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Dave,

I went the same route you are thinking about ten yrs ago. Went from 7th to the 20th. Once I decided to get out, I found the closest SF unit to where I was moving to and signed up.

With the NG you can spend as much time on a team as you want, but at the same time there are staff positions that you can move into if you want a change of pace and/or to broaden your experience. If you need temporary and/or permanent full-time work...you can also do that in the NG. Or if going to school is your thing.. then you can do that too. And, your service continues to count towards a federal retirement.

Taking a broader perspective... By continuing to serve in the NG you are still an asset to the Regiment. We always have room for another brother. We are in the playbook and are actively rotating into OEF/OIF fight (however, at a slower optempo than the Active Duty), as well as conducting theater engagement events such as JCETs etc.,so it's not like you're walking away from the fight.

The biggest thing is when/if you end up at the RCCC during your outprocessing, do not let anyone tell you that there are no openings for your MOS in the State/SF unit where you want to go. EVERY unit has openings. We (the NG) are trying to fix this by putting SFers at the RCCCs to eliminate the misinformation and help smooth the process for those transitioning from Active to NG. We're not there yet, but it is in the works.

BTW have you talked with SGM K (Bn Ops in FL)? I know that he'd be more than happy to talk with you if you want to know more specifics about the FL SF.

Shoot me a PM with your info if you want and I'll pass it on.