Is Army Reserves A Good Career Choice

athena55, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2006

dear angela:

i think i can safely say, one rn to another (smile) is that you already made one very important choice in your life: when you decided to enter school and study the science of nursing. having said that i seem to remember an old ancient greek philosopher type once said, "all things change and we must change with them"

i think, for some people, the type of work that they do definitely defines who and what they are, the caliber of person that others see them as. don't you feel that what you do on a day-by-day basis affects the people around you? your peers, your patients and their family?

if you are at a stage in your life where making money and putting it in the bank is a top priority, then you are at your place in life. right now. but, if you feel that you can offer your nursing knowledge and skills on another level then by all means check out the army nurse corps. but remember, our reserves and national guard help to supplement our regular armed forces, and even though you can work at a civilian job while in the army reserves the chances of you being activated and deployed are great, and the length of service can be over one year.

by the time you read this i would think your meeting with your healthcare recruiter would have taken place. i hope s/he was able to answer some of your questions. when you have the time, check out this website: http://armynursecorps.amedd.army.mil/index.html

"to provide nursing leadership and high quality nursing care during war, peacetime or humanitarian operations, in support of the mission of the army medical department and professional military medical health system"

angela, keep in touch. let us know your impressions and your decision(s).

athena 1 lt army nurse corps ready. caring. proud

Corvette Guy · Mar 30, 2006

I am meeting a recruiter today for the Army Reserves. I seem to never let go of the idea to Go Army however some things always make me back off. Like the uncertainty of where I would end up living, will they send me overseas, do I loose control over making choices in my life. Other things like will financially will I do worse if I choose Army Reserves or am I better off trying to get work in the private sector.
The flip side, always wonder will being in the Army fullfill my need to learn leadership skills, will it make me a stronger person, will it fullfill my needs of service to others, will it feel honorable, will I be able to work in the private sector and have those weekends where I get to get away and feel like I am making a difference and meeting new people ..........or am I just making a choice that will uproot me and leave me feeling like I have and unstable life.....
So many unknowns makes this prospect scary yet despite the fear I cannot seem to let go of the desire to take my chances........really would be nice to hear from those who have made the choice and who know whats its like.....particular would be nice to hear from those who are from New York or California since in those states nursing pay is much higher.......and well if a nurse choose nursing in those states it seems like I would like to see how they think the change has been for them and was it a good choice.......however all your opinions matter to me since sharing experience help me view what I should not or ask my recruiter take care wish I remembered that this site was here since today is when I am meeting the recruiter ...........Lord order my steps and help me make a good choice
Thanks again
Angela

Angela - How did the mtg go today w/Army Health Care Recruiter?

angelique777 · Mar 30, 2006

Thanks for your replies . I met with the recruiter yesterday and well I signed up and started the aplication process........I told him my fears ......basically any one I tell that I want to join the reserves says I am crazy so hence the reason for my post.........basically everyones says it will destabilize my life, that I will be uprooted .........that I will be deployed to Iraq........I guess I cannot say that I myself have not thought about the same things........I am a single mom and my son is grown but I have been through a lot and we are very close.......guess do not know how I would feel if I had to be apart from him for a long time........guess the recruiter said they do not just deploy you like that........also that the maxium time is one year.of deployment......I felt this was something I always wanted to do so I signed up.........all I can do is pray to God and see what he reveals to me and take it one day at a time...........I am new at nursing and while I like my work there are times I need it to be more then just going 12hrs and then go home to sleep..........became a nurse cause wanted to make a difference and there is another side of me who needs to know there is more in life than just the corner we go to every day down the block.........guess I was hoping that I will grow more as a nurse and as a person in the Reserves..........I hope that is the case........

I really appreciate your post and any information you give me will be great........I go for my physical friday.........the recruiter is picking me up and taking me there since the base is two hours away by train........so really glad he is picking me up

I told him my weight and he says I really do not look like the weight I say but that I look much less....recruiters know how to make you feel good lol .......No I will not confess my weight here lol........but he was telling me how picky the army doctors can be in a physical.......gosh do you think they will say ..........some degree of adipose tissue 360 degree around the abdomen ..............rejected ............lol

just joking it not that bad but kinda dread the physical he kinda gave me the impression I would be in my undies with a whole lot of other women doing the duck walk lol..........well we will see..........I will strike a pose for the docs lol.....just joking....luckly for me I have no medically problems just hope they do not find any problems.......

Again hope you can share any thing you think I should know and any questions you think I should ask...........

I am still confused about the contractual agreement about the yrs involved.....I could use the 50,000 loan repayment and the 30,000 sign on bonus but exactly how many year does that mean.......that was confusing I need to clarify that again .........what do you think how long should a person sign on for..........as a single mom and with a lot of debt from school the prospect of loan repayment was sweet .........

Either way I started the paper work........I went to my Charge nurse to ask her for recommendation.........at first she said she was not sure if hospital policy allowed her to give me that for the army.......She is very old fashion does everything by the book so kinda dreaded mentioning it at work I was going to do this.......did not want people to start to talk not sure what the manager would say........but since they require you to get this I asked her..........so I simply said this is a form that just is a recommendation letter and charge nurse is allowed to give recommendations..........she sighed and then agreed.........so thats where I am now ........heading out today to get my school transcritps and going to fill out the form today.........

not telling my family yet because my two brothers passed away and my dad from medical related stuff in the passed year or two and well I can see them saying I am nuts for going to the reserves..........will just keep this to my self for now appreciate anything you can share with me about your experiences............nice talking to you

Sincerely Angela

rclimbr · Mar 30, 2006

Good luck to you in your adventures. I was in the army not as a medic but I did communications repair. You are committed to 8 years total. Just remember recruiters are sales people. They will tell you lots of things to sell you but in less it is in writing it doesn't count. Also about going overseas, you may want to go to your new reserve unit (without the recruiter) and ask some one there how many times they have been deployed in the past 3 years. The recruiter did tell the truth about the one year deployment, but he left out the part about coming home from a deployment and turning around and going again.

Again good luck

Corvette Guy · Mar 30, 2006

Good luck to you in your adventures. I was in the Army not as a medic but I did communications repair. You are committed to 8 years total. Just remember recruiters are sales people. They will tell you lots of things to sell you but in less it is in writing it doesn't count. Also about going overseas, you may want to go to your new reserve unit (without the recruiter) and ask some one there how many times they have been deployed in the past 3 years. The recruiter did tell the truth about the one year deployment, but he left out the part about coming home from a deployment and turning around and going again.
Again good luck

angelique777 -

Army should always be capitalized, IMHO [no biggie since no disrespect intended ]. Just as the word Soldier should always be capitalized.
Very true, if it is not written, then it is not so. Just like in nursing care, if the axn is not documented, then it never happened.
Excellent idea, make a visit to your new Reserve Unit, ASAP, and ask to speak to another TPU AN Soldier [w/same AOC as your's]. In fact, you should ask your recruiter to take you on a Battle Assembly [new word jargon for Drill Weekend] Weekend. The recruiter could be your driver, rather than a tour guide. The recruiter in all likely hood knows nothing about the inner workings related to your Reserve Unit & nursing duties. Therefore, again, I advise you find another AN Soldier w/same AOC at your Unit to chat with.
I know for a fact, TPU AN Soldiers can be mobilized for up to 18 months! How do I know? Because I know of AN Soldiers mobilized [activated to active duty] for 18 months... simple as that. Plus, I know of AN Soldier that is getting extended for another 6 months on top of the 18 months already deployed. On the other hand, I know of AN Soldiers that have not been mobilized in a long time, if ever. If your in Reserve Unit that is a USAH, then you will not get mobilized as an entire Unit, rather individually. Whereas, if assigned to CASH [similar to M*A*S*H* the television series] Unit, then most likely the entire Unit gets mobilized.
BTW, if you have no prior military service then you have an eight year committment. Plus, you cannot resign your commission until you have reached the eight years, either.

My preference; since I have prior active duty military service and can come out ahead financially as an Army Nurse in the Active Component [even w/8 yrs RN civilian experience & pay], rather than in the Reserves [RC] I decided to transfer from the RC to AC. I also like the stability aspect of being AC, rather than RC. That may not make sense to some, yet what counts is such reasoning makes sense to me and my wife. Blah, blah, blah...

If you care to PM me with specific concerns I can try to address such, or give you POCs.

Corvette Guy · Mar 30, 2006

...basically everyones says it will destabilize my life, that i will be uprooted .........that i will be deployed to iraq........i guess i cannot say that i myself have not thought about the same things........i am a single mom and my son is grown but i have been through a lot and we are very close.......guess do not know how i would feel if i had to be apart from him for a long time........guess the recruiter said they do not just deploy you like that........also that the maxium time is one year.of deployment......i felt this was something i always wanted to do so i signed up.........all i can do is pray to god and see what he reveals to me and take it one day at a time...........i am new at nursing and while i like my work there are times i need it to be more then just going 12hrs and then go home to sleep..........became a nurse cause wanted to make a difference and there is another side of me who needs to know there is more in life than just the corner we go to every day down the block.........guess i was hoping that i will grow more as a nurse and as a person in the reserves..........i hope that is the case........
my advise is only listen to other army nurse soldiers w/your same aoc, especially someone in your new reserve unit. btw, tpu an soldiers can be mobilized [activated from reserve to active duty] & deployed up to 18 months with possible extension based on needs of the army. the 66f [army crnas] have the luxury of being deployed for only 90 days, boots on the ground,however that is an aoc which is frequently mobilzed.
yes, imho you will grow more as a new nurse/new army reserve nurse d/t more respect is given to army rns, plus you will be placed in leadership roles as an army officer.
i really appreciate your post and any information you give me will be great........i go for my physical friday.........the recruiter is picking me up and taking me there since the base is two hours away by train........so really glad he is picking me up
i told him my weight and he says i really do not look like the weight i say but that i look much less....recruiters know how to make you feel good lol .......no i will not confess my weight here lol........but he was telling me how picky the army doctors can be in a physical.......gosh do you think they will say ..........some degree of adipose tissue 360 degree around the abdomen ..............rejected ............lol
just joking it not that bad but kinda dread the physical he kinda gave me the impression i would be in my undies with a whole lot of other women doing the duck walk lol..........well we will see..........i will strike a pose for the docs lol.....just joking....luckly for me i have no medically problems just hope they do not find any problems.......
i cannot speak of the female applicant physical process, however i know the male applicants are in their underwear doing the duck walk, etc. be advised, you need to ask your recruiter your weight limit [& body fat% limit] per your sex, age & ht. plus, you need to know the push-up, sit-up, 2 mile time requirement for your sex/age. the recruiter should have easy access to such charts with the above info.
again hope you can share any thing you think i should know and any questions you think i should ask...........
i am still confused about the contractual agreement about the yrs involved.....i could use the 50,000 loan repayment and the 30,000 sign on bonus but exactly how many year does that mean.......that was confusing i need to clarify that again .........what do you think how long should a person sign on for..........as a single mom and with a lot of debt from school the prospect of loan repayment was sweet .........
either way i started the paper work........i went to my charge nurse to ask her for recommendation.........at first she said she was not sure if hospital policy allowed her to give me that for the army.......she is very old fashion does everything by the book so kinda dreaded mentioning it at work i was going to do this.......did not want people to start to talk not sure what the manager would say........but since they require you to get this i asked her..........so i simply said this is a form that just is a recommendation letter and charge nurse is allowed to give recommendations..........she sighed and then agreed.........so thats where i am now ........heading out today to get my school transcritps and going to fill out the form today.........
by law, your civilian employer can not be biased against you in any way, shape, or form regards to military duties. your responsibility is to keep your civilian employer informed of any upcoming mitary duties. otherwise, i forget the name of the organization, an organization exist to help reserve soldiers that have civilian employer v. military conflicts. fact!
not telling my family yet because my two brothers passed away and my dad from medical related stuff in the passed year or two and well i can see them saying i am nuts for going to the reserves..........will just keep this to my self for now appreciate anything you can share with me about your experiences............nice talking to you
sincerely angela

i hope my comments you find helpful.

angelique777 · Mar 31, 2006

Wow all your post have been so helpful.

Well today I had my physical...........very humbling lol..........

Yes we are in our undies doing the duck walk......and never dreamed that someone was going to watch me while I had to collect a urine speciment yes very special lol.......but I passed my physical but I do have to lose 14lbs by June 2006 which I think is very much a possiblity......

My recruiter picked me up at 5am but the physical felt like it was all day but I actual finished by 1030 am.

Felt good to pass everything .

Regarding the unit in Brooklyn the recruiter say they have been deployed just once and they are on there way back now........

I will make a list from the information you sent me and ask my recruiter about those things......

I will definitely write again soon and appreciate the information you have provided...........

Your great folk........

God Bless you and all the Soldiers

Well talk to you soon .......

With affection

Angela

athena55, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2006

Hello Angela:

Good to see that your physical went well. Where did you go? I saw that you mentioned Brooklyn. Is that the B'klyn in NYC (Fort Hamilton perhaps) Did you go for your physical at Fort Dix? Nice place, no? How about when the female MD had to check to make sure you are 100% female?

I was much older than most of the other recruits but I was kind of proud of my duck walk, hahaha.

Keep us up to date on your progress!

Be well,

athena