Active Duty vs National Guard Green Berets (Part 1)
We see this question often and we usually answer it pretty well. But it keeps coming up and I think a quarter of my DMs are on this topic so folks either can’t find the answer or just don’t bother looking. I thought that it might be helpful to make a single post that is both easily searchable and a place where we can point future queries. It’s not a long answer, but maybe we can save everyone some time. I’ll ask our NG members to add or correct where I have strayed.
tl;dr – individually, NG SF guys are virtually interchangeable with AD guys; at the unit level, NG units are not as good. It is entirely unreasonable to expect a unit that has significant time restrictions to be as synchronized as a unit without those restrictions.
I recognize that that’s a loaded statement and it’s not a judgment of value, it’s just a jumping off point. I’ll frame this post in two parts, at the individual level and at the organizational level.
Individually, an AD SF guy goes through the exact same pipeline as an NG SF guy. It’s the exact same SFAS, the exact same Q course, and the exact same Advanced Skills courses. There is no NG standard at SFAS (something I’ve heard multiple times…that is flat out false), and you’re not more likely to ‘squeak by because the Guard is “hurtin’ for bodies”. One standard. But NG does boast a slightly higher selection rate. This is likely due to the pre-screening process. SFRE does a good job of weeding out the truly unprepared and many Guard units do a good job of mentoring guys through the process. It varies widely from unit to unit and state to state, so if you have really specific questions it’s always best to reach out to that specific unit. Guard SF units are actually really responsive to queries and you can easily find their contact info online. We have a couple of Guard recruiters in this sub regularly as well, but they are SMEs for their units so its not always transferable. Best to go point to point.
The same higher SFAS pass rate isn’t mirrored in the Q; there is no statistical difference between AD and NG. The same goes for Advanced Skills; no statistical difference. Slots for Advanced Skills (and other schools) are allocated to every unit and managed at the unit level, so the opportunity to attend courses is the same. But, it’s a challenge to balance the additional time away from your civilian life to dedicate to an outside endeavor. It’s just a logical tyranny of time. Many guys report that it’s easier to get school slots in the Guard because many of the guys simply aren’t available; no competition for slots. So if you’re flexible and willing, in the Guard you can sometimes go from school to school to school. But I’ve never seen AD guys struggle to get schools either. The only school that makes its max quota consistently is MFF.
I can’t find any vetted data, but it is not uncommon for NG SF units to have a good amount of prior AD guys. It obviously varies tremendously from unit to unit, but it’s a popular off-ramp for AD guys looking to pursue other goals but that still want to ‘touch the magic’. It’s tough to dedicate so much energy towards an endeavor and just walk away cold turkey. NG guys are just as patriotic, just as motivated, and just as dedicated as AD. But they have a lot of stuff…like an entire civilian career, all of the friction of aligning disparate training opportunities, and limited resources…that compete for their readiness. Many can overcome this, but many can’t. The Army isn’t going to pay for your local gun range fees, or your skydiving lifts, or your gym membership. The results are not unpredictable.
There is no ‘most common’ or ‘preferred’ civilian career for NG SF guys. Law enforcement, defense contractor, and first responder are natural fits but the civilian career field is as diverse as you can imagine. Executive, business owner, contractor, doctor/nurse, IT, whatever. There is no restriction, but you do have to keep in mind that serving in the Guard (not just SF) can be a burden on your civilian career. It’s illegal to discriminate based on service, but some employers are logically reticent to invest in an employee that they could lose for a good chunk of the year. It’s also not uncommon for guys to travel for hundreds of miles to drill with their unit. I know guys who live on the East Coast but drill on the West Coast and vice-versa. The cost of that travel is rarely reimbursed. Some units consolidate several drill periods so they only meet a few times a year, but for longer periods. I have very frequently had Guard guys say that they work way more than they get paid for (a common theme for leaders in all Guard units, but prevalent at all ranks/positions for SF) so it very much becomes a thing that you do for the sense of duty rather than any real financial gain. Very unit dependent and no guarantees so just understand the potential burden going in.
There is the enduring urban legend of the ‘Guard Bum’ that floats from deployment to school to deployment and essentially stays on AD as an individual augmentee or ‘gun for hire’ so to speak. I’ve known a couple of guys that did just that for a decade or more. But those are a rarity and becoming more rare as we reach a more manageable steady state OPTEMPO post-GWOT. It’s more likely for low density MOSs like 18D and 18E because you can’t deploy an ODA without a medic or a communicator. Bs and Cs are more prevalent so are in lower demand for individual augmentation. So, being a Guard Bum is possible, but very unlikely.
