10pts. for best answer: what does the U.S. National Guard do?

Question

I am looking to join some branch of the military, thinking either National
Guard or Coast Guard just need some info still a few years off.

at what age do you have to be to join the national guard/coast guard?

what is the job discription for each one? thanks

Answer 1

I wouldnt join the national guard, I would join a federal branch.



The national guard is a state military, funded and controlled by the state (until federalized to go to iraq/afghan for the time being). They are there to react to natural disasters, martial law, homeland defense, etc. Their commander and chief is the state governor. The same thing on the federal side would be the reserves (one weekend a month, two weeks a year).



Coast guard is the national guard version of the navy, sort of (In the fact that they are supposed to be defensive if attacked, not offensive. Coast guard can be full time). They are assigned to stop immigration across water, provide homeland defense, search and rescue, and a whole lot of other stuff. I do have to say the coast guard has some of the most fun 'toys' at their disposal.



I would suggest joining the air national guard, which is the same thing as the air force, but for homeland security purposes, also controlled by the state executive branch. Although, if I could have done it all over again, I would stay army or maybe switch to marines.



You have to be at least 17 (with a parents waiver) to join any branch.



Coast guard, unlike what is mentioned, is not the elite of the elite. They are just another branch that serves its purpose. The U.S. Coast Guard does not maintain any Special Operations Forces, as defined by the Department of Defense. The units included here were selected on the basis of their specialized training and mission. (this is per specialoperations.com).

Also, the age is still 17. I just checked with a recruiter.

Answer 2

There is a lot of incorrect information about the US Coast Guard by these posters. The only one who has it right was written by the Coast Guard Senior Chief. EVERY one else is either a little off target or WAY off target



1) First off the Coast Guard IS combat orientated. The US Coast Guard has fought in EVERY major war the US has been engaged in. The Coast Guard IS in Iraq. First combat casualty in Iraq was Petty Officer Nathan Brukenthal.



2) The Coast Guard is one of the 5 Military branches. It is NOT a "national guard" of the Navy. The Coast Guard is not another Navy it is the worlds best Coast Guard. Because we're small, we do a poor job of Public Affairs. So thats why many of our sisters servicemembers are clueless about what we do.



3) The Coast Guard has a Reserve component. The US Coast Guard Reserves. This is very similar to the US Navy Reserve and the US Marine Corp Reserve.



4) The US Coast Guards mission include Homeland Defense/Security, Maritime Mobility, Law Enforcement, Search and Rescue, ATON, Defense Operations and others. Currently Homeland Security and Defense Operations seem to dominate what we currently focus on.



5) While our cutters patrol US Coasts and Iraq Coasts, you will find our National Security Cutter class and our High Endurance Cutters performing tip of the spear National Policy. (Destroyer like ships)

For example in August, it was the the Coast Guard Cutter DALLAS that did a close pass with Russian Destroyers. The Russian President accused the US of doing Battleship Diplomacy with our Coast Guard Cutter.



Ping me if you want more info. If it's One Weekend a Month / Two weeks a year. You should really look at the US Coast Guard Reserves

Answer 3

The national guard works like this.

Every state in the U.S. has there own national guard. (like california national guard, texas national guard, etc). They are kinda like the states army. The Governor of that state can send that states national guard to big fires, hurricanes, and other major state problems. And the national guard is like army reserve. Being in the Guard is a part time thing.( drill one weekend a month,etc) .

The national guard can be deployed over seas however.

If the U.S. is in need of troops, the guard become a federal thing and the U.S. govt, deploys them abroad, not the state govt. the state govt. only deploys them where they are needed in the states.



Coast guard is a full time thing, or you can join th CG reserves.



Oh yea. and to join the guard , you have to be 17 with a parents consent. Same with all the branches. But with the guard, if you are 17 and a junior in high school, you can enlist, and the summer before senior year you go to basic training and after that you begin drilling one weekend a month. The army national guard have many of the same jobs as the regular active duty army. Same thing with air national guard.



If you want to do active service, then you have to go to the regular army , air force, navy, or marines. (even coast guard too).

If you want to do reserver service, and have slightly less chance of being deployed overseas then go guard.(that doesn't mean you might not get deployed. Many Guard units get deployed overseas a lot).



If you want a more combat oriented job, go guard(even though the guard saves many lives too!). If you want a job on the sea, and its not too combat oriented , then go coast guard. Coast guard mainly protects U.S. waters. They rescue boaters at sea, stop drug smugglers, and protect ports.



Hope that helped.

For info on both. Google them. There is great info out there if you look!

Answer 4

There is a huge difference between the two.



The National Guard (NG) is a PART TIME service that works two days a month and two weeks a year. They work for the Governor of the state they are in, and in times of emergency, are called out by either the state or the federal government to take care of whatever the problem is.



The Coast Guard is a FULL time service that is purely federal in nature, and we work in all areas of law enforcement, and maritime safety and security.



Both services can be sent overseas on deployments.



Personally, I'd go full time and go Coast Guard, but as long as you have a good handle on what the job entails, either is a good choice.

Answer 5

Age is 18 for all branches of Military now....use to if your parents signed for you, they would take you at age 17....



and National Guard, is where a lot of guys and gals go to after they serve their regular tours of duty....however, you can just join it straight, they are called upon when all the other brances have been called in, a lot of times, the National Guard will be sent in first, before regulars are sent, but not very often, they are our backups.



My husband went into the National Guard right out of the Air Force and served 8 yrs National Guard.....weekend warriors is what they called....they spent like one weekend a month on duty, the full weekend, and have meetings sometimes during the month, and they also have to do boot camp for 2 wks a year....



The Coast Guard is where they patrol waters, and a lot are rescues and search teams, watch the movie the Guardian with Kevin Costner, you can become a rescue swimmer, or serve on a regular vessel somewhere.....the Coast Guard protects our waters, like off the coast off Florida to Cuba and Havanna, and other countries as well, they are our water protectors, and most are on Coast Guard Cutter Ships to rescue destressed fisherman or ships and patrols the waters for dope smugglers and the illegal transport of people from other countries..



It depends on what you want to do, they both offer great opportunities, radar, rescues, swimmer rescuers, all kinds of jobs in both services.



The U.S,. Coast Guard is the elite of the elite....

Answer 6

Natinal Guard..they do have to go to Basic Training and Advance Individual Training like the Active Duty soldiers. national guard train two days every month and two weeks (straight) every year. You can start at 18 y/old but with a parental consent at 17. Job discription varies on what you sign up for. They are also called by the state in case of emergency.Talk to a recruiter when you decide to serve.

Answer 7

The Guard does many tasks. From National defense to being deployed to the Sand Box, etc... 18 is the minimum age. Coast Guard does many things like the Nat'l Guard; including drug inforcement, etc...

Answer 8

The national look after is section to our u . s .'s reserve. the army national look after is the third component to our entire military, turning out to be a member of the energetic accountability military and the army Reserve. The Air national look after joins sames in plenty the comparable way for the Air stress that the army look after serves for the army. The national look after additionally serves below the Governor of each state and has the accountability to step in in the time of community emergencies to boot as Federal call ups.

Answer 9

Join the Coast Guard not the Nasty Girls. The CG better jobs and when the NG gets activated they get all the B*&CH work, and the Active Duty guys always makews fun of them, thats why we call them the Nasty Girls.