[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Reservists (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 11/16/2009 4:54:16 PM EDT
| Do y'all get a different perception of a service member when you hear "Reserve" attached to the end of the branch name they served in? If someone served in the USMCR as an Infantryman; would you, in your mind, consider him a "lesser lever" than someone who served in the USMC active duty an Infantryman or active duty as a cook for that matter? |
| I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table |
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I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table This was one thing that stuck out the most to me when I got into the guard. It is nice having 4 mechanics, couple of professional logistics guys, dorky cops, small arms repairer, managers, in the platoon. Unlike in the active side when most guys only know the Army, these guys bring other things to the table and they are great to have around. |
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I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table This was one thing that stuck out the most to me when I got into the guard. It is nice having 4 mechanics, couple of professional logistics guys, dorky cops, small arms repairer, managers, in the platoon. Unlike in the active side when most guys only know the Army, these guys bring other things to the table and they are great to have around. Yep. Reservists, on average, are not as physically fit as active duty guys, or as up to speed on a lot of the basics, but we are generally more well rounded, and bring our own skills to the table. Having engineers, SWAT, mechanics, lawyers, cops, and welders helped us out a lot on our deployment. |
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Not really just some jokes made in good fun and such. Beside I can always come back with FUBIAJAR or Don't hate me because your job is just a hobby for me.  Monk ETA...Junior Marines in the Reserves generally behave in more mature manner and have more life experience than the junior Marines on active duty. |
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I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table This was one thing that stuck out the most to me when I got into the guard. It is nice having 4 mechanics, couple of professional logistics guys, dorky cops, small arms repairer, managers, in the platoon. Unlike in the active side when most guys only know the Army, these guys bring other things to the table and they are great to have around. Yep. Reservists, on average, are not as physically fit as active duty guys, or as up to speed on a lot of the basics, but we are generally more well rounded, and bring our own skills to the table. Having engineers, SWAT, mechanics, lawyers, cops, and welders helped us out a lot on our deployment. Agree 100 percent. Reservists generally aren't 100% up to par with active duty guys simply because they don't do it 24/7 365, BUT they have a lot of other skills that active guys don't have which can help out a lot, many of them are also former active and can pass on a lot of knowlege. That said, it isn't your title, it is where you have been and what you have done. In that area LOTs of reservists have LOTs of active duty guys beat. |
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I was in the Naval Reserve and called up during Desert Storm. In the past "in the 80's or so” it may have been a bit of a joke, the whole "weekend warrior thing" but now it's not. The reserve and national guard are taking a much more "active" role in things now and are much better trained..
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What do yall think of State Guard members that can't deployed over seas? What guard units cannot be deployed overseas..? C.g. civil affairs units Why..? C.g. They assist in natural disasters, shelter operations, and other things state side. From Texas State Guard Website: The Texas State Guard (TXSG) mission as a branch of the Texas Military Forces is to provide mission-ready military forces to assist State and local authorities in times of state emergencies, with homeland security and community service through Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA). To augment the other two branches of the Texas Military Forces, the Texas Army National Guard and Texas Air National Guard as force multipliers. Missions are directed by the Commander in Chief of the Texas Military Forces the Governor of Texas and commanded by the Texas Adjutant General. |
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What do yall think of State Guard members that can't deployed over seas? What guard units cannot be deployed overseas..? C.g. civil affairs units Why..? C.g. They assist in natural disasters, shelter operations, and other things state side. It sounds like they may not be deployed as a matter of policy but I would not think that they "could not be" deployed. ETA - If you have a recruiter telling you this.......read the fine print... 
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Putting a reserve untit together with an active one to deploy, there was a LOT of tension, mostly from the junior active guys. Not sure why, but a lot of them really resented reservists. Most of them got over it. Saw this too. I think we are talking about the same exact people too. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: What do yall think of State Guard members that can't deployed over seas? What guard units cannot be deployed overseas..? C.g. civil affairs units Why..? C.g. They assist in natural disasters, shelter operations, and other things state side. It sounds like they may not be deployed as a matter of policy but I would not think that they "could not be" deployed. C.g. What he's saying is, He and I are both in the Texas State Guard under the command of Governor Rick Perry. We are a part of the Texas Military Forces. We are in no way shape or form Federal troops. Like the National Guard, everyone here comes from a different back ground. There are ALOT of former military, FF's, EMS, LEO, plumber, truck driver, IT nerds, you name it in our units. We are not Federal in any way shape or form and will not deploy over seas. We will deploy in state and MAYBE to a neighboring state if they ask for us. |
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What do yall think of State Guard members that can't deployed over seas? What guard units cannot be deployed overseas..? C.g. civil affairs units Why..? C.g. They assist in natural disasters, shelter operations, and other things state side. It sounds like they may not be deployed as a matter of policy but I would not think that they "could not be" deployed. C.g. What he's saying is, He and I are both in the Texas State Guard under the command of Governor Rick Perry. We are a part of the Texas Military Forces. We are in no way shape or form Federal troops. Like the National Guard, everyone here comes from a different back ground. There are ALOT of former military, FF's, EMS, LEO, plumber, truck driver, IT nerds, you name it in our units. We are not Federal in any way shape or form and will not deploy over seas. We will deploy in state and MAYBE to a neighboring state if they ask for us. So Texas Guard unit’s cannot be federalized..? C.g. |
You may not know that Army Reserve have no combat arms, unless you count MPs and you can't spell "wimp" without "mp." Army National Guard is often perceived as a bunch of undisciplined grabastic fatbodies, and I'm sure some are, but many Guard units are very squared away and mission oriented. The Guard also has combat arms. I am an 11C with the AZ Army National Guard and, although I'm a lazy fatass shitbag, that shouldn't reflect on the rest of the Guard. Out of 12 years in the Guard, I have spent about 4yrs on Title X orders, including a 13 month combat deployment. I am by no means a door kicking ninja go-fast cool guy, but I'm definitely not a pogue, either.
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Texas State Guard is not part of the Army National Guard I don't think. Someone chime in if I'm wrong, but it's separate from the National Guard. They probably don't have army issued weapons and equipment. Probably don't have paid weekend battle assemblies (drills) either.
BTW, Civil Affairs units are always being deployed. If you want to guarantee a deployment, join a CA unit. |
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Quoted: Texas State Guard is not part of the Army National Guard I don't think. Someone chime in if I'm wrong, but it's separate from the National Guard. They probably don't have army issued weapons and equipment. Probably don't have paid weekend battle assemblies (drills) either. BTW, Civil Affairs units are always being deployed. If you want to guarantee a deployment, join a CA unit. We don't have issued ANYTHING. We do have weekend drills though. (not paid btw) The only time that we will get paid is when we get deployed. |
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Here are some some weekend warriors http://alguard.state.al.us/20thSFG.htm http://78thtroop.com/221stmi/LRS/LRS_command.htm http://www.marforres.usmc.mil/4thMarDiv/4thRecon/CoB/index.htm Monk |
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Quoted: You may not know that Army Reserve have no combat arms, unless you count MPs and you can't spell "wimp" without "mp." Army National Guard is often perceived as a bunch of undisciplined grabastic fatbodies, and I'm sure some are, but many Guard units are very squared away and mission oriented. The Guard also has combat arms. I am an 11C with the AZ Army National Guard and, although I'm a lazy fatass shitbag, that shouldn't reflect on the rest of the Guard. Out of 12 years in the Guard, I have spent about 4yrs on Title X orders, including a 13 month combat deployment. I am by no means a door kicking ninja go-fast cool guy, but I'm definitely not a pogue, either.I was in the Army Reserve in a Transportation Company. My term ended in 1989. In 1991 my unit went almost to Bagdad keeping the tanks fueled. How is that not combat? |
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So, what's the difference between the Army Reserve and the National Guard? Reserve are federal, Guard are state assets. Also, as I mentioned, Reserve have no combat arms, Guard have both combat and support MOS. This is, of course, only true of the Army components. I don't know about the other branches so much. |
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So, what's the difference between the Army Reserve and the National Guard? Reserve are federal, Guard are state assets. Also, as I mentioned, Reserve have no combat arms, Guard have both combat and support MOS. This is, of course, only true of the Army components. I don't know about the other branches so much. USAR has a battalion of infantry, the 442nd, remnants of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of WWII fame. These were the Japanese American Soldiers who fought in the ETO and became the most decorated unit in the Army. The USAR has it simply because of the history. They are on Guam or American Somoa, I believe. |
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You may not know that Army Reserve have no combat arms, unless you count MPs and you can't spell "wimp" without "mp." Army National Guard is often perceived as a bunch of undisciplined grabastic fatbodies, and I'm sure some are, but many Guard units are very squared away and mission oriented. The Guard also has combat arms. I am an 11C with the AZ Army National Guard and, although I'm a lazy fatass shitbag, that shouldn't reflect on the rest of the Guard. Out of 12 years in the Guard, I have spent about 4yrs on Title X orders, including a 13 month combat deployment. I am by no means a door kicking ninja go-fast cool guy, but I'm definitely not a pogue, either.I was in the Army Reserve in a Transportation Company. My term ended in 1989. In 1991 my unit went almost to Bagdad keeping the tanks fueled. How is that not combat? You were most likely an 88M, a truck driver, which is a support MOS. When I deployed to Afghanistan I was a 35M which, at the time, was a RADAR repairman, also a support MOS. I was in combat, as were you, but I held a support MOS. I now hold a combat arms MOS (11C, indirect fire infantryman) but I'm not likely to deploy due to an injury. |
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I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table This was one thing that stuck out the most to me when I got into the guard. It is nice having 4 mechanics, couple of professional logistics guys, dorky cops, small arms repairer, managers, in the platoon. Unlike in the active side when most guys only know the Army, these guys bring other things to the table and they are great to have around. Yep. Reservists, on average, are not as physically fit as active duty guys, or as up to speed on a lot of the basics, but we are generally more well rounded, and bring our own skills to the table. Having engineers, SWAT, mechanics, lawyers, cops, and welders helped us out a lot on our deployment. Agree 100 percent. Reservists generally aren't 100% up to par with active duty guys simply because they don't do it 24/7 365, BUT they have a lot of other skills that active guys don't have which can help out a lot, many of them are also former active and can pass on a lot of knowlege. That said, it isn't your title, it is where you have been and what you have done. In that area LOTs of reservists have LOTs of active duty guys beat. That can very widely by what command they're deployed by. A lot of Nat'l Guard troops I saw were grabasstic, undisciplined, and poorly trained. They would do things like indiscriminately shoot at anything that moved, constantly stand around posing for cool pictures while on checkpoint duty and not be watching for vehicles, then when they do get shot at they'll hide behind a median or something and blindly start firing their weapon by sticking it up over there head. I even saw one video tape himself while on a night patrol and when they were attacked instead of returning fire from his turret he ducked down and started hiding and crying. He posted that shit on youtube, like he was proud of it. Now, some Nat'l Guard units were squared the fuck away. Pretty much anyone from the WA Nat'l Guard or TX Nat'l Guard had their shit wound tight. There were a few others that you had to take on a company by company, or platoon by platoon basis. My point here being that I will not go so far to say that all Nat'l Guard or Reserves are worthless, some are quite excellent while some would barely rate as Infantry in my opinion. Don't want to ruffle any feathers but I will call it how I see it. ETA: I should say that now that I'm back in WA, if I ever plan on re-upping I'd re-up to Nat'l Guard and try and get into the 1/161. Those guys impressed me. |
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These days I don't see the reserve/guard the way I did ten years ago. They spend as much time deployed as most active duty units these days. When I was active duty, I had to support several guard and reserve units on their annual training exercises, and at that point my opinion of them was low. Typically they were well trained and as good as the active duty guys, in their own minds, and that was it, in reality every single reserve and guard unit I had to work with were useless and I would have preferred to deploy with a Girlscout troop with Brownies providing site security than a reserve unit.
I never had to deal with USMC reserve units, but even when I was active duty, I would have expected them to be no different than working with an active duty USMC unit, I am not saying that I cared much for working with the Marines, but they were professionals, and put 100% effort in everything they did (including screwing stuff up, I have never seen anything as fucked up as a USMC commo unit trying to show off, but at least they were enthusiastic about it). ETA: Don't get me wrong, I always had a basic respect for all of them, they may not have been proficient, but they did volunteer, and that alone earns them a certain level of respect. |
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Texas State Guard is not part of the Army National Guard I don't think. Someone chime in if I'm wrong, but it's separate from the National Guard. They probably don't have army issued weapons and equipment. Probably don't have paid weekend battle assemblies (drills) either. BTW, Civil Affairs units are always being deployed. If you want to guarantee a deployment, join a CA unit. Yup. State Defense Force and National Guard are two different things. The SDF is 100% state funded and is by law unable to be federalized. They have minimal gear and are not paid when drilling. The AC and RC folks that poke fun at them have no fucking clue. I'd wager exactly 0% of the people on active or reserve duty would do it for free. |
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I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table This was one thing that stuck out the most to me when I got into the guard. It is nice having 4 mechanics, couple of professional logistics guys, dorky cops, small arms repairer, managers, in the platoon. Unlike in the active side when most guys only know the Army, these guys bring other things to the table and they are great to have around. Yep. Reservists, on average, are not as physically fit as active duty guys, or as up to speed on a lot of the basics, but we are generally more well rounded, and bring our own skills to the table. Having engineers, SWAT, mechanics, lawyers, cops, and welders helped us out a lot on our deployment. Agree 100 percent. Reservists generally aren't 100% up to par with active duty guys simply because they don't do it 24/7 365, BUT they have a lot of other skills that active guys don't have which can help out a lot, many of them are also former active and can pass on a lot of knowlege. That said, it isn't your title, it is where you have been and what you have done. In that area LOTs of reservists have LOTs of active duty guys beat. That can very widely by what command they're deployed by. A lot of Nat'l Guard troops I saw were grabasstic, undisciplined, and poorly trained. They would do things like indiscriminately shoot at anything that moved, constantly stand around posing for cool pictures while on checkpoint duty and not be watching for vehicles, then when they do get shot at they'll hide behind a median or something and blindly start firing their weapon by sticking it up over there head. I even saw one video tape himself while on a night patrol and when they were attacked instead of returning fire from his turret he ducked down and started hiding and crying. He posted that shit on youtube, like he was proud of it. Now, some Nat'l Guard units were squared the fuck away. Pretty much anyone from the WA Nat'l Guard or TX Nat'l Guard had their shit wound tight. There were a few others that you had to take on a company by company, or platoon by platoon basis. My point here being that I will not go so far to say that all Nat'l Guard or Reserves are worthless, some are quite excellent while some would barely rate as Infantry in my opinion. Don't want to ruffle any feathers but I will call it how I see it. The biggest problem I have with the reserves is the potential for bad leadership. Unlike active duty, enlisted can spend 20 years in the same unit. So if you get a shit bag, you're stuck with them, and if they get enough rank, they can cause serious problems in the unit over enough time. The CO is the only officer in my company. That means all of the platoon commanders are people who in most cases have been with the same platoon for 10+ years. In some cases its good, in others its not. It really can lead to a good old boys network. I also believe that reserves often get the short end of the stick when it comes to officers. |
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Texas State Guard is not part of the Army National Guard I don't think. Someone chime in if I'm wrong, but it's separate from the National Guard. They probably don't have army issued weapons and equipment. Probably don't have paid weekend battle assemblies (drills) either. BTW, Civil Affairs units are always being deployed. If you want to guarantee a deployment, join a CA unit. Yup. State Defense Force and National Guard are two different things. The SDF is 100% state funded and is by law unable to be federalized. They have minimal gear and are not paid when drilling. The AC and RC folks that poke fun at them have no fucking clue. I'd wager exactly 0% of the people on active or reserve duty would do it for free. The few Georgia State Defense Force folks I have met seem to be people that want to serve, but might not have been able to go active duty or reserve due to medical disqualification or something. If I was in a disaster situation, I'd be grateful for their response. |
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I served in the Marine Corps Reserves. It's important to note the "Reserve" element. In the Marine Corps, the training is all the same - same boot camp, same MCT, same MOS schools, then off to your unit. Though the training is the same, a different group of people typically volunteers for the reserves. College students (like I was), full-time cops & firefighters/EMS guys, and career professionals seemed to prevail in my unit. So it wasn't exactly like a cross-section of the active military. These were mostly folks who had full-time careers, and volunteered to serve on top of it.
I served four years immediately after the first Gulf War, never was activated, never deployed anywhere more exotic than 29 Palms. Technically, I don't even qualify for veteran benefits, though I did take the Reserve GI Bill back when I was in school (my only benefit). Everywhere I went (like 29 Palms), I saw how most active duty folks thought of reservists - a lot of disdain. We were pretty much treated like second-line troops, and in reality, that's all we were. Had my unit been deployed, it most likely would have been broken up into replacement/reinforcement troops, and not deployed as an independent fighting unit. Since my time, a lot of reservists have been deployed though. I tried going to the MCA meetings, but it didn't feel right to me to hang out with them. It kinda felt like claiming something that I wasn't. I dunno. So you see, it is important to discern service in the reserves from active duty. ETA: Also, we generally got second-rate officers and staff NCOs. Guys that had fucked up somehow and got transferred to a reserve unit. They rotated back out fast though. |
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Quoted: The biggest problem I have with the reserves is the potential for bad leadership. Unlike active duty, enlisted can spend 20 years in the same unit. So if you get a shit bag, you're stuck with them, and if they get enough rank, they can cause serious problems in the unit over enough time. This is true. If I hadn't have actively sought out a transfer I would be in the same battalion until I retired. When I transfer again I'll probably end up back in that same battalion. There's a lot to be said for fresh blood from regular rotations. |
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I dont think the Taliban would know the difference if they were killed by a Reg or a Reservist...they'd be dead just the same...Of course the Reg is expected to be better as thats all he does as a reservist probably has a Civvie job to hold down as well as doing his service...but that probably brings its owns things to the table This was one thing that stuck out the most to me when I got into the guard. It is nice having 4 mechanics, couple of professional logistics guys, dorky cops, small arms repairer, managers, in the platoon. Unlike in the active side when most guys only know the Army, these guys bring other things to the table and they are great to have around. Yep. Reservists, on average, are not as physically fit as active duty guys, or as up to speed on a lot of the basics, but we are generally more well rounded, and bring our own skills to the table. Having engineers, SWAT, mechanics, lawyers, cops, and welders helped us out a lot on our deployment. The age and maturity factor helps out too. Marine Reserves are typically a little older when they first join up. (19-20 vs. 17-18) |
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Do y'all get a different perception of a service member when you hear "Reserve" attached to the end of the branch name they served in? If someone served in the USMCR as an Infantryman; would you, in your mind, consider him a "lesser lever" than someone who served in the USMC active duty an Infantryman or active duty as a cook for that matter? Not only no, but f*ck no. I deployed with a bunch of guys who were reservists... they were great guys, and often had skills in other areas (due to their civilian gigs) that were invaluable. We had a guy in systems who was deployed with us who was an absolute f*cking wizard... because in his day job, he was a senior engineer for Lucent. We had SF guys who were activated reserves, and they were tough as nails. They're serving... that's ought to be enough. One team, one fight. ETA: we even had a JSOC guy who turned out to be a graduate-degree herpetologist... he was very helpful with the local fauna. |
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I also believe that reserves often get the short end of the stick when it comes to officers. Listen, I can show up on the weekend and run a fire team effectively (check that, I used to). Now you expect someone to show up on the weekend and run a company? I always thought the USMCR would be a lot better off if the Senior Staff NCO and officer billets were filled by AD personnel. Plus, its not so much the officers are bad people, its they lack a lot of mentoring that makes good officers. In my old company there was only two officers before we deployed, the CO and one platoon commander that was fresh out of OCS. If you got a good CO the 2nd LT might stand a chance of making it and becoming a good officer. If the CO is a pile of shit (like mine was) that 2nd LT was fucked (and he was). You can learn from bad examples how to become a better leader, but if there are no good examples around to put things in context, or a peer group to confide in (example: other LTs) you kind of stunted from the get go. |