[vaRN]

Has anyone in this forum applied to the new VA funded CRNA program in Texas? The students will attend the Army CRNA program at Fort Sam Houston and do clinicals in Georgia. Can anyone give me advice on surviving this particular program? Any army CRNAs out there?

[mbrian46]

I have never applied to the program you are talking about, but today a recruiter from the Army Reserve spoke with us about a program called STRAP. Basically, the army will pay you 1200-1500 dollars a month while in anesthesia school. For every year you do this you owe 2 years back to the Army Reserve, plus they will pay $20,000 towards your student loan for each year you receive funds (up to $50,000). It sounded like a decent proposal. Does anyone have any further insight about this program or know anyone doing this?

[richard13]

I am actually going out tomorrow night for dinner with the
Army folks to talk about the strap program and such. It sounds great, but having already served three years in the Army, I'm a little weary of the fine print if you know what I mean. I signed my first contact thinking it was for three years, and it was for eight years. YEAH! The fine print, the fine print. I'll fill you in this Wed.

[PilotJim68]

Yep...they NEVER tell you that no matter what type of contract you sign with the Army.....ITS ALWAYS EIGHT YEARS!!!! I got lucky and didnt have to do any reserve time after my 2 1/2 year active duty stint but I was still obligated for 5 1/2 years if they needed to call people up for duty.

[rockabye06]

Does anyone out there know if the Navy has a similar program to the Army's STRAP program?

[richard13]

Well I had that dinner with the recruiter and it was not that great

They talked in vague terms and answered yes, to practically
all my questions.
It still seems like a good deal with the stipend and all, but they
want to get me sworn in as an officer, like yesterday!

[nilepoc]

Be careful, a good friend of mine, who was to start school last august on the Strap program, and who was a current reservist, was deployed to Iraq one week prior to his programs start. (sorry for the runon)

He had moved to his new city, with his wife, and was all set to begin. It took him three years of applying to get in, and then this happened. I haven't heard from him, to ask if he gets to keep a position in the program, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for him.

So I guess the moral of the story is, be careful, you could get much more than you bargained for.

[nilepoc]

To answer the question about the navy, in a word NO.

they do not have a similar program, because they are actually fully staffed for CRNAs, and have not requested the funds for a similar program. They are currently (3 months ago when I spoke to a recruiter) not accepting any new commisions.

The airforce is not better, you have to fill a vacancy or you cannot join.

There is a reason the Army is so hurting for anesthesia staff.

[rockabye06]

Be careful as well with the Army Strap program. If your program is longer than 24 months (and most are), they get you for THREE years for each year of school. That's right!! For example, with a 27 month program, you would actually have to sign for SIX years of active reserve duty (one weekend per month plus two weeks per year). Even though they only pay you for three months of that third year, they still get you for two years of reserve duty. In addition to the signing of six years of reserve duty, the other posters are right: the actual black and white committment is eight years. (In fact, the MINIMUM COMMITTMENT FOR ANY OF THE BRANCHES IS ALWAYS EIGHT YEARS). Sure, some or a majority of that eight years might be spent as an "inactive reservist", but the bottom line is, in the event of a national catastrophy or World War III, you could still be called up.

Therefore, in the above case, the remaining two years of your committment would be spent in inactive reserve if you choose (you don't have to drill or go to annual training). Again, technically, during this time, you could still be called to active duty, but it is unlikely. They would rather call up someone who has been drilling every month and for two weeks each year, ie. someone with more "readiness"

My final point, the Army's loan repayment program is that they will pay back up to $50K in federally-backed student loans over the course of three years, $20K for each of the first two years, and $10K the third year. You invoke an ADDITIONAL year of reserve duty for each of these years. Let's say you get $50K in loans, and you want the Army to pay it all back. They will, but it'll cost you three more years of service.

I have been actively researching all the branch's programs for some time and have been working with recruiters, so I believe this information to be accurate.

To sum up, the Army could pay you around $1200 per month throughout school and pay back $50K in student loans after your done. If your program is 27 months long, you invoke NINE (9) years of reserve duty when your're done. If you are not dead sure you might want to serve as an active duty Army CRNA and officer when you're done, you should not do this program, because there's a darn good chance that during that long time committment, you could be called up for one or more tours of duty.

On the positive side, many people might welcome this type of lifestyle. It would involve much excitement, travel, great clinical experience, not to mention the honor and prestige that comes with serving your country as an officer and later veteran.

However, if the only reason you're looking into the military is to help you pay for school, I suggest not doing it. Military life is not for everyone and there are other ways to pay for school like getting loans and paying them back when you're done with salary or sing-on bonuses or contracting with a hospital now to pay for school in return for years of service in the future.

P.S. Sorry about the long post.

[gotosleep]

Originally posted by nilepoc
Be careful, a good friend of mine, who was to start school last august on the Strap program, and who was a current reservist, was deployed to Iraq one week prior to his programs start. (sorry for the runon)

He had moved to his new city, with his wife, and was all set to begin. It took him three years of applying to get in, and then this happened. I haven't heard from him, to ask if he gets to keep a position in the program, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for him.

So I guess the moral of the story is, be careful, you could get much more than you bargained for.

umm..that doesn't add up. The Army by POLICY (not regulation) will not mobilize members of the STRAP. Like I said, it is a policy and therefore, not set is stone. I would be quite surprised if this gentlemen was in good standing with the STRAP. I know of no one who has been mobilized while in the STRAP as a student/intern/resident. It is in the Army's best interest for you to complete your anesthesia training ASAP.

randy