Confused about AF Nursing Program

[AFFam]

Hi, my husband is a nurse and has signed a letter of acceptance with the Air Force. I am a little confused on a few things, so hopefully I will ask my questions clearly.

Has anyone signed a letter of acceptance without a hard date and duty station? He graduated in December and signed his letter of acceptance in February, but we have yet to get any information about when he will be going to COT and where we will be stationed. The letter has a tentative date of October 2010, but like it says, it's tentative. I know that his recruiter is swamped but we would like a few months to prepare financially for the relocation.

Will we have enough time to move before he has to go to COT? Currently we are both in North Carolina, hoping to be stationed at Keesler. If his COT date is in October, our daughter will be 9 months old and we are hoping to plan the move so I don't have to do it alone. What's the best way to make this happen? We both are currently employed so we will have to give notice of course.

What types of employment opportunities are available for spouses? I am an accountant so I don't think it will be hard for me to find something. I was hoping for a part-time position that will allow me to be at home with our daughter when he has to work.

How long are you typically at your first duty station as a nurse? He is hoping to stay at Keesler until our son graduates from college, hopefully 3 years from now. Then he wants to start prepping for CRNA school. I know he will need ICU experience before he can even apply for CRNA school, and he probably won't have it within the three timeframe.

I am new to the military family, so I just want to make sure that I am fully prepare for what I have signed on for. My husband is former Marine, so he is fully aware of what is about to happen!

I'm sure I will think of other things as we go along! TIA!!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Welcome to the Air Force!

I'm currently an officer stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. I'm an RN on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Wilford Hall Medical Center, the Air Force's largest teaching hospital and only BMT unit in the Department of Defense. I have several years enlisted time as well and am a "career" Navy brat, so I've had a lot of experience not only with the Air Force but secondhand as a dependent kid as well.

I can't answer to the slowness of the Air Force, but my best educated guess is that AFPC (Air Force Personnel Center, at Randolph AFB, down here in San Antonio) is way behind in being able to assign folks to both COT classes and bases. Unfortunately you're about to enter a life and career where this kind of stuff is common. The best thing I can tell you is to be as patient as you can.

You will probably be doing the move yourself, otherwise you'll have no household goods for a month and a bit while he's at COT - unless you move to your duty station sooner ahead of him. BUT - before you panic - the Air Force will move your household goods for you - you will not have to lift a finger to do it. You and your husband will arrange for the movers through TMO, the Traffic Management Office, and the company will come to your house, pack your stuff, and move it for you to your base. Moving the stuff before he goes to COT could end up costing you money, since the government will only pay for thirty days of storage of your household goods. After that, you pay per day, and it's not reimbursed.

Really, a military move is NOT that bad - I can see where it would be scary but you really don't lift a finger to do it. They pack everything (be sure to tell them and separate what you DON'T want packed, or they'll pack it - when we moved from Hawaii to California when I was a kid they packed a box of garbage and shipped it - you have to watch these people), move it, bring it to your new house, and unpack it and take all the boxes away for you. It's pretty awesome, really.

Spousal employment is usually left up to the spouse once you get to your duty station. There are usually a few government jobs available but generally the spouses find employment outside the installation.

The typical first duty station is 3 to 4 years, so you should be OK. The ICU course is here at Lackland, so when it's time for him to start his ICU experience, you'll probably end up PCSing (permanent change of station - in other words, transferring) here to Brooke Army Medical Center - by that time the ICUs will be gone from Wilford Hall and the inpatient hospital will be over at Ft Sam Houston on the other side of San Antonio (but you'll still belong to the Air Force - there are a lot of changes going on right now with the combining of bases and medical facilities).

This is a fantastic forum for answers - you should be able to search and find most of the COT incidental questions answered. But if you can't find an answer, by all means - post!

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the Blue!

[AFFam]

Thank you so much! He had already informed me of the 'hurry and wait' mentality of the military, so I kind of expected this.

His recruiter just emailed us and said that she expects to get our duty station and a firm COT this summer. Does that seem odd? I've read on here a lot of people are graduating this spring and going to COT sooner than he is. Is it just the recruiting in North Carolina that is slow?

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

I PM'd you re: NC.

[rghbsn, BSN, RN]

I'm in NC, too. And a former Marine that is now an AF nurse. Send me a PM if you have any specific questions. Carolinapooh is an awesome resource as well. What part of NC? You say you both have jobs, is he working as a nurse now? Hopefully he'll have over 6 mos. experience before he heads to COT so he can skip NTP.

[AFFam]

Thanks for the PM, carolinapooh. That's what I thought.

Rghbsn, we are in Greenville. He is currently working at Pitt and if we leave in October, he will have 6 months experience. However, we have a friend who left in December and he says that it may be worth it to go through NTP. Who knows? Once I get PM access, I'm sure I'll have a few questions for you as well. What made you transition from the Corp to the AF?

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

I went to ECU a long, long time ago....I used to live in Kings Row Apartments down near Hastings Ford near where 5th and 10th branch by the Highway Patrol office (they used to be really nice)!

Thanks for understanding about the PM. :)

[Bella86]

Thank you so much! He had already informed me of the 'hurry and wait' mentality of the military, so I kind of expected this.

His recruiter just emailed us and said that she expects to get our duty station and a firm COT this summer. Does that seem odd? I've read on here a lot of people are graduating this spring and going to COT sooner than he is. Is it just the recruiting in North Carolina that is slow?

Sounds like your husband and I are on the same page as far as not knowing our definite duty station and COT date! I'm graduating in a couple weeks too and still need to take the NCLEX. But I'm trying to figure out what to do with my time before I head over (assuming that I'll pass NCLEX on the first try!). My recruiter said the same thing - that he expects to find out specific information this summer.

I'm a planner... so I totally understand your confusion!

[midinphx, BSN]

What to do... get a job. Really. The wait is a killer. The uniforms are expensive. Get what experience you can and enjoy it for what it is. I would not reveal that you will be leaving on an interview though.

[rghbsn, BSN, RN]

The reason I asked about NTP is it adds another "hiccup" to the final destination. He could end up going to NTP at the same base he'll be stationed at, but there are a lot of folks that don't. They go from COT to NTP (both unaccompanied) and THEN go to their duty station. That's where you would move to, and that's where TMO would take your stuff.

If he doesn't have to do NTP, then you would go from COT to duty station...makes it a little easier in my opinion.

As far as why I went from Marine to Airman...I was a victim of a RIF (reduction in force) while in the Marine Corps. I had a minimal medical issue that was used to push me out (I had no medical experience-I was in the infantry). I used the GI Bill to go to nursing school, have been working in the ICU, CCU, trauma team, flight and ground transport for 8 years...

Since the Marines don't have nurses, I talked to a Navy recruiter (that was less than helpful, and quite a bit of a jackass, truth be told) and then an Air Force recruiter. I feel like I made the right choice. I get to fly, I get to nurse, and I get to be a captain with great potential for advancement and real, attainable career goals. Can't really beat that!