very confused!? please help!

[Mick]

so i'm really looking foward to joining the military this month but now from what I've heard and read I'm not sure the national guard is the best choice for me. I would like to go to airborne school, and possibly ranger school. from what I hear to get into airborne school you have to have a mos of 11b infantry or be going into special forces. unfortuanty my state doesn't have 11b's and I'm not quite ready for sf. so what do I do? should I be looking at the army reserve, or can I still do this stuff in the guard? what mos's can be airborne? anyone that know anything about this please reponded asap!

[ResQ_32]

Im not a recruiter, or even in the guard anymore ( Im thinking of getting back in here pretty quick). But If It were me I would go Active Duty, or see if your state has a SF unit... The 18X option don't seem that bad, and If I were smarter when I was younger I would have went that route.

What makes you think you are not ready for SF, but you are ready for Ranger?

They are both nutz!

I dont know how old you are, but if you want it, now is the time to grab for it.

[19thspecialforces]

I am a special forces retention NCO with 2/19th Special Forces in WV. If i were you i would look at maybe Support in a Special Forces. This allows to still go to jump school while not going full throttle in the beginning. In West Virginia the bonuses are actually higher for the support MOS's anyway. Once you are in you can transfer over to the training team at anytime and train to go Special Froces selection. Good Luck!

[LRSU_Dog]

First you do not have to be an 11B to get into Airborne school, and there are other MOS's that allow for a shot at Ranger school. Do not get all bent out of shape because the friend of a cousins brothers uncle who was never in the military typed a post here about these schools and what he had heard...

You have the option to look at Speacial Forces now or in the future, you have more opportunities to jump around in the ARNG than on Active duty. The Army Reserve does not have the Combat oriented jobs that the ARNG does, and so your chances at either of these schools diminish by looking at the USAR in many repects.

As an initial entry soldier you will not have the chance to go to any schools or training beyound what you need to get into your MOS and fully qualified for the position. If you attend BCT at Ft. Benning, GA and you are a steller trainee you may be given the shot at Airborne school after BCT and AIT. As far as either SF or Ranger you will not be given a shot at the schools until you have proved to your unit that you have what it takes and can pass these courses - which will take some time and effort on your part.

[AbnMtn]

so i'm really looking foward to joining the military this month but now from what I've heard and read I'm not sure the national guard is the best choice for me. I would like to go to airborne school, and possibly ranger school. from what I hear to get into airborne school you have to have a mos of 11b infantry or be going into special forces. unfortuanty my state doesn't have 11b's and I'm not quite ready for sf. so what do I do? should I be looking at the army reserve, or can I still do this stuff in the guard? what mos's can be airborne? anyone that know anything about this please reponded asap!

You are getting excellent advice from source people. They have either worked in units that require Airborne and Ranger qualification and with SF units, or in the case of the 19th SFG recruiter, are the one in the know who can tell you first hand what your best options would be. I'll lean towards the advice from the SF recruiter as a way to get the Airborne school and then later try to jump into one of the team as you learn what it takes to qualify as an SF team member.

Also, think about the question posed to you about being ready for Ranger but not for SF. Do you really know what it would take to complete Ranger school? The reason I'm asking is that if you truely know (it's not a matter of believing but truely knowing) that you're ready for Ranger school, then you've got a decent chance at trying out for SF. If you feel that you're not quite ready for SF, chances are you're not ready for Ranger either. Although, the SF will require you to be a lot more specialized, the physical conditioning intensity and commitment required for Ranger school is fairly similar to what you'll encounter during qualification as an SF team member.

[Mick]

I simply don't have time for SF right now I'm planinig on being a missonary for my church for 2 years. after I'm done with the guard and college I think I will go active ranger, hopefully in the 75th.