1st Base Assignment USAF for 2010, need advice

Spencer2002 · May 14, 2009

goafnurse

thanks for the info about mt.home . what you have described is why in i'm so excited about getting into the air force….and i want to be around people that love their job and not just there to collect a paycheck. my father is retired af and i never heard him grumble about any thing in 20 years. anyways, i will just keep hanging on. i have six days until i report to meps and my interview.

Spencer2002 · May 17, 2009

I got my MEPS and Chief Inteview dates but now the recruiter is telling me that all the COT slots for 09 are filled and I've been pushed back to Oct 09.....uggghh.

GOAFNURSE · May 17, 2009

Wow! This mean AF is busy recruiting. I hope 80% of COT are nurses . That is only 5 months away and it will go by fast! Congrats and hang in there:-) I am happy that we are getting an experience nurse like yourself. Keep me posted!

dreamon · May 17, 2009

To BABYRN05, Okinawa Japan is my favorite base. I love the ocean!
Why: First-- Job with more autonomy; URI nurse run clinic, Patient Education Classess which break the humdrum of telephone consults. Task to go to a small ocean side village in Thailand for humanitarian mission.
Second: 1700 sqft home with ocean view, saved over $60000, travel around asia, got fit by being involved in sport activities 3-5k run/ walk, snorgling, water sports galore. The best deep sea fishing 40lbs tuna, Mahi Mahi.
The best for last: I met my husband there! Bottomline, okinawa is a beautiful island with lots of history! 2 years went by too fast for me.
I noticed you have NICU experience, you would work at Naval Hospital. The NICU is staff by Air Force Nurses and I heard it is a pretty tight unit.

Japan sounds wonderful- I would love to spend some time there. If I go AF I will certainly try to get stationed there. How long are the tours- just 2 years?

GOAFNURSE · May 17, 2009

Hi, make sure you ask for Okinawa Japan (Kadena Air Base). There is Yakota Air Force Base that is in mainland Japan 3-5 hours away from Tokyo (depend on traffic). 2 years is for "short tour" which family members are not sponsor. 3 years is long tour if you want your famiily to move with you. Trust me if you like the beach / island living you would want 3 years.

Spencer2002 · May 17, 2009

wow! this mean af is busy recruiting. i hope 80% of cot are nurses . that is only 5 months away and it will go by fast! congrats and hang in there:-) i am happy that we are getting an experience nurse like yourself. keep me posted!

i don't think it's the af recruiting efforts......i think it's a bad economy across the nation:crying2:. i was told somewhere??? that they are getting 20 to 60 applications a month right now in nursing. and they are meeting their needs in all the other health care occupations.

it will be hard to hold on for 5 more months, my current job is driving me absoulty crazy right now......always the same thing "understaff and way over worked.:angryfire" but i will have to survive.

Spencer2002 · Jun 2, 2009

i got through meps and have my chief nursing interview in a couple of weeks. looks like you all have been through this. can you give me so ideas on what to expect in the interview, i’m getting a little nervous? if everything goes good in the interview, i'm told i will go to cot in oct 09

does anyone know if they do f/u lab work or any other tests at cot? all they did at meps was a red top, i thought they may draw a purple and yellow top?

Spencer2002 · Jul 17, 2009

my recruiter told me that the board is review apps next week. has anyone else heard this? does anyone know how long it will take to hear back if selected?

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2009

Hi! I'm headed to COT in October.

My understanding is that the boards meet the first week of the month, and that COT is almost full through the May 2010 class. They may be trying to fill a few holes, but according to the people we talked to at AFPC, this is apparently the case.

I do know that sometimes they'll convene extra boards when they have slots to fill, so for you I hope that's the case.

Of course, the AF is always 'wrong', if you will, and they tend to change on a dime, so what's true today may not be true tomorrow.

Once you're selected, you'll know within three duty days (or less) of the board closing. I was selected on 4 June and knew on 8 June.

I would like to see you get the October class - then there would be one person I "knew" b/f I got there!

Spencer2002 · Jul 17, 2009

I was told I would be in the Aug 09 class and then we had some hang-ups so the recruiter moved me to the Oct 10 class. I don’t this I could wait any longer, I hate my current job. What AF base are you trying to get? This may sound strange but I’m trying to get assigned to Mt. Home AFB because it is the closes to our house and we can’t sell our home at this time, obviously. They want me to be a clinic nurse working the phones mostly. That’s fine with me, I’m have a really hard time with my current job and the market is slow for nursing in the Boise, ID area. Thanks for the input hope to see you at COT in Oct.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2009

I was told I would be in the Aug 09 class and then we had some hang-ups so the recruiter moved me to the Oct 10 class. I don’t this I could wait any longer, I hate my current job. What AF base are you trying to get? This may sound strange but I’m trying to get assigned to Mt. Home AFB because it is the closes to our house and we can’t sell our home at this time, obviously. They want me to be a clinic nurse working the phones mostly. That’s fine with me, I’m have a really hard time with my current job and the market is slow for nursing in the Boise, ID area. Thanks for the input hope to see you at COT in Oct.

I pm'd you.

kkcrank · Jul 21, 2009

Lackland is apparently one of the best for trauma. Andrews will probably not be an option since they are changing med-surg into a clinic (that's where I was supposed to go).