Can a brand new Army nurse reservist switch to active duty?

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Hi there!

I was commissioned into the Army Reserves Nurse Corps May 2013 (however my PEBD is Nov of 2012) and am now considering going active duty and am not 100% why I didn't do it in the first place (well, I have some reasons such as I love where I live!). I see some threads on this topic but was wondering:

1) how long is this process and is it the same application process as for reserves? Or can they re-use my info?

2) Am I even allowed to switch to active duty or do I need to fulfill some amount of time or obligation first?

3) From what I understand, the military has been more selective and I'm not sure how picky they are being. any idea? I have a little over a year of nursing experience, 2 Bachelor's degrees, am in great shape, and have a clean record. And I'm 30 years old.

4) What are the steps I need to take to apply and can I start the process now before making a decision so that by the time I find out if they accept me, I can decide? Or do I need to make a decision prior?

5) What happens to my sign-on incentive (I get the HPLRP, paying up to $50,000 in 3 years starting after 1 "good" year

6) I'm like 15% done with Phase 1 of BOLC... should I be continuing it? would I have to do a separate basic leadership course for active duty?

That's it for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

Yes you can switch over to active but it will be difficult because of the number of nurse's they are picking up by direct accession. Depending on when certain paperwork etc was done it might not need to be redone. You will have to reboard for active duty. As far as your bonus I am not sure. If you go active you will end up with a ADSO (active duty service obligation) depending on your bonuses. Generally it for 3 years without any bonuses. You will not incur anymore time for the reserves since all initial commissions are for 8 years no matter reserves or active. You will need to contact a health care recruiter for specifics on the process of changing over. I changed from reserves to active 4 years ago and was just a long process but then again they had a goal of 1000 direct commissions compared to just around 1% of that number for this year. Not all ROTC nursing grads were picked up for active duty for FY13 just to give you a idea how tight recruiting is. If going active is what you want go for it otherwise you might have the what if in the back,of your mind.

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I am BOLC qual'd (with a a top 5% DA 1059/service school evaluation) and a ROTC grad who chose reserves for school purposes then tried to jump back to AD. I am feeling out my options right now but unless you wow some people at your unit or BOLC it's not going to happen. You have to be good, meaning although there is a board in Nov you have to make contacts and network. The Army is a lot about who you know. Unfortunately for DC, BOLC is more a place to learn and stumble then it is for prior service or ROTC who can step up into leadership positions

You have to start all over again with the process and keep in mind there are 22 year olds looking to do the same thing. BOLC is the same material for RC except you do the classroom portion online. Track phase is a waste of time unless you are a 70B

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Confirmed a few days ago they won't even board you without 2 years experience.

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Specializes in U.S. Army Reserve 1LT 66S - ICU.

I know this post is a few years back but did you ever switch from reserve to active duty ? I'm about to commission into reserves and don't want to face same regret but I think due to my situation with 2 sons I will stick with my initial reserve agreement 3 yrs with a very generous sign on bonus

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

You can't easily switch mid-commitment. Would say almost impossible right now. 2 separate pots of money. You'll most likely have to finish your reserve time and then apply for active duty.

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

Even when your reserve contract is up it still would be hard to switch over.

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Specializes in Rural Underserved Populations/Corrections/Psych.
Even when your reserve contract is up it still would be hard to switch over.

This is very interesting to know. I too am thinking about joining the reserves first so I can finish nursing school and had a plan to switch to active duty later. I thought it was an simple transfer?

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