Question on becoming an ANG reserve
 

Hey guys, I haven't posted on this forum in a while. To be honest I have flown in a while either (as a private pilot), rentals got expensive by me.

May not be the right place but I am looking for some opinions/advice as I am going to be speaking to a recruiter soon, and want to get as much information as I can both from the recruiter, and outside sources.

I am currently a 27 year old male, with a wife and daughter. I currently work as a programming contractor, and make a very good living through it. I always wanted to join the military, however I never got the chance as I became a father shortly after college (I did not graduate or get a degree).

I still want an opportunity to serve. I want to serve my country, and I want to experience basic training/military life style. However, I can't straight up enlist. I can't take such a large pay cut going in with my current financial situation.

This is why I wondered if the ANG reserve is possibly a good fit for me. I could go to 10 week basic, and then I also saw that technical training is required as well. I then could return to my contracting job, and put in the required 2 weeks and weekends as needed which still allows me the opportunity to serve my community. There is an ANG base very close to my apartment which would allow me to still be close to my family.

Do you know anyone or have any friends who had a similar urge to do this, or went down this path? Were they happy with it?

Am I silly for wanting to do this?

Any opinions/advice are sincerely appreciated. Thank you,

Lots of good opportunity in the guard and reserve. Note the ANG is separate from the US Air Force Reserve. They are similar. Getting into a flying position takes more commitment (and a degree). What kind of work would you be interested in doing for the ANG (or in the military in general)?

Thanks for the response. I don't think I could fly because I can't be an officer, no degree unfortunately.

To be honest I was hoping to maybe just be a guard on base or something in the security line. I'm not really picky though. It was more about just wanting to serve.

A recruiter's wet dream. I would recommend you have some idea of a career field that would interest you. If not you will end up in whatever career is hurting the most for manning at the time. There's usually a reason for that.

x2.

There are plenty of grown adults in the guard/reserve, for exactly the same reason you have. Do your research, different flavors have different cultures and will have different deployment requirements. That last part you need to understand well.

Not silly, we are a country of an all volunteer force. Lots of silly people needed :)

https://www.goang.com/careers/find-your-career

See if computer programmer or something along those lines of your interest is in your area ANG base on the search page.
Good luck.
SD

If you have any computer or cyber skills I highly recommend getting into the cyber security field. This is a huge growth industry in the guard and opportunities abound.

Thanks guys,

I have my recruiter meeting tomorrow so I'm nervous and excited. I don't want to make any rash decisions so I am going to take my time, but she did tell me some very encouraging things (well I hear recruiters do that a lot lol).

My programming job right now pays well, and I am good at it. However, I think one of the reasons I've been more interested in joining is because I want to do something more, maybe a little different. Maybe work a more physical job.

She said I will need to take an aptitude test and once I've done that I'll be able to look through the available jobs to see what interests me. Regardless, 4 months away from my family... ugh... I know that people do it, and I know that people need to do it. But as a guy who hasn't been away from my wife and daughter for even a day since she's been born, that will be a tough one.

Red flag! You do realize that if you elect to serve in the guard or reserve, you will most likely deploy at some point. It will also most likely be for more than a measly 4 months. If you have a problem with that, you best reconsider now rather than after you sign on the dotted line.

I do, and it will be difficult. But I am willing. Part of the package.