either as a senior O-2 or junior O-3, I just picked up O-2 two weeks ago), and possibly with Individual Augmentee experience. I know I will likely volunteer for any and all Reserve callups, to help make myself more competitive.
My father, a retired US Navy E-9, and formerly an Infantry Officer from the Phillipine Army (Dad gave his commission up because he disagreed with the use of martial law by the Marcos government to retain its power in the 1970s), warned me that I'd be against stiff competition and a steep learning curve, after all my peers at the O-2/O-3 level will have multiple combat zone deployments and will have already lead troops in the field. My father tempered this however with this: "As long as you keep up that strong work ethic, listen to your NCOs, and earn the same respect from your troops that you enjoy from your sailors on your present ship, that can be overcome..."
(As an aside, I hate to play my own bugle, but I earn my sailors' respect the old fashioned way. I give an order, let's say 'let's move this ammo to the other magazine' and promptly roll my own sleeves up and join in the effort, working alongside my own troops. I copied that from a couple Marine Corps officers who were my instructors when I was earning my commission.)
I spoke at length to the recruiting NCOs (I'm always of the mindset that good NCOs are the backbones of any unit) when I was on leave in Daytona Beach last Christmas and I was told a similar thing. I would like to ask for opinions/advice on the matter...