Answer: Non-prior service applicants may use the ONGSP right after enlisting if there is a 90-day or more window from their enlistment date and their basic training date; or 90-day or more window between their basic training completion date and MOS/AFSC start date; or anytime, after completing Basic Training-MOS/AFSC, during their six (6) year enlistment. The Initial Application should be completed and received by the ONGSP Office before the applicant attends Basic Training/AIT.

Absolutely. Your Guard service is only part time—just one weekend per month, and one two-week period each year. Not only can you attend college full time while you serve, you can even have another part-time job, if you choose to. The Guard leaves you plenty of time for the rest of your life, while providing the financial means to enjoy that life.

The benefits of service in the Guard include financial rewards, career training, character development, leadership skills and a solid foundation of confidence, capability and courage that will remain with and guide every Soldier throughout their military and civilian life.

The Air National Guard is a community-based military force. It is distinctive among United States reserve military forces in that it has both a federal and state mission. In peacetime, the Air National Guard is commanded by the governor and may be called to state active duty by the governor during natural disasters, civil disturbances or other state emergencies. During a war or national emergency, the Air National Guard may be called to federal active duty by the President or Congress.

Besides offering a 100% tuition grant, the Montgomery GI Bill, leadership and career training, the National Guard also offers great life insurance, free air travel within the United States when space is available, retirement benefits at age 60 and medical, commissary and Base Exchange privileges. This along with the feeling of pride and dedication in serving your community, state and nation.

We have a community mission; we strongly believe in assisting and giving back to our communities. We serve as mentors and tutors in local schools, as volunteers in community projects and as liaisons between the military and civilian worlds. Our educational benefits are different. Both the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserves are eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill, but only the Ohio Air National Guard offers a 100% tuition grant to any state supported college or university.

In comparison, for all the benefits you receive with membership, the Ohio Air National Guard requires very little time commitment. After basic training and a technical school, you will be required to perform a unit training assembly (UTA) one weekend a month and 15 days of annual training.

This option which entitles you to serve in the Ohio Air National Guard for six years and then in the inactive Ohio Air National Guard for two years (while in the inactive Ohio Air National Guard, you do not have to attend drills or annual training; but you may be called to serve in a national emergency). It is important to note that in order to receive education benefits you must enlist with the "6 & 2" option.

Different career fields have different qualifications and your recruiter can better match your skills with the career field you're best suited for and interested in.

Every candidate must also receive the minimum qualifying score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam or ASVAB for short. Your individual ASVAB score will also determine which career field you're qualified for.

Your enlistment with the Ohio Air National Guard should not affect your civilian employment. There are federal laws in place which prevent employers from terminating an employee because they are a member of the National Guard. In addition, if you are ever called to active service, your employer is required by law to allow you to return to the same job you had when you left. The Ohio Air National Guard can assist you if you are having a problem with your employer.

During the fall. Since scholarships should be awarded in April or May, you should announce the beginning of your competition by mid-January. If you start planning in September, we can assist you in easily producing materials and sending your announcements on schedule.

The actual compensation plan provides a new design that is based on the market which will result in a realignment of salary budget dollars. What that means is that this plan does not change the yearly university decision about the size of the salary budget. It does provide different criteria to consider the allocation of those dollars; immediately in the new market-based structure, and in the future in the new performance management system.

Our mission makes us different. Unlike the other Armed Forces branches, we have a dual mission, meaning we answer to both state and federal governments. So Guard Soldiers can be deployed by either the governor of their resident state or the president of the United States, depending on where they are needed most. Yes. Because of the National Guard's dual state-federal mission, Guard members can be mobilized to protect and defend America in battle domestically or overseas.

It's our dual mission that makes us different. Unlike the other Armed Forces branches, we’re under the jurisdiction of both state and federal governments, so Guard Soldiers can be deployed by either the governor of their resident state, or the president of the United States, depending on where they are needed most.

Possibly. Our financial assistance packages and Education Support Center help prepare you for college—from providing funds to prepping you for entrance exams—so that when you’re ready to apply, you’re organized, your head’s in the right space and the funding is in the bank. With that kind of support behind you, everything in life gets better—including your education options.

In two major ways: getting promotions and activating retirement benefits. Whatever military division you served in previously, your accrued time carries over into the Guard toward your overall military career. In addition, by joining the Guard, you continue earning points toward activating your retirement benefits. Your Montgomery G.I. Bill will also be extended upon enlistment.

Along with your monthly paycheck, we offer financing and administrative support for your higher education, retirement benefits, cash incentives, special bonuses, an Education Support Center to help with school administrative matters, free space-available travel on military aircraft, a possible enlistment bonus and much more. Click here for details.

All religions and belief systems are welcome in the Guard. To serve as a Guard chaplain, your faith group must have a federally recognized endorsing agency that can issue an ecclesiastical endorsement for you. Typically, you will work with Soldiers from your own faith.

Chaplains attend Chaplain Officer Basic Leadership Course, a three-month program at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. This course teaches you to apply your civilian chaplain skills to the Army environment, prepares you physically and mentally to be an officer in the Guard, and covers the complexities of the First Amendment, freedom of expression, counseling, mentoring and leadership. This course can be completed in one block or several phases over a 24-month period.

No. Their Guard service will be part time, leaving plenty of time for college and even another job. In fact, the Guard can make going to college easier because of our comprehensive financial assistance and guidance counseling.

Possibly. Our financial assistance packages and Education Support Center offer funding, counseling, entrance exam preparation, administrative support and much more. So when your student is ready to apply, their ducks are in a row, and with that kind of support behind them, their education options improve greatly.

A college education is important, but these days it takes more than a degree to get a great job. It takes experience. In the National Guard, they'll train for a job in the field of their choice, so that by the time they graduate from college, their career will be well underway. Also, National Guard experience stands out on a résumé—when employers see it, they know this is someone they can count on.