While many of us have joined the Guard after these things were corrected, back in the day…
- I was not permitted to use the BX/PX (later program involved stamping LES card for 1 visit for each drill period)
- I was not permitted to use the Commissary (later program involved access card permitting 12 visits per year)
- My SGLI was only good if I died on Drill Status or AT
- I had no type of tuition assistance from federal or state
- I had no housing during UTA for commuting a long distance
- I had no tax deductions for UTA travel or uniform maintenance
- I had no health care options before or after a deployment (only while deployed)
- I had no availability to military health care like TriCare Select Reserve and TriCare for Gray area retirees
- The National Guard was always a generation behind in weapons systems. An Ohio unit went to the AF Museum at WPAFB to see what their new planes would look like, since the museum received them before the Guard.
- Our buildings and armories were very old and out dated and not consistent with AD requirements
- There were no state license plates or other state perks
- Equipment received by the Guard was usually hand me downs from the AD
- Opportunity to attend professional military educational schools were rare and usually the unused slots not filled by the AD.
- We were considered the bench and not used operationally until Desert Storm.
Through the hard work of EANGUS and NGAUS, many of the above issues have been corrected, but there is still quite a ways to go. Membership Matters!
