I was looking into the Army reserves or National guard. Now the CA Guard recruiter is telling me not to pick Military Police as a MOS I wanted that or infantry. The reason he said that is because he said thats the fast track right to Iraq. He said I will end up in Iraq guarding some base or clearing buildings.

Its not like I don't want to go to war but he kinda said at my age and with me being halfway between college it would be alot safer to pick a different MOS. He said even if I picked infantry I probably wouldn't go to Iraq because they need specialized skills (MP).

He also tried to tell me to pick a MOS that translated to the real world, but he also said being a grunt is hard but very rewarding because everyone is there to support you.

oh and anyone in CA know what guard reserve units are expected to go to iraq?

HAHAHAHAHAHA....

Here're some of my brothers..check it out for yourself:

[url]http://www.nightfighter.org[/url]

As a soldier with 10yrs active, 4yrs reserve, you can tell if a recruiter is lying if he is moving his lips.  While it is correct that Inf or MP's are deploying to IRAQ every unit in the army, from chemical corp to commo battalions are being deploying.  Last march my MP unit in Washington DC was replaced by an Air Defense Artillery unit.  Everyone in the army is going to get their time in the sandbox.

so you think the Inf units from CA are going.

I don't mind going just want to finish school I know I wont go back if I don't finish!

California guard units don't deploy much.  They have actually declined missions.  They declined Noble Eagle II.
It used to be infantry units don't deploy.  That is out the window.  If you are in the guard, you may expect to deploy regardless of what kind of unit you are in.

Yeah tell that to my buddy who is currently on separation leave.  He will being to school at some point he needs to be cross trained to 11d or 11c (IIRC) for promotability.  Then between now and October his unit is going again for 15 months.  He's an E-7 and lately has been a heavy mortar (M113 mounted 120mm?) type in both Cav, Inf and other units.  (So it makes a difference what kind of unit a mortar runs with, as long as you keep up and hit the target?)

Most of the CA Guard and AR units are (or at least used to be) tasked to I Corps at Fort Lewis and since that is the Korea reaction force it kind of makes sense to keep them ready for that.  That's why most didn't go the first time.  Like it or not there is still a two front desire, and Korea hasn't gone away.  So Korea holds on to stuff.

Not overly up to speed but generally the thinking/planning was the Inf units go for the invasion, counter-invasion and strike actions and leave relatively soon and the MPs will come in stick around for the nation building, constabulary and restoration activities.

THE BIG THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT A RECRUITERS FIRST LOYALTY IS TO HIS/HER QUOTAS.  A Guard Recruiter wants people for the Guard and a Reserve Recruiter wants people for the Reserves.  They generally don't cooperate too much.

Two California ARNG units (1-185 Armor & B-898 Engineers[cbt]) are part of the 81st Armor Brigade, headquartered in Washington.

Other California ARNG units being attached to the 81st Armor Brigade are primarily drawn from 3rd Brigade/40th Infantry Division.

While, 2nd Brigade/40th Infantry Division is in charge of Operation Noble Eagle III for the 5th Army region in the United States.

The 81st Armor Brigade is scheduled to replace the 53d Infantry Brigade (FL ARNG) in Baghdad next year.



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[u]California ARNG units going to Iraq[/u]

[b]81st Armor Brigade units[/b]:
1-185th Armor Regiment,  (San Bernardino)
Co. B-898th Engineer Battalion, (San Diego)

[b]40th Infantry Division units[/b]:
Co. A, 1-185th Infantry Regiment,  (Visalia)
Co. A, 1-149th Armor Regiment/40th, (Madera)

132nd Engineer Battalion, (Sacramento)
Co. A-579th Engineer Battalion, (Petaluma)
Co. C, 1-143rd Field Artillery Regiment, (Santa Maria)

40th Division Support Command, (Long Beach)


[url]http://www.calguard.ca.gov/CAAG-MS/current_stories/combat_deploy/[/url]
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Article on the deployment...

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[b]It’s Official: California Armor Battalion and Line Companies Going to Iraq[/b]
[i]By Major Stan Zezotarski
06 November 2003[/i]

The Tacoma News Tribune reported this week that a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the 81st Armor Brigade will deploy to Iraq.

General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not reveal when these units will deploy, but said that their deployment fits into a Pentagon plan to rotate fresh troops into Iraq, according to the newspaper. More than 3,300 soldiers assigned to the brigade—nearly 1,000 of which are California National Guardsmen from the historic 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized). The California National Guard portion of the 81st’s troop base will increase the state presence in Iraq by nearly 40 percent of the number currently deployed to the country. The 81st is expected to replace the 53rd Separate Infantry Brigade from the Florida National Guard that's now serving in Baghdad, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

The 40th brings a proud history that will prove inspiring when they reach foreign shores. For the 40th, it’s the largest single deployment of combat troops into a war zone since the Korean War.

[url]http://www.calguard.ca.gov/CAAG-MS/current_stories/185_mobilize/[/url]

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2nd Brigade/40th Infantry Division (CA ARNG) is in charge of Operation Noble Eagle III for the 5th Army region in the United States.



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[b]Operation NOBLE EAGLE III[/b]
[i]By Captain Alana Schwermer and Sergeant First Class Steve Payer
Headquarters, State Area Command[/i]

 
Smoke still rose from the rubble of what had been the World Trade Center Towers in Manhattan when President George Bush authorized a call-up of Reserve troops for Homeland Defense and Civil Support missions named Operation NOBLE EAGLE. Now, almost two years after the attacks that prompted the creation of NOBLE EAGLE, the 2nd Brigade, 40th Infantry Division has taken Command and Control of Fifth Army western base clusters in support of NOBLE EAGLE III.

The 2nd Brigade is in charge of seven “battalion clusters,” or about 3,500 personnel. Colonel John Harrel, Chief of Staff, for the 40th Infantry Division, said that units assigned to NOBLE EAGLE I and II had to ask their base commanders for permission to attend military schools or to conduct training. “Under NOBLE EAGLE III, the military base commanders still have operational control of the units assigned to their installations,” Harrel said. “But the 2nd Brigade will organize the units’ schooling and training.”
 
The 132nd Engineer Battalion, the 1st Battalion, 149th Armor Regiment; the 1st Battalion, 185th Armor Regiment, the 870th Military Police Company, and several other California National Guard units, have been an integral part of NOBLE EAGLE I and II. The 1st Battalion, 185th Armor Regiment and the 1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry Regiment are the primary California National Guard units involved in NOBLE EAGLE III.

The California National Guard will now be the Command and Control Center for other National Guard units from Washington, Oregon, Texas, and several other states for NOBLE EAGLE III. In May 2003, 60 members of the 2nd Brigade of the 40th Infantry Division, based in Los Alamitos, were mobilized to serve as Command and Control of Operation NOBLE EAGLE III under the Fifth Army Headquarters, located at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. “They are an adjunct to the Fifth Army staff to work all the NOBLE EAGLE Forces,” said Colonel Jacob Van Goor, Director, Organization, Training, and Mobilization.

“Each site owns its own forces. They are doing administration and some training for all of the different sites. The unit on the site will be controlled by the installation.” The 2nd Brigade is Command and Control for western base clusters under Fifth Army. Base clusters are made up of units assigned to Fifth Army divided into geographic regions. The 2nd Brigade is supporting NOBLE EAGLE III through April 2004.
-------------------

I also forgot.  California ARNG units, namely the 40th Infantry Division, is planned for deployments to Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, Sinai Desert-Egypt, and Guantanomo Bay, Cuba in 2005.


[url]http://www.calguard.ca.gov/CAAG-MS/story_archive/2003/09/40thID/[/url]

this is kinda confusing but from the above sites it looks like the only infantry is mechanized isn't that different from normal 11b?

If you are in the guard or reserves, you can EXPECT to be deployed.  Maybe not in your original MOS, either.  --Many (around 3 dozen) full BATTALIONS of Field Artillery are being retrained as MPs, and sent several different places, for example.

I guess I don't understand why you wouldn't go back to get more education after your tour wherever was up.  That's kinda lame.  And if you haven't already signed the papers, I would say wait on it until you get your degree.  Then get the e-4 in your contract, and go through OCS.  If you're gonna work, you might as well get paid for it.

I believe recent changes in the Army did away with 11 Mikes (mech infantry) and 11 Hotels (heavy anti-tank).  They are all now 11 Bravos.

11 Bravo = Direct Combat
11 Charlie = Indirect Combat (Mortars)

Once you are out of school for a year you have to re-declare your major right?

EVERYBODY is walking / driving patrols over there, regardless of MOS. Enjoy your visit / enlistment.

That depends entirely on your school. Typically you have to reapply to your school after a years absence. They probably have special rules for those who are deployed by the guard though.

I think there are laws that protect military from getting screwed over.

You might be able to take college classes while you are deployed.  Plenty of troops are doing so.  You can always finish a degree when you get back--I finished a PhD even as I worked full-time for 6 years.

Best to get over there soon while there is still some fighting going on.  Wait too long and there won't be any bad guys left to grease.

GunLvr

I can tell you from experience that they pulled Infantry guys to go to Iraq and are currently serving w/MP units.  Your recruiter is right (for once.)  As for Infantry units other than Mech, check out:  [url=www.mystic.com/dcd/184INF/index.html]1/184th Infantry (Air Assault)[/url]

But before you sign up, e-mail me.  We need warriors not wanna-bes.  As for deployments the 1/184th has already rotated to Kuwait (and back for 6-months) since 9/11 and individuals from the unit have served in Australia, Iraq and Afghanistan in the last 2 years.

F.A.S. Out