Pros
Education benefits. The country does not recognize me as a veteran and I am not eligible for any VA benefits except for a small school stipend. And Federal Tuition Assistance cannot be used in conjunction with said stipend. Good thing my state offered its own TA!
Cons
Everything. The National Guard and Reserves are a waste of time. I joined to be a soldier and a combat medic and I trained long and hard to be the best soldier medic possible. In the process I hurt my shoulder and got stiff armed by the VA. You most likely will serve all 6 years and never deploy, this is where Uncle Sam gets you because, YOU ARE NOT A VETERAN AND ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ANY VA BENEFITS UNLESS YOU HAVE FULL TIME SERVICE. And in the Guard that means deploying. If your unit never deploys for over 6 months then you never existed to the VA. It does not matter how hard you have worked, what you have done for the Army on your own time, how dangerous your training or state missions may have been, or how bad you have been hurt. You can serve 20 years in the Guard and you were nothing but a "weekend warrior" without a deployment. You are not a veteran. You will be accountable to your unit and be expected to conduct yourself as a soldier at all times. The training is poor and often dangerously misplanned and misorganized, and soldiers can and do get hurt. All in all I would not recommend the National Guard to anyone. It was a complete waste of 6 of the best years of my life and I live with pain in my shoulder and regret in my heart every single day!!
