When I went from active to reserves I really didn't know what to expect. All I thought was that it was going to be more chill and less fuck fuck games than in active. Then when I went to my first drill weekend there was a shit load of motards who had never done anything other than play navy one weekend a month and for 2 weeks a year preaching this hooyah navy reserves bullshit. Learned quick that all drill weekends are, are bullshitting with the former active guys and trying to skate at the nex while trying not to fall asleep during the same powerpoints that you do every weekend because there's always new check ins.

yeah the paperwork, knowing he can do more stuff with the reserves just you get paid much or anything to do more things

Thats all drill was! I had the Training program in my shop. As my squadron was FTS, I would have to prepair for the onslaught of reservists comming in on drill weekend. It was non stop PowerPoint, ESAMS, and chasing down 60 people over 2 days to sign 3600 forms! IT SUCKED!

Lotta dudes though from Marine Corps, to army national guard. And that's a funny transaction. Especially for upper Enlisted.
_That being national guard lower enlisted should act certain way. HAHAHAHA

I left the Regular Army in 1990 (back for GWOT but that's a different story) and joined a National Guard artillery battalion. OMG. Literally troops from every Cold War Era and branch. A nuclear submariner, Air Force guys, multiple Jar Heads including a sniper. Guys like me from the 80s Army. An actual Ranger Regiment guy who fought in Panama. A guy from the 1950s Navy (my chief). A Marine (later Ranger) who fought at the Chosin Reservoir (yes THAT Chosin Reservoir). Multiple 'Nam Vets including a LRRP guy. The last WW II vet retired the year before (1989). Some guardsmen were college kids like me, others were successful in business (the LURP was a real estate millionaire) and a few were literally homeless and lived in the Armory. Some as you can tell were old as fuck. Crazy times.

We still had the jeeps I saw walking by the motorpool when I was in 5th grade. They were older even than I imagined. They were the ones the unit deployed to Korea with. Death traps one and all. Didn't see a HMMWV until '92. Most of the other misc. gear and furniture looked like it was stolen from the set of MASH.

The unit proved hopeless at just about any Army task you can think of except firing the 8 inch howitzers. They could drop an 8 inch round on a dime - and even do Immediate Suppression missions (which wasn't supposed to be possible according to the FM 6-30). Just don't ask them to do maintenance or make SP time. Or PT. In one notable PT Test at the high school a little old lady was running the track when the unit started the push up and sit up events. When they started the 2 mile run she was still doing her thing. She lapped several of the Soldiers before the run event ended. She must have been ~70.

Morale was borderline mediocre to low. Fresh veterans (like me) or pro veterans (actual combat vets, the submariner, Jarheads and Rangers) blown away at how messed up everything was. However, senior NCOs told me the unit was much improved since the early 80s and late 70s. Back then stereotypically crazed/stoned 'Nam vets ran it. They kept a beer keg between the Fire Direction Center and the Gun Line for troops to drink BETWEEN FIRING HIGH EXPLOSIVES as standard operating procedure. The unit eventually dissolved but I heard it did see an even greater renaissance in professionalism from GWOT vets before it did.