I was absolutely floored when I read this, and I almost couldn’t believe how oblivious she was about the National Guard. But then I realized, there are a lot of people who don’t understand what it is and what differences National Guard has versus Active Duty. Also, I’m not saying one is better than the other but there are definitely misconceptions I hope to debunk.
So, fellow National Guard wives and I came up with this list.
They have Civilian jobs on top of NG. That’s right, they work every day at a normal job (or like my husband who works Guard full time) on top of deployments and the weekend drills.
Difficult Adjustment Periods. Since our spouses have civilian and Army duties, it’s hard to adjust between the two. AD you are on military mode at all times, and for most NG it’s hard to adjust between their day job and then National Guard time.
Lag of Family Support Groups. I don’t want to use the word lack, because there are family support groups out there. But, because NG don’t live on base you miss out on the closeness of an FRG and other company functions that are more popular and easily accessible with the AD side.
Distance. Unlike AD where most live on base or very close by, National Guard can be the whole state distance away from where you live. Some live 4 hours away from where they drill, and with an early drill time this can definitely take a toll on the soldier.
Benefits. Yeah, I’m definitely envious of those with Tricare! NG doesn’t get this automatically (but you can apply and pay for it) so we have to find our own means of insurance. There are great insurance companies out there though, don’t be discouraged.
Conflicts with Civilian World. While it is very illegal to fire a soldier for military duties (drill, deployments, training) it does happen. NG soldiers have to be extra careful and cross their fingers they have a good boss who understands, because there have been cases where soldiers lost their civilian jobs due to required military duties.
Lack of Community. You are of the military community, but not in it if that makes sense. Yes, your spouse is in the military but you don’t have that same sense of community that Active Duty has. Some spouses aren’t surrounded by other military families that understand the struggles and aren’t close enough to a base and the benefits it offers.
Special thanks to Vanessa (guard wife of 3 years), Rachel (guard wife of 3 years), Kristina (guard wife of 5.5 years), Stephanie, Sarah (guard wife of 6 years), Kim, Megan (USMC wife for 12 years, guard wife of 2 years), Ashley, Erin (guard wife less than a year), Raquel (guard wife 4 years), Christine (guard wife of 16 years), Morgan, Crystal, & Alisha.
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♡♡ love it!
Thank you Ashley! I appreciate it. 🙂