Which is better airforce or national guard

Military consists of six active-duty Service branches and their respective Guard and Reserve components. Together, they offer a broad variety of ways to serve. X Tap to Close What can we help you find? Main Menu ESC x. Cadet Paige Herbst.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Abdallah. Petty Officer 2nd Class Cody Greer. Corporal Brooke Dieters. Overview Find Your Career Benefits. Overview Process Eligibility. Our Difference To be the man, you've gotta beat the man! Air Force Reserve Command A reserve component of the Air Force that requires members to attend drill weekend one weekend a month and active duty training two weeks each year. Play Video. Every class there is involved in some exercises during Cadet Summer Training.

Admissions liaison officers act as a mentor, sounding board and guiding light rolled into one, and every service academy The U. The demonstration, which took place in A former US Marine, Trevor Reed, has gone on hunger strike in hunger to protest against his prison sentence Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met with soldiers guarding the border with Belarus on Tuesday, as authorities braced for Join the Military.

Reserve Duty. Your Civilian Career Your career when you return to the civilian ranks is one of the most important factors of your military enlistment decision. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. You May Also Like. How the Extreme Athlete Prepares for the Military Hobbies like BMX, motocross, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding and others are now full-time sports for many young athletes.

Colin Powell, a son of Jamaican immigrants, rose to the top of the U. My Profile News Home Page. Get the Military Insider Newsletter Get the scoop on discounts and latest award-winning military content. In fact, the bottom of the very first page of the enlistment contract contains the following clause:. The agreements in this section and attached annex es are all the promises made to me by the Government.

This is because military members are already entitled to it by law. For example, medical care, base pay, and the Montgomery G. Second, those enlisting on active duty will have at least two enlistment contracts — the initial contract for the Delayed Enlistment Program, and a final contract that one will sign on the day they go to MEPS to ship out to basic training.

Enlistment Periods. Thought you were enlisting for four years? Think again. It may surprise you to learn that ALL non-prior service enlistments in the United States Military incurs a total eight year service obligation. When you sign that enlistment contract, you are obligating yourself to the military for a total of eight years. Paragraph 10a of the enlistment contract states:. Any part of that service not served on active duty must be served in a Reserve Component unless I am sooner discharged.

You serve your four years and get out. This total 8 year service commitment applies whether you enlist on active duty, or join the Reserves or National Guard. The key is, once you join, if there are any conflicts going on, the military can hold you past your normal separation or retirement date.

Up until October , the Army and Navy were the only services that offered active duty enlistments for periods of less than four years. However, because of enlistment shortages, the Army has dramatically expanded slots under this program in and The Air Force and Marine Corps still have little interest in a two-year active duty program.

So, they implemented the very basics and applied many restrictions — you probably have a better chance of hitting the lottery than getting one of the very few National Call to Service slots in these two branches. For example, under the Air Force Plan, the program is limited to one percent of all enlistments about total recruits, out of 37, , and the program is limited to 29 Air Force jobs. The Army and the Navy are the only services which have active duty enlistment options of less than four years, which are not part of the National Call to Service program.

The Army offers enlistment contracts of two years, three years, four years, five years, and six years. Most Army jobs require a minimum enlistment period of four years, and some Army jobs require a minimum enlistment period of five years.

The Navy offers a very few two year and three year contracts, where the recruit spends two or three years on active duty, followed by six years in the Active Reserves. The other services offer four, five, and six year enlistment options The Air Force only offers four and six year enlistments.

All Air Force enlisted jobs are available for four-year enlistees. However, the Air Force will give accelerated promotions for individuals who agree to enlist for six years. They are then promoted to the grade of E-3 Airman First Class upon completion of technical training, or after 20 weeks after basic training graduation whichever occurs first. Six year enlistment options are not open to all jobs, at all times. Most Navy jobs are available for four-year enlistees, but some special programs such as Nuclear Field require a five year enlistment.

These special programs usually offer increased training opportunities, and accelerated promotion. Enlistment Incentives. As I said above, each of the below incentives needs to be included on the enlistment contract or an annex to the contract — otherwise they are not likely to be valid. An enlistment incentive is different than a military benefit in that not everyone is eligible, and it must be in the enlistment contract to be valid.

For example, an enlistment bonus is an enlistment incentive. Not everyone qualifies for an enlistment bonus. It depends on qualifications and job selected. Therefore, to be valid, it must be on the enlistment contract. The Montgomery G.

Bill, or Tuition Assistance, or military medical, or amount of base pay, etc. Incentives are authorized for specific jobs or specific enlistment programs by the Recruiting Command Headquarters for the individual service. Following are the current enlistment incentives offered by the services.

Military benefits will be discussed in later parts of this series. Enlistment Bonus. Probably the best known of all enlistment incentives is the enlistment bonus. Enlistment bonuses are used to try and convince applicants to sign up into jobs that the service needs really bad. The Air Force and Marine Corps offer the fewest enlistment bonuses. In general, the greater the enlistment bonus, the harder time the service is having finding enough qualified applicants who agree to accept the job.

In most cases, this is for one of three reasons: 1. The job has high entry qualifications ASVAB score, criminal history requirements, medical qualifications, etc. The job training is extremely difficult and lots of people wash out. The Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps will usually pay the entire bonus amount lump sum , after arrival at the first permanent duty station, following basic training and job-school usually within 60 days of arrival at the first duty station.

College Fund. Bill later. Bill and the amount of the extra funds provided by the service. Usually but not always , if you accept the college fund, this will decrease the amount of any monetary enlistment bonus you may be entitled to. Bill for their College Fund Programs.

Again, the exact amount offered often depends on the job selected. As with other enlistment incentives, if you were promised the College Fund, you must ensure it is listed on your final active duty enlistment contract or an annex to the contract. Advanced Enlistment Rank. All of the services offer advanced enlistment rank for recruits with a certain number of college credits, or for participation in other programs, such as Junior ROTC in high school. The Air Force is the only service which offers accelerated promotion for six-year enlistees.

The Navy also offers accelerated promotion up to E-4 for individuals who enlist in certain designated enlistment programs Such as the Nuclear Field. With the exception of the Air Force six-year enlistee advance rank program, recruits who join with advanced rank are paid the rate of base pay for that advanced rank right from the first day of active duty.