The down sides

[bodbo7]

As of late I have seriously been considering joining a branch in the military of some kind or another. I am 19 years old and am about to complete my first semester of college. I would like to continue but my mother is a single parent and I have your typical paying teenager job (about 500-600 a month). We get by very well however, the added expense of college is not something we can really afford to pay for the next couple years.

I'm curious as to how truthful the Guard commericals you see really are. I'm sure they are not lying, but considering the advertisers job is to get people to enlist I realize they are going to say the best possible things they can.

My questions are, how often will one typically be away from home? Is the "weekend training" statement completely true? I don't want to be away from my mother for long periods of time because while still living there I do more then my part to help her out around the house. Do you really get paid?and how much? Not the maximum amount, but what is probably the average amount per person? How much towards schooling is typically provided?

And also, what are the typical downsides that commercials and recruiters don't tell you about? Not that it would turn me off from joining or anything, but when I get into something I stick with it. Although I'm sure this is something the National Guard would admire, I also know I am not capable of dedicating myself to something I am not prepared for.

Thanks to anyone who can help with these questions.

[groundup]

You absolutely do get paid for training. The really "high-speed" units, like Special Forces, may have more than one weekend a month. Even then, it isn't the norm. http://www.1800goguard.com/money/money_rank.html has the Active Duty pay chart (for when you are in Basic Training and AIT or deployed). Your minimum drill pay is about $180 for a weekend. That is based on 2 days of drilling. Search around this forum for "deployment" if you want to know more about that. Your tuition assistance is based mostly on your state. http://www.1800goguard.com/education/edu_tuition.html has information on the federal tuition assistance which can come in addition to your state tuition assistance. What state are you in? You can look it up in this guide which your recruiter also has. They will have a more up-to-date version. http://www.1800goguard.com/guides/guides_guide.html