There is a difference between regular military and the National Guard. For the former the military is their carrier and their JOB. Members of National Guard have to have another JOB and a carrier to live on. When they are deployed they leave their families and homes like anyone else, but the also leave behind their livelihood and their carriers. They also leave behind a lot of business that may be crippled until the citizen solider returns. Not to mention leaving their home State without the emergency services the National Guard provides.
They volunteered but not to replace regular GIs. They chose to serve their country, many of them after serving in the regular service. The thanks they get include; second class equipment and second-class treatment. Now to add insult to injury, National Guard troops in Iraq are being extended to 365 days in Iraq, longer than regular troops, and they have been given so many different exit dates no one really know when they will get home. The extension is a bitter pill when they have completed every mission they were assigned and more.