National Guard Reviews

Former Employee – worked at National Guard

Pros – They develop leadership skills and promote from within
It's a smaller organization with a family atmosphere
You're a government employee during the week and military one weekend a month
You determine how far you want to go
Education benefits, travel opportunities (to good places as well as not so good)
People stay here for life.

Cons – Some deadwood employees b/c it's government
Don't p*ss anyone off, because they could be your next boss
A bad reputation will follow you for years
Money is good but less than public sector; however, benefits and job security are good.

Advice to Senior Management – Need to force people to move around into different jobs every few years. People camp out in positions and become stagnant.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at National Guard

Pros – Great pay and benefits are provided

Cons – Nepotism Cronyism and the Good Old Boy network are in full effect

Advice to Senior Management – Nothing really to say. It is not like they listen anyhow

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at National Guard

Pros – 30 days paid vacation and all federal holidays, service to country, great pay and retirement program, free medical to family, GSA vehicle provided, laptop computer provided, Blackberry smart phone provided

Cons – All new enlistments will be deployed during their six year enlistment, weekend drills are now three to four or more days long which puts a hardship on families, employers, and college students. Senior officers fraternize with lower enlisted solders. Officers at all levels are only concerned with themselves and their careers

Advice to Senior Management – Enforce the chain of command, do not let lower enlisted determine the decision making to the officers in charge. This should be done by the senior enlisted leadership. Senior leadership should show confidence in their soldiers, not create a threatening atmosphere.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at National Guard

Pros – It is a close knit organization, and lots of opportunity to progress in your career if you are flexible and willing to spend large amounts of time away from home and family. Compensation and benefits are very competitive for a small midwestern city. Also, it is a great way to serve your country.

Cons – Possibility of long deployments away from home. You must be prepared to spend a lot of time with your job, and with continuing your professional development at various leadership and technical schools. Operation tempo is extremely high right now. Recognition and feedback is slow to come.

Advice to Senior Management – Develop more team building opportunities for subordinates. Fight the Good Old Boy system of doing things. Perception is reality.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at National Guard

Pros – If you like the idea of working on F-16s everyday, then this is the job for you. As an aircraft mechanic (crew chief), you are in charge of the aircraft and assist aircrew (pilots) when they come out to fly the jet. The job can be difficult at times just as any job can, but it also has its rewards.

Cons – Working outside in the heat, cold, wind or rain does get old after a few years. As a crew chief, your work schedule is governed by the flying schedule, so it is necessary to be flexible. Having said that, there are two shifts that for the most part follow their scheduled shift hours.

Advice to Senior Management – Be a good listener of your subordinates. Don't practice favoritism.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at National Guard

Pros – The educational benefits are the reason I joined the Guard and a great reason to join. The other great reason to join is to get your life on track. Basic Training teaches the discipline you need to succeed. The benefit of joining the Guard over the active army however, is that when you get home from your initial entry training you can begin building your life. Not only do you get 100% tuition assistance but the GI Bill pays you $300+ a month to go to school. The money to go to school and the discipline to be successful is a powerful 1-2 combination that sets you up for success.

Cons – Joining the Guard does have its downsides. Basic Training was a pain. Even after basic, days can be long with a lot of 'hurry up and wait'. Being gone twelve months on a deployment may seem like along time. Drill weekend has a bad habit of always falling on the weekend of your second cousin's wedding or some other event you might like to go to (they generally will let you miss drill for important events like your kid's wedding as long as you give notice). Funny thing I've noticed is that when you enlist, drill pay seems pretty good, but joining the Guard generally has positive effects on your civilian career so after a while it may seem like drill pay isn't enough by comparison, even though you wouldn't be making that much if you weren't in the Guard in the first place. Kind of a catch-22.

Advice to Senior Management – This is kind of an ambiguous question in this circumstance. If senior management is the top brass at the National Guard Bureau then I would applaud the policy of shortening deployments to twelve months, and making sure we have the proper equipment to complete our missions. A critique I have would be I wish more opportunities were available for special schools like they are on active duty.

If Senior Management is the Officers and NCOs at the company and battalion level, then I would applaud the flexibility and adaptability they show as our mission changes, and the dissemination of information. I would critique the very few leaders who do not display a 'lead from the front' mentality. When a soldier who is clearly from a 'staff' background is put into a leadership position it is generally very obvious to those they lead and tends to be demoralizing.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at National Guard

Pros – They offer good education benefits...sort of.

Cons – The education benefits are hard to get, they may be on your contract but you have to do all the leg work to get them. usually the ppl that are paid to help you, don't even know how to file the correct papers. Is you are overpaid in benefits, they don't take out percentages from your next few payments to make it up, instead your benefits are stopped all together, until you come up with the debt amount.

Advice to Senior Management – Take care of your soldiers. So many ppl these days say they want to do that, but when it comes down to it, they don't.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at National Guard full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Consistant pay, noble cause, almost anyone can become a part of it.

Cons – Family life will suffer as mental stability in some cases

Advice to Senior Management – decline, decline, decline, decline, decline

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at National Guard full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Learn a New Job or Continue learning more and a different environment with the job you have now. Good Insurance if you need it.

Cons – Time off from your current employer

Advice to Senior Management – N/A

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at National Guard part-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Excellent training
Deployment potential
Leadership positions at every level
Benefits

Cons – Extremely competitive promotional advances
Little cross training with outside units

Advice to Senior Management – Cross train with other units

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend