Age limits/requirements

athena55, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2010

i hate to ask for repeated information but i'm having a hard time navigating the websites for the various services. i understand there is an upper age limit for the full service af/navy/army and waivers if you're over that. can anyone help me with the upper age limit number and what does the waiver entail? also, i see that the regular air force requires a bsn but reserve allows an asn. is that the case for navy and army too? and are there different age requirements for reserve? i'm going to finish an adn when i'm three months shy of 43 and had planned to go right into a bsn bridge or a msn bridge to apn specialty.
in order to obtain an age waiver the respective board that you are applying to (army, air force, navy) must first approve it, i.e., sign off on your waiver request
i know that, in the past, the upper limit for the reserves side of the house was 47. for ad it was 42 years of age (if coming in as an officer) they (the army) has accepted physicians who are 60 years of age.
you must have your bsn in order to become a commissioned officer active duty (ad). for reserves you can come in with your adn and you can be promoted to cpt but you will need your bsn to be promotable
when i was 19 and addicted to the nurses on china beach i visited my local recruiter... ended up with a broken leg from a sport injury instead of going through with it and got distracted for about 20 years making a family. if i' too old or this isn't feasible, what other ways can a civilian nurse get involved with military nursing to give back to our vets and country?

how about the va? or seeking employment at a military medical center (medcen) as a contract or government service (gs) rn?

hope you get the answers you seek!

AOX4RN, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 30, 2010

Thank you Athena55! How can I find out what MEDCEN facilities are in my area? I'm in SoCal and know there are VA hospitals in Long Beach and West Los Angeles. I was under the impression the Gov't Svcs nurses had similar rules to military or maybe I'm thinking some other program? Is that the same as the Civilian Corps under the Department of Health?

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Jul 31, 2010

Sounds like you were thinking of US Public Health service which is a uniform service. As far as having a ADN only the Army Reserve will accept them and then only a limited number.

FLmomof5 · Aug 4, 2010

Actually the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard accept ADN's as well.

just_cause, BSN, RN · Aug 4, 2010

FLmom,

national guard choices are state by state. That being said they (like the reserves) have a surplus of applicants to slots and in many cases to be competitive it would be better to have the BSN.. especially if in the process of adn to bsn it would be much easier to obtain it then apply vs applying with adn, doing training and getting bsn... that is of course not taking in other 'life considerations' for each person's decision.

Apgar, you can search usajobs.gov or go through va website to get routed to apply to va fed jobs.. keep in mind its usually a very length application process so make sure you have other work in the mean time~

lucy18 · Aug 4, 2010

I am 46 with 21 years nursing experience. I have a Masters Degree in education and am almost finished with a Masters Degree in Nursing. I applied to the Airforce Reserves and am waiting to hear if I was selected by the Surgeon General. My recruiter said she is optimistic regarding my selection, but has said nothing else. She did say I am to old for active duty. Any thoughts? It seems that the recruiter does not want to reveal to much until she recieves confirmation. I don't even know what comes next, how long it ill take or what and where I will be drilling. She does think I will be commissioned as a Major, but again nothing definite. I welcome any information. What do you think about the age, will I be the grandmother of the group, even though I am thin, look young and have a four year old? Starting to feel a little self concious.

Flipper911 · Aug 5, 2010

i thought you could go in active duty up until 48.

lucy18 · Aug 5, 2010

48, I plan on starting in the reserves and if it is at all possible I will try to cross over. Thank you for the reply.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Aug 5, 2010

Actually the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard accept ADN's as well.

Most be a state by state.

aktexas · Aug 5, 2010

Not sure how accurate this is, but I was told that it is very difficult to "cross over" from the Reserves to AD. I had thought about going that route and was advised against it. As for AD Air Force, I do know that you just have to be eligible to retire by age 62. With your years of experience as a nurse, I'm sure you would go in at a higher rank, but unless you had prior military service that would count toward retirement, I don't think you would be eligible for retirement by age 62. It wouldn't hurt to talk to a health care recruiter for AD to get specifics.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Aug 5, 2010

When I switched from Army Reserves to active Army last year it was not a problem. I also spoke with AF & Navy and both said it would not be a problem. It can be a hassle since you have to do most of the boarding process again.