Disappointed because of expectations and promises were much higher than what was delivered
Pros
- Pride for serving in the National Guard - Opportunities for cool training experiences - The goals of the missions, and the National Guard as a whole is something you can morally and ethically stand behind - Worked with some quality individuals and learned some great life lessons along the way - If you love your country like I do, you will find that even with the hardships and frustrations you can find a purpose in what you do and you can know that what you are doing has, in some way or another, a positive affect on the country, your family, and yourself.
Cons
- Anything that the employee does not have control over is often neglected. Some of the benefits (Montgomery GI Bill, Tuition Assistance, and other educational benefits) that I have applied, qualified, and done all possible steps that are within my locus of control have taken months longer than what they should. For example, my Tuition Assistance was filled out and billed to the National Guard by myself and my school, it was approved, but now the funds are "pending" and have been for 2 months. No matter who I have talked to about this, there seems to be no resolution because no problem really exists. I have done every thing I can to move the process along, but to no avail. - Instead of doing the job I have been trained to do, I have been doing nothing but needless paperwork, training for unrelated jobs, and a whole lot of sitting around feeling useless. - The NCOs (management) in my unit seem unable or unwilling to complete tasks and take care of their soldiers, which is their primary duty.
