Who is better than the other? Regular Army, National Guard or Reserve?

SSG Jason Deters — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:47:59 -0400

There will always be in-fighting among branches. We have all probably told a joke about the Marine, Airman and Soldier walking into a bar. If you are in the Army, the Soldier is the hero of the joke, if in the Marines, the Marine is the hero etc. But what about when that in-fighting happens within your own branch?
For decades the Regular Army has openly discriminated against National Guard and Reserve soldiers. Ask any Reservist or Guard member about their time in IADT or in assignments alongside their Title 10 counterparts and many will recount an instance of open discrimination or public berating based on their branch of service. I for one can recount many times as a National Guardsman where even senior leaders in the Active component have publicly referred to myself and other Guardsmen as "No-Gos", Weekend Warriors", Nasty Guard", Part Time Pukes" and the list goes on. Sometimes it is all in good fun like the joke about the Marine, Airman and Soldier walking into the bar, but other times it is not.
When I went through IADT, in Basic Training, no National Guard or Reserve soldiers were initially put in leadership roles such as squad leader or Platoon Guide because as one Drill Sergeant put it... "Weekend Warriors will never actually have to use leadership skills... They will just sit in their tents and drink beer while the REAL Army takes care of business." Eventually a select few of us were reluctantly put into leadership roles and we excelled. Since 2001, National Guard and Reserve components have been increasingly used as an operational force rather than a strategic reserve or augmentation, and in most cases, Reserve component soldiers have served with distinction. An article I found recently illustrates this discrimination and prejudice and shows how high up the chain this mentality goes.

My question to all of you is this: Is this discrimination warranted? Or is it merely foolish pride?

I understand that each component has specific roles to perform and holds a specific function in the big picture, but is the negative connotation of being a Guardsman or Reservist warranted? To put it in a different light, when was the last time a regular Army soldier was dressed down in front of a company formation based solely on their MOS? An example might be - has a Platoon SGT or 1SG ever stood in front of a company formation and told his troops that the 92G standing next to them had no place in his formation because he or she was just a cook and would never actually perform a necessary function in real life? Has a senior leader ever called out those cooks to stand in their own formation behind the "real" formation? Probably not but I have seen this very thing done to National Guard and Reserve soldiers.

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/03/national-guard-commanders-rise-in-revolt-against-active-army-mg-ross-questions-guard-combat-role/

National Guard Commanders Rise In Revolt Against Active Army; MG Rossi Questions Guard Combat Role

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Mar 23 at 2014 7:51 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:51:52 -0400

We're all equally as important and we each bring our own perspective to the fight.

Together, we can achieve anything.