“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but haven’t you been to Basic Training already?”
Give him a break. :-) He is prior service in another branch - USN. I’ve been in his shoes.
Well, I don’t know how the National Guard works (I’m Active Duty), but as I understand it, if you want to join the Army and you’re from another branch, you have to attend the 4-week Warrior Transition Course first. I would imagine that would apply for prior service - maybe. I think if you leave the Army for more than five years, you have to re-do Basic Training. Which is understandable - but that would suck.
Once upon a time, I went from active duty USAF to reserve at the same base (and back to active duty since).
The first day of the first drill, there was a guy who was prior navy. He had sewn his E-6 rank on only one sleeve and it was about 3 inches left of where it should go. Rather than seeing his rank from the side, you could see it when you faced him.