Prior Service with Days of Service trying to re-enlist

September 12th, 2012, 08:42 PM

So back November of 2011 I enlisted in the Air Guard. I have tattoos, one on each wrist, (smaller than a dollar in size) one on my chest, which terminates ON my collarbone, a half sleeve and a small tatoo on the small of my upper back. I received waivers for ALL my tattoos, signed off by my base commander.

Got to BMT, made it to 4th week. I had NO 341's pulled, no infractions, no disciplinary action, perfect inspections and was even an element leader.

Getting our dress uniforms fitted, an active duty liaison saw my chest tat, said "I do not want any tattoo'd freaks in my air force, you're gone' The next day I was called to the guard liaison office, and placed on a conference call with my recruiter and the Lt. Colonel of Guard Liaison. They went back and forth about my waivers, saying that the Guard waivers were different from active duty. The Active duty liaison came in and said that I was in BMT therefore considered active, therefore subject to their rules.

The next day, I have my MTI call me and tell me to pack my gear and head to the 319th for discharge.

It has been over a year, I tried to enlist Active Duty Army, and was told that all prior service with days of service were now considered prior service across the board. Therefore I am not allowed to choose my MOS and would be subject to needs of the Army. I want to be 19D Cav Scout or 89D EOD Tech. None of those jobs were available.

I met with an Army Guard recruiter who told me he could 110% guarantee me a 19D slot. So I went back to MEPS, and was ready to enlist. At MEPS the Sgt told me that they could enlist me that day but they needed another form, and rather than deal with that hassle, they wanted everything turned in at once, so it was put on hold. That was 2 weeks ago. I called today and was told that they had to re-submit my waiver ( I have no idea what waiver it was, he only said NGB, but not which NGB) and that they were waiting.

I have my NGB 22 form, which includes the letter portion stating I have been released from duty by the Gov, and the NGB22 form that is similar to the 214.

I cannot tell you how much this saddens me, I want to enlist and do my part.

Can anyone elaborate on this for me? What are my chances? Because right now I feel like they are zero.

Comment

So back November of 2011 I enlisted in the Air Guard. I have tattoos, one on each wrist, (smaller than a dollar in size) one on my chest, which terminates ON my collarbone, a half sleeve and a small tatoo on the small of my upper back. I received waivers for ALL my tattoos, signed off by my base commander.

Got to BMT, made it to 4th week. I had NO 341's pulled, no infractions, no disciplinary action, perfect inspections and was even an element leader.

Getting our dress uniforms fitted, an active duty liaison saw my chest tat, said "I do not want any tattoo'd freaks in my air force, you're gone' The next day I was called to the guard liaison office, and placed on a conference call with my recruiter and the Lt. Colonel of Guard Liaison. They went back and forth about my waivers, saying that the Guard waivers were different from active duty. The Active duty liaison came in and said that I was in BMT therefore considered active, therefore subject to their rules.

The next day, I have my MTI call me and tell me to pack my gear and head to the 319th for discharge.

It has been over a year, I tried to enlist Active Duty Army, and was told that all prior service with days of service were now considered prior service across the board. Therefore I am not allowed to choose my MOS and would be subject to needs of the Army. I want to be 19D Cav Scout or 89D EOD Tech. None of those jobs were available.

I met with an Army Guard recruiter who told me he could 110% guarantee me a 19D slot. So I went back to MEPS, and was ready to enlist. At MEPS the Sgt told me that they could enlist me that day but they needed another form, and rather than deal with that hassle, they wanted everything turned in at once, so it was put on hold. That was 2 weeks ago. I called today and was told that they had to re-submit my waiver ( I have no idea what waiver it was, he only said NGB, but not which NGB) and that they were waiting.

I have my NGB 22 form, which includes the letter portion stating I have been released from duty by the Gov, and the NGB22 form that is similar to the 214.

I cannot tell you how much this saddens me, I want to enlist and do my part.

Can anyone elaborate on this for me? What are my chances? Because right now I feel like they are zero.

Comment

I would just get back in. I had to make many MOS choice sacrifices to get where I am today. You should go AD, and re-enlist for it later on. Just my opinion.

I don't know wether to agree or disagree with this. I initially joined active duty and was very limited on my MOS choices based on security clearance reasons. I ended up in an MOS I hated (and a bad unit) which resulted in me having a very bad attitude towards the army. However the high demand jobs they offered me resulted in very low cutoff scores which made it easy for me to make cutoff for e6 in four years. Now it's been almost six years since I joined and I'm a warrant officer in a career field that I love. It may work or it may not. You just have to stick it out and figure out. You'll have opportunities to reclass later on in your career.

I don't know wether to agree or disagree with this. I initially joined active duty and was very limited on my MOS choices based on security clearance reasons. I ended up in an MOS I hated (and a bad unit) which resulted in me having a very bad attitude towards the army. However the high demand jobs they offered me resulted in very low cutoff scores which made it easy for me to make cutoff for e6 in four years. Now it's been almost six years since I joined and I'm a warrant officer in a career field that I love. It may work or it may not. You just have to stick it out and figure out. You'll have opportunities to reclass later on in your career.

Since his post suggested he was looking at BOTH as options; the one that probably has the best ROI in my opinion (for him) will to go active duty. By serving on active, he will maximize the Post 9/11 GI Bill and do have greater latitude to re-enlist into a job that you desire (BEAR program).

Again, my response just an opinion based on his remarks. I am not trying to have anyone agree or disagree with my remarks. I served over 6 years in the NG; and almost 9 years on AD and still serving on AD. I do have a decent grasp on how both work and the pros and cons of each. I might call BS on the 4th week discharge scenario but I was not there.

Also, serving is a privilege and I have worked in jobs that were not always my first and foremost choice but was overall happy due to serving and experiencing new countries and cultures. From his post, he does not mind going active and if he does not have a good decent paying civilian job; then why not? You get paid well too.