Well, Sapper ji, this is how it works. If you have more than 24 college credits, you can go in as an E-3. I got my E-3 as soon as I finished my bootcamp. Pay is not very much different from E-1 to E-3 but you are qualified to take the E-4 exam sooner, about 6 months after you have become E-3. After you make E-4, you get more pay, more respect but with more responsibilties. Yes, it is possible to go to college while on active duty. I took some college courses while I was on the ship. There are many ways to get education during your military career. Guard duty is a bit different. It's more like the Reserve component but it is funded different by the government. Guard belongs to the state such as the NY National Guard. Reserve and Guard do basically the same thing but Guard is supposed to be actived only during national emergencies. Well, not in the case of the Mr. Bush's regime. Anyways, for both Guard and Reserve , you do have to do 1 or 2 years of active duty. After that you just have to do 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks out of the year. You can get 100% tuition assistance for you college plus you can get your Montgomery G.I. Bill. I say it's not bad at all. $1034 per month tax free money is better than nothing. If you need more information about the reserves and guard, you can check the following websites. www.navyreserve.com www.airforcereserve.com www.goang.com