Tbf the national guard recruits with videos of putting up sand bags during floods and digging through rubble after earthquakes and tornadoes looking for survivors. They tell them they're there to help the state in emergencies and the army reserves is who goes to fight to fill in gaps. I spent my 4 years in the army helping to train new recruits. Basically I did nothing in the regular army. Then I spent 2 years in the national guard and got deployed. During my year in Baghdad I saw regular army, navy, marines and national guard, as well as soldiers from too many other countries to count. What I never knowingly encountered? An army reservist.

Ok, so I'm not saying this kid was good or bad, there's no way to know his intentions. I'm just saying it's certainly possible he was just a naive kid who wanted to help but didn't do his homework. He should have known plenty of Iowa vets that could have told him. At one point Iowa national guard had over 140% deployment rate. Meaning that many had gone multiple times, which is fucking bullshit. The national guards recruiting is far more sinister and predatory than the army. Because with the army you likely know you're getting your ticket stamped at some point. These kids often just haven't done their due diligence.