National Camping Month on June, 2024: Joining National Guard at 17, please read?

June, 2024 is National Camping Month 2024. Lapel Pins Plus Blog - Lapel Pins Plus for National Camping Month

I am in the Army National Guard and can answer the following as best to my knowledge.

1) YES is my opinion. If you want action and a little bit more pay every month then Guard is the way to go. Reserves is pretty much JUST for school.

2) I'm not completely sure if you can go to basic before you turn 18. I know you can go to drill and get your $124 (maybe more or less but not by much) a month for 16 hours of work over one saturday and sunday.

3)Yes when you join the National Guard you will be placed in your local unit for drill. Now depending on where your MOS unit is, again, not too sure because mine was my local unit. In the Army National Guard when you go to 1st time MEPS you swear in. Unlike all other main branches this swear in is the real deal. You are officially part of the Military now and have started your 8 year (6 years National Guard, 2 years Army reserve) contract. And going to drill is not boot camp son. You will be drilling with people of many ages most likely. Going to drill prior to bootcamp is just learning the ropes. They teach you what to do, how to act, etc. They just give you an overall view of how bt is going to be. It's not Drill Srgt's screaming and spitting in your face yelling at you to pick their hat up that they had just dropped in front of you. (AND IF THAT HAPPENS TELL HIM YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO TOUCH THE SRGTS HAT. YOU WILL THANK ME. I'VE SEEN IT HAPPEN.). But to answer the first part of this question you will be placed in a unit, just not your MOS unit.

4) You will have to get a new recruiter because the National Guard recruiters are employed full-time under the United States Army National Guard. BUT, keep in touch with your Army recruiter if it's easy to talk to him. If you feel uneasy (yet you should never have to when talking to ANY recruiter. They are always chill and will help you out as much as you need.) to ask the Guard recruiter then go ahead and see if the Army Recruiter knows. And he will probably tell you to ask your National Guard recruiter for the information if it deals with the national guard.

5) Like i said before, Yes, you are officially enlisted in the US Military. Even though you are 17. NOW, listen closely, because I got the 20,000 sign up bonus when i enlisted as a HS graduate. As a HS senior, you will only receive 15,000 bonus. I have no idea why. But my friend just signed up earlier today and was told as a HS senior he doesn't get the same. SO, it may be smarter (if you want that extra 5k in your pocket) to just wait it out and join when you have your GED or HS Diploma. His 40,000 infantry bonus or whatever has been removed from the system as well so he didn't know about that. This was also news to the recruiter. You are in the Military and have a contract. So the only way you're getting out is doing something bad or finding something wrong with you. (Dishonerable or Medical)

Remeber to get the 20,000, your MOS must be available when you go up there. And the National Guard has many fewer jobs than the actual Army does. You can't go Guard and expect to be an Army Ranger or Spec Opps. So ask for the job listing book. And pick the 3 that you like best. 1 being the most interested in, 3 being the 3rd most.

Oh and joining the Guard at age 17 has its advantages. If you join as 17 it gives you PLENTY of time to get your 2 G-Reps to become and E3 rank. And most likely you will become an E4 rank as soon as you are assigned to your unit out of AIT. Which isn't bad at all.

Comprende?

I hope i helped ya out as much as i could. If you have any other questions miss then contact me at my email at seanr90@hotmail.com

Going camping next month at Sundown National Park near Stanthorpe/Qld comments on the area and camping grounds

The Spring wildflowers should be blooming around Sundown and Girraween around then. You are in for a visual feast. This is a spectacular region to visit.

It will still be a bit cool out at night if you are camping - recommend tracksuit or warm pjs to sleep in. The absolute BEST time of year to go there though.

The visitor information sheet for the park can be seen here

Before going you should check out the park conditions at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) website just to make sure there's no alerts or warnings you need to know about.

The following link takes you to the EPA's page on Sundown - gives you information about the park and it's facilities, as well as what you can see/do there and a contact number for the park.

Have a great trip - and don't forget your camera. You'llget to see some of the most contrasting scenery and some truly special sunrises and sunsets while you're there.

Do you guys enjoy camping?

The first time I went camping, I was three months old. For many years, I took my children camping. We camped in tents, under a tarp, on the beach, in the mountains, and in a camper trailer. I'm retired now and I have a small RV to camp in. I'm going at every opportunity this summer! I have 8 grandchildren and a great-grand baby that I want to have camp with me at various times this summer.

I'm in Oregon where half the state is made up of National Forests or state parks, so it's great for variety of places to camp. We'll probably go to the national forest and camp along a creek up in the mountains. I also want to go to camp over at the beach. There are beautiful camp grounds in the Douglas firs which are a short walk to the ocean. It's only about $20 a night for full hookups for the RV. It's about $12 for a site without hook ups or tent camping. I'm not getting any younger, so I want to get as much mileage out of this summer as I can. I want the grand-kids to remember camping with their granny. :-)