My two cents on the matter;

I joined the Air Guard not just to pay for my education and flying, BUT I have certainly utilized the benefits. So I have my four year degree, SE/ME Comm, Instrument, CFI, CFII, and probably MEI within the year but almost no debt. And that's coming from a family where my parents gave me zero dollars since high school.

The trade-off is taking longer than I planned to get all that done. Why? Deployments (that's plural for a reason) and training. So for anyone considering the military route, it can be a shot in the arm, but have patience my friends.

If you'll allow me, I do have a question.. Does being in the Guard hurt employment opportunities in this day of high deployment tempo? I have spoken to several folks and it seems to be a 50/50 split on whether Guard membership scares potential employers. I just re-upped for another six, so I have six years to test the waters. Regards to all.