How do you view the National Guard?

I would love to say that they are viewed as equals to their regular Army counterparts by everyone, but sadly I have seen the opposite. I have seen NG Soldiers treated as "just not that good" by RA Soldiers. But has your example demonstrated that is not the case. I do think the image of the NG has improved over the past 15 years as they been asked to fill critical holes in missions plans that they historically have not had to fill. Personally I do not care if you are RA, Reserves, NG, Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy or Coast Guard; we are all brothers and sisters-in-arms, highly trained and dedicated to our missions.

Former National Guardsman here, so I might have a biased perspective:

Just being in the National Guard still requires a great bit of sacrifice. On top of the fact that the National Guard deploys pretty regularly, that one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer can cause a great deal of headache when it comes to getting time off with a civilian employer. Being in a unit that doesn't have a standard drill schedule (multiple ATs a year, several 4 day drills, etc.) makes this even worse.

Employers are less likely to hire National Guardsmen/Reservist candidates because they fear that the commitments those soldiers have might cause major interruptions at work. I've known many soldiers in the Guard who couldn't get promoted because companies didn't want to appoint someone to a position who might not be there at all times to handle problems as they come.

The way I see it, a Guardsman or Reservist soldier still raises their hand voluntarily to serve when their nation needs them and that's a lot more than one can say for most of the entitled citizens of this country.

I've started in the RA and retired out of the ARNG. Bottom line is both have their share of studs/studettes and duds/dudettes. There is of course the strength the RA has of working their MOS 24/7. The Guard and USAR (but more the Guard) has the strength of a more committed team as personnel could literally come in as an PV1 and retire as the Company 1SG with many of his/her friends going up the ranks alongside. Some move onto higher HQs and others to be the Top of sister units.

Most Guard personnel lack the discipline of the RA and therefore eschews strict adherence to the regs ... sometimes it's a liability ... sometimes it's a strength. Whereas an RA Soldier might look at a situation and do his/her best to work through it IAW this FM and that ADRP ... The Guard infantry unit could have in it's ranks full time tradesmen, administrative workers, etc with a wide background and can come up with some out of the box solutions that the NCOES does not teach.

The Guard is a great example of my favorite quote about US Forces "It is impossible to plan against the Americans because they don't feel compelled to follow their own doctrine." Or something to that effect.

(NOTE: I edited my original post as I realized I had posted an unfinished thought. However, my granddaughter visiting me trumps any need or desire complete a post.)