They're gonna get us all killed! (National Guard)

Disclaimer:

I, ______, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of The United States, and the State of New York against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Don't get me wrong I absolutely love being in the Army NG and i will defend the Constitution and The People to the death.

However some things that i have noticed about my national guard unit "which will not name for obvious reasons". have begun to absolutely frighten me.

1.) We never do any thing Soldier Related during drill weekend. the only real training that we do is during AT which is some very half-Assed tasks like "Pulling Security" this consists of Standing out in the open road in front of our vehicles, as per orders from the Commander not to get down because the mud would ruin the equipment!

2.) Every Drill i repeat EVERY DRILL is the Same exact thing here is a summary of drill weekend
Saturday
- Formation
- BS and joke for an hour or two
- Take Equipment out of vehicles Chains / Binders / Tools
- Count and recount the aforementioned Equipment.
- Place said equipment back into Vehicles and lock them back up.
- Lunch very greasy and unhealthy pizza burgers and what not (make sure you pass your pt tests though guys!)
- BS and joke and sit around some more
- Formation
- Go home.

Sunday
- Formation
- BS and joke for an hour or two
- Take Equipment out of vehicles Chains / Binders / Tools
- Count and recount the aforementioned Equipment.
- Place said equipment back into Vehicles and lock them back up.
- Lunch very greasy and unhealthy pizza burgers and what not (make sure you pass your pt tests though guys!)
- BS and joke and sit around some more
- Formation
- Go home

Also our leadership really does not care, they are usually in the office playing on the computers and watching TV, there is constant infighting between the leadership (sergeant fights) aplenty. Yeah its good entertainment but what if this happens on the battlefield that will surely get people killed.

If my unit ever gets deployed i am guessing a 80% Casualty rate. i am not kidding, most of the unit can not shoot or pass pt if their lives depend on it, we sit around and talk like a bunch of old ladies, and everyone is always starring at their dam phones.

I am truly disgusted with my Unit. and to add to all of the aggravation we have a lot of cool vehicles that we never get to use and they are locked all the time our CO dosn't want any accidents so we cannot drive them even though it is our MOS ie. job (military occupation specialty)

I have brought up my concerns many times on many different levels no one seems to care. oh well I am but a measly E4 what do i know.

reply to post by Craninalbliss


Uhhh,

I think it's time for an active duty assignment in a high-speed unit for you. It's the only solution. And, if it makes you feel better, it happens all the time.

Pick a good one.

I would imagine your unit is not like all the other NG units. When I was in Boy Scouts I remember other troops, and how lame they were. We got on the cover of Boy's Life, did all kinds of "high adventure" activities like rafting and mountaineering. We always had complete class-a uniforms, and if a kid couldn't afford part of the uniform, the troop had some cash set aside to buy them.

I couldn't do the NG personally, but if I did I wouldn't mind being bored out of my mind -- especially for the tuition money. I can understand your concern, however, as untrained people in a combat situation become a liability. You might be OK under the pressure, but a mistake by a fellow soldier could get everyone wounded or worse.

reply to post by Craninalbliss


Reminds me of my time in the PA Guard. At least we would do a little skills testing (map reading, first aid and stuff) during drills but, for us former active duty guys, they were really simple and we breezed through it in about an hour or two. For the full time Guardies, it could take them all day to get through the testing. A lot of time, we (the former active duty guys) would try to help them out but some of the guys were just hopeless.

After the testing, they often would have noting planned for the rest of the day so we ended up BSing for hours on end until they decided to let us go. Towards the end they put a politician in charge of the unit and he'd make sure to keep us there well past sunset just to make himself look good. Still no more training or testing, just us standing around, doing nothing in particular until they decided to set us free.

When I was active in Desert Storm, I remember a Guard unit that came in at about the time we got over there. They all kept GI Joe figures in their helmet bands and referred to each other by the name of the Joe. We just called them all clowns. Good thing for them, they were all non-combat support units, otherwise they'd be dead meat.

Nowadays, even the combat arms Guard units are sent over to the front lines. Its a wonder they survive over there.

They want you to be stupid and useless so you are not able to defend the constitution or the people!

If you are sent overseas you will get some minimal training so you will be of some use to the PTB.

reply to post by Magister

They want you to be stupid and useless so you are not able to defend the constitution or the people!

Wouldn't it be simpler and possibly more accurate to attribute the situation to human nature? I fail to see how it can be productive to assign the source of the problem to some nebulous "They".

reply to post by Craninalbliss


I remember those days in the Reserves and absolutely hated them. When I became the UA and Training NCO and later First Sergeant (acting) I would put a boot in my NCO's asses and get them out training on the training that was scheduled and forecasted.

Then we got a new first shirt and it went right back to those days again. He was worthless as far as I was concerned because it was all about him and not the unit. It didn't help that the CO was the same. At that point, I said the hell with it and retired.

I have a couple of suggestions though as they worked for me.

1. Attend training meetings, maybe as a representative for your platoon.

2. Come up with a training plan for your squad for upcoming Battle Assemblies that fit in the the Commanders Yearly Training Guidance. (If he doesn't have one, he should be fired!) Be sure to include the dreaded Risk Assessments as well. (That's how I ended up on a 2yr ADTS/ADSO)

3. Request Home Station ADT here and there when its feasible so that you get to know the FTUS and learn what and how they do their jobs (That includes the paperwork). This comes in handy as you progress up the ranks regardless of what MOS you hold. (That's how I got hired as the UA, because I knew everyone's job.)

Be aware that if you went AC, and that is getting more difficult due to the drawdown and tight budgets, you'll be spending pretty much every day doing what you do one weekend or AT. And you really can't avoid inventory, it still has to be done occasionally.

MystikMushroom
I would imagine your unit is not like all the other NG units....

Nah. I have a close relative in the Army National Guard in another state. To hear him talk, all he's learned in three years is how to avoid work, shirk responsibility, and pass the buck.

I tell him, when he talks about it , that they should just invite the Chinese in for a peaceful takeover. Save the blood shed.

Bybyots
reply to post by Magister

 

They want you to be stupid and useless so you are not able to defend the constitution or the people!

Wouldn't it be simpler and possibly more accurate to attribute the situation to human nature? I fail to see how it can be productive to assign the source of the problem to some nebulous "They".

The NG in state functions have been replaced by DHS and the all swat police.
"They" are not so nebulous.

reply to post by Magister

The NG in state functions have been replaced by DHS and the all swat police.
"They" are not so nebulous.

Good enough, I am able to follow your logic from there. I'm checking it out.

2nd.

What are you complaining about? You're getting paid to do nothing. lol




Must be nice, wish I had that job. Oh yeah, not to mention awesome benefits with education. You really have nothing to complain about, while others aren't as lucky as you.

Diabolical
What are you complaining about? You're getting paid to do nothing. lol

Must be nice, wish I had that job. Oh yeah, not to mention awesome benefits with education. You really have nothing to complain about, while others aren't as lucky as you.

edit on 28-10-2013 by Diabolical because: (no reason given)

That can get old though. I used to have Soldiers complain to me that they were bored during deployment when not on patrol. My reply was either, "Enjoy it while you can, being bored is not necessarily a bad thing. At least you're not being shot at."

If they continued to complain, then it was inventory time. They eventually learned to keep their mouths shut. I used to be all about giving the guys some downtime when I could, but when they started to whine about it, then I got creative.

reply to post by Diabolical


" What are you complaining about? You're getting paid to do nothing. lol

Must be nice, wish I had that job. Oh yeah, not to mention awesome benefits with education. You really have nothing to complain about, while others aren't as lucky as you. "

That would be true if it was just an ordinary 9-5 civilian job that has no repercussions on your life or the lives of others, This lack of knowledge and Interest is going to get someone killed eventually. this is the kind of job where you must be 110% proficient, if you are taught poorly or not at all how to react to certain situations you will get killed or captured and wind up on some AQ tv propaganda getting your head chopped off.

summary:

Regular 9-5 office job + I can goof off all day who cares = I can and will go home to my family alive and intact.

Army NG Job + Goofing off all day who cares + Getting deployed to Hostile country = I am or my fellow soldiers are going to Die and be sent home in a box probably not at all intact.

now maybe you might just understand where i am coming from.

reply to post by Craninalbliss


Yeah, but isn't the NG's the last to go in, on any war?

reply to post by Diabolical



It used to be like that Pre- War on terror, now a days we go right in along with the regular army, some times NG units are attached directly to regular army, if im not mistaken i have read figures that say around half of all troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were National guard and Reserves. We have switched our role from mainly Homeland support / Protection / disaster Relief. to direct combat and combat support missions.

reply to post by Craninalbliss


Ah okay, then I can see where you can be upset. I got told they usually don't deploy. Only as a last resort.