<p>What is everyone's thoughts on joining the National Guard as a source of money to pay for college? While I'm not for the Iraq war, I'm not particularly anti-military, and typically the National Guard is more involved in improving the community/helping out with natural disasters than other branches. Also, the physical training involved in initial basic training probably wouldn't hurt me too much either.</p>
<p>why not ROTC?</p>
<p>My only issues with the ROTC are that 1) some of the private universities I am considering don't have it, however most are in big cities so I would just have to commute to a public school, but mainly 2) ROTC takes up an actual class slot, and I want to take a rather wide variety of classes the first two years.</p>
<p>Re: SROTC</p>
<p>1) You can cross enroll with another university's SROTC program in order to meet scholarship requirements, etc.,</p>
<p>2) SROTC is easily compatible with regular courseloads, and requires only a bit above the workload of a typical college student. </p>
<p>3) SROTC benefits, in my opinion, are greater than M-GI Bill benefits.</p>
<p>4) With the current Iraqi conflict (which I am fully supportive of) National Guard units are seeing more combat and activation time. SROTC candidates, however, have the ability to fully complete their term of service before entering into active army, reserves, or national guard.</p>
<p>Two words: AIR National guard (ok three words) This is the route I took and the pluses are huge. 100% tuition assistance at state colleges, GI Bill and base pay totalling around $850 a month, AND (depending on career field) $5,000 sign on bonus. Plus the only callups my unit had were to go to Germany, and if you wanted off the trip bad enough you could get off of it. Keep in mind what eye say pertains to Ohio and varies from state to state.</p>
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What is everyone's thoughts on joining the National Guard as a source of money to pay for college? While I'm not for the Iraq war, I'm not particularly anti-military, and typically the National Guard is more involved in improving the community/helping out with natural disasters than other branches. Also, the physical training involved in initial basic training probably wouldn't hurt me too much either.
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<p>Air National Guard has less of a risk of being deployed, and if you are, has less risk of facing direct ground combat. </p>
<p>However, keep in mind that you are joining the military, so there is the inherent risk AKA combat, dying, etc... "It's just for college money" is liable to come back and kick one in the a$$ later, so keep in mind the very real responsibilities you will have to accept.</p>
<p>grrrr at the thought of military, loss of individuality, repression,</p>
<p>not to mention intolerance</p>
<p>We don't need to turn this into an anti-war, extreme-left statement about how the military shouldn't be serving the purposes of imperialist America. I hear enough of that stuff at school and I don't need to hear it here.</p>
<p>The guy was asking for advice on the National Guard. Obviously, his mind is pretty set. Don't drag your politics in here.</p>
<p>sorry- actually, i'm not very political. my answer is no, i will not join the natural guard because i will be miserable, but that's my problem.</p>
<p>some goofball wrote "Kill for money" on all the ROTC recruiting posters at Kent</p>