How does the ANG work? Need Advice

[JungleJett]

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[JungleJett]

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[JungleJett]

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[JungleJett]

Clam,

I understand your point but add that when someone makes it a point not to deploy, then it is time to get out. We have some that treat the Guard like thier personal flying club (or just a path to the airlines), but when the unit needs someone to deploy, these guys are nowhere to be found. I have even head one guy say "I did not join the Guard for this!", as we were deploying to the desert. If I had a weapon, I would have dropped his lame ass on the spot. They want all the good deals but when the crap rolls around, they run for cover and come up with some doozy of an excuse. We have some that have NEVER deployed while others (like myself) have NEVER missed a single deployment in 12 years. Have I missed some important things, you bet, but I would not change a single thing. I have been a part of some truly great things and my FAMILY will benefit from that involvement. You see the same people doing all the work while others do NOTHING but fly around the flag pole.

If your (not you in particular) family does like the idea of your possibly having to deploy, you need to A.) Have a talk and explain to them that is PART OF THE JOB! or B.) Ask them if they would rather you get out.

Everyone has to balance the same things. Some just do it differently then others. I have respect for those that answered the call when it came and have little use for the others that punched when the going got tough. I have a pregnant wife and a civilian job and both have been very understanding. My wife understands my COMMITTMENT to the Guard. She would NEVER ask me to do anything other than what I am doing. She makes the difference.

As for me becoming a "min runner", it will never happen. When the day comes when I cannot devote the time and effort required to be a useful member of my unit, I will either get out or find another job within the unit that will fit the needs of my family or civilian job. I will never occupy a position that may require me to deploy for up to two years if I am not prepared to do so.

I spent 14 months on AD to include a trip to the desert where I was injured but begged to return to be with my squadron mates...my other family.

Careful about ragging on the "min" runners. You may one day be one. Everyone has situations that put the ANG on the back burner.

Your priorities should always be family, civilian job and then the ANG. If anyone ever tells you different they are wrong. Plus the demands placed on pilots just to remain current today take almost everything out of a part timer.

I agree we should try to do our part, however my committment is UTA's, FTP's and two weeks a year. Before you start on me, I was activated for two years and spent plenty of quality time with the sand (voluntary and involuntary).

CLAMBAKE

 

[pkober]

Jett,

I think we were in the same sh*& hole in UAE during the summer of 2003. Five star hotel bars and Command Chief Shrek !!

Being a min runner doesn't make you useless to the unit. I will grant you the ones that never do anything extra are just extra weight that EVERYONE else has to drag around. In the end though the job of a part timer is to be current and qualified in all the missions the unit flies, period. If they mainain that then they are being useful to the unit. Do you want them to do extra? Sure. Some can't though.

I will stand by my statement about putting your family first. The Guard is only 20 years of your life, your family is there for all your life and are by far more important than the Guard.

CLAMBAKE

 

[JungleJett]

Shrek! Now there is something I have not heard in a while. We called him Chief Two Brats. He looked like he had a pack brats on the back of his head where his neck (or lack there of) and head met! Good times!!

Yeah..I was there. Did you and I talk at one time? I spoke to someone from CAL over there...maybe it was you!

Anyway, my family will always have priority over anything else in my life. It is a challenging balance. If (when) the day comes when my family suffers, then I will bow out of Guard service. I will agree that a traditional guardsman job is to remain current and qualified for the mission..BUT..the mission is not to drop training loads or doing touch and goes at the local field. It is to be ready to deploy and do what you are trained to do. I remember one night in Saudi, we were told that we would be involved in a HUGE airdrop (later canceled due to the fact that the mission was to get some Col's and BG's some feathers) with the purpose of taking a certain airfield. They were talking about the chance of higher than normal losses (WWII like losses). A few folks who were not NVG qualified were not included and they were PISSED!!! No one wanted to be left behind. We all had gone over to put to use what we had trained since day one for. We wanted to be there and do the MISSION! All that flying at home was supposed to prepare us for what lay ahead.

I just think there is more to being in the guard than doing the minimum to get your twenty and then punching. The guard is VERY rewarding to me and has given me opportunities that I could not have gotten anywhere else. I have been to 52 countries in 12 years. I would have never experienced that doing just the minimum. I have seen more than Southern Indiana and the farms west of Louisville!

Seving is a noble profession and one that should be treated with the respect, effort and time it demands. The return on investment is HUGE!

Thanks for your service!

See you on the jumpseat!

Jett,

I think we were in the same sh*& hole in UAE during the summer of 2003. Five star hotel bars and Command Chief Shrek !!

Being a min runner doesn't make you useless to the unit. I will grant you the ones that never do anything extra are just extra weight that EVERYONE else has to drag around. In the end though the job of a part timer is to be current and qualified in all the missions the unit flies, period. If they mainain that then they are being useful to the unit. Do you want them to do extra? Sure. Some can't though.

I will stand by my statement about putting your family first. The Guard is only 20 years of your life, your family is there for all your life and are by far more important than the Guard.

CLAMBAKE

 

[hoover]

I work with a woman who was in the ANG and was activated. A few days later she was back in the office. Turns out she had gotten pregnant about the same time she was activated.

I felt that this was irresponsible on her part. She made a commitment and then didn't live up to it. In my opinion she had a responsibilty to keep herself fit for duty during the term of her commitment, and she didn't do that.

I agree family is important. But it is also important to honor your commitments. If the Guard is going to interfere with your family or other things then either don't join, or put off things like family and career until your commitment is complete. Just my opinion.

 

[pkober]

People who put the ANG, or their career, before their family will only end up with no family and an empty career.

The great thing about the ANG is that they usually work with people. It gets screwed up when the AD gets involved. The best commanders in the Guard are the ones who stress that the Guard is third in your life. Family, fulltime job and then the Guard. When activated we serve, and plenty of Guardsmen have died or been wounded. When it's peace we fall back to our traditional role of PART TIME.

The opinion of one whose been through part time, activation and part time.

CLAMBAKE

 

[TankerDriver]

You definitely won't go to the middle east in a guard tanker unit unless you volunteer for it, which many guys do for the $$$, medical benefits and hours. If you want to spend 250 days a year in the desert flying circles over Iraq, fly tankers for AD. I can tell you what that's all about (I've done two 60 deployments there out of the last 180). If you want to see the world, join the ANG. They get first pick of all the good TACC taskings before AD.