Confused...

[Shawn F.]

Say that I am an 11B and I want to do Airborne school and possibly Ranger school... How can I make myself look better to proove to my unit that I can do it and have them allow me to go? Is there something I have to do to have them let me go or what? I mean, how do they get to choose? Is it like a resume I send to them and show all my running times, scores on tests, etc?
Any info on this would be appreciated, also any tips or info on what to train for and how to train for getting into these schools.

[prius.1]

I'm not completely familiar with how it works, but I do know that they get 'slots' they can fill, and soldiers they think will pass get these slots. It does help to join the 'Good ol Boy's Club'. If you're a member, you'll get all the slots you want. Sadly, I'm not joking. Also, you can request a school when we re-up. So, ask once in a while what slots are open, and yeah, having a good PT score helps. But, the GOB club is the best way.

[AbnMtn]

I don't know what ARNG from which state or bannana republic you are talking about but if there ever existed a "Good Ol Boys Club" in the National Guard it's now extinct. The high attrition rate of these specialized courses, the financial cost and the current optempo (operational tempo) demand that only the most qualified and competent soldiers are sent to these schools as states throughout the nation must justify the need for such schools and also explain their failure rate when it begins to spike above the national average.

Three words: performance, competence and proficiency. These along with joining a state with units that have a requirement for those skills will increase your chances of making it to airborne or ranger courses.

[Shawn F.]

Ok I understand, I will see what I can do. Thanks a lot!

[JB27]

Man, I should have signed for active duty. Since I joined the Guard I have been doing some research. Now I am chomping at the bit to be a Ranger. I may be an up north Yankee Jersey City slicker but what the **** is the "Good ol boys club"? Do you think they would put Ranger school in my contract if I switched to active duty?

[ping9798]

Sniper,

If you dislike the National Guard so much, why are you on this forum? There are a lot of people that come here for information and advice from others. Why try to dishearten them? Your negativity might affect someone who was planning to join until they read something you wrote. Give it a rest on all the anti-Guard stuff, for the sake of future recruits. You had a bad experience - move on.

[Towely]

had you joined the Regular Army you could have gotten that stuff in your contract, there would be no need for but kissing, or the "Good ol boy program" which contrary to the other writer, does still exist and is still very active. However since he is a recruiter, he is not going to publicly post anything derogatory about the guard, but I can because I been there done that and use the useless t-shirt to clean my truck.

Oh i get it. You got shafted by the guard cause you didn't take the time to get everything in writing and now your pissed off and this is the way you're "sticking it to the man?"

[AbnMtn]

had you joined the Regular Army you could have gotten that stuff in your contract, there would be no need for but kissing, or the "Good ol boy program" which contrary to the other writer, does still exist and is still very active. However since he is a recruiter, he is not going to publicly post anything derogatory about the guard, but I can because I been there done that and use the useless t-shirt to clean my truck.

Had you join the Regular Army the only thing guaranteed would have been the phrase "for the needs of the service". But don't get me wrong, I spend 15 years on active duty as an airborne infantry and wouldn't trade it for anything else. I didn't finish my career with the active duty due to an assignment to fill "the needs of the service" which had nothing to do with the 15 years of training and experience I had acquired. Unlike Sniper which obviously served with a Guard unit as useless as the "useless t-shirt he uses cleans his truck", I found out early on what I was getting into, which helped me make the decision to get out and learned to live with the decision I made. I was later able to deploy to Afghanistan, conduct combat operations (not combat support operations) with the 3rd SFG and the 22nd MEU Force Recon while assigned as a trainer/advisor for the Afghan National Army. I have countless personal experiences, both good and bad, that can shape the way I perceive any one of the components I have served with but I refuse to allow them to make me feel as worthless as Sniper feels due to his experiences in the Guard.

While I have plenty of degoratory comments I can post about every component of the Armed Forces I served with, those are personal experiences that will not necessarily be the same for everyone else in those components. Like any segment of our society, the Armed Forces are no different in composition and you'll find everything that you will see in any portion of our society since we are not totally isolated. You may find some clicques and "clubs" that tend to have its members take care of one another but those may only be found in units where the chain of command is weak or they are part of the group themselves.

I initially had a pre-conception about the worth of the National Guard that was mainly an extension of the Regular Army culture of rating the Guard as "second-rate soldiers" which was reinforced by the comments and rumors I heard throughout my 15 years of active service. I can tell everyone in this forum without hesitation, that those pre-conceptions were immediately changed by the units and the people I have the priviledge to serve with in the National Guard. I've come in contact with plenty of soldiers, NCO's and officers in the Guard that are up to par and will even rival those of the active components.

As I previously mentioned, I can cry foul and ***** about a lot of things (especially since I'm an 11B). I can be derogatory about some things in the Armed Forces but if I didn't learn in my time in service that military life is harsh and regimented and not for everyone, then that's a lick on me not on any of the Armed Forces components. Most of all, I consider myself fulfilled in the fact that, no matter how hard and difficult things got at times, I had the priviledge to serve my country. Of that, I can be forever proud.

[Echo]

Well said AbnMtn... excellent!