Advice NEEDED!!! Dual military questions

[counts22]

Hello,

I am just starting my degree towards nursing. My husband is currently in the Navy (enlisted) and we have been discussing the option of the Nurse Candidate Program. We have a son together and I guess my concern is that we may not get stationed near each other, or may be deployed at the same time. I know they have a co-location request. I'm just wondering has anyone been dual military in a similar circumstance as me and had issues with being stationed near a spouse or being deployed and having to have a family member take temporary custody of your child or children?

TIA! I appreciate all the insight I can get!!!!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

It's rough being dual military. No doubt about it. The needs of the govt always come first. You will have to have a plan in place at all times for your sons care. If you both get stationed overseas you will need to entrust your child to a friend to transport him back to the states in case of emergency.

I speak from from personal experience but I have to add that it was many yrs ago.

[caliotter3]

Same situation as trauma. We were both military in the same service. The actual logistics of filing the family care plan was more trouble than any actual deployment/duty situation that came up. You have to find people who are willing to take on the responsibilities as outlined in the plan. When your family refuses to cooperate, then you have to approach others. It can be a pain. I usually got my caregivers to agree to the care plan responsibilities. It worked out because they were taking care of the child anyway so it only made sense that they would/could deal with this, should the need to implement the plan arise.

As far as being stationed together, the majority of this depends on the basic need for someone with your qualifications being needed at a duty station at the same time as someone with your spouse's qualifications being needed at the same duty station at the same time. This is something you would discuss with the recruiters or others in your chain of command who could give you more specific advice. In general, for instance, they tend to need, say, cooks everywhere as well as administrative personnel everywhere. Things get more difficult when two services are involved, or when one or both members have jobs that are too specialized. All to be discussed before decisions are made. Good luck.

[counts22]

Thank you so much for some insight. I'm meeting with a medical recruiter next week. I know they like to sugar coat things and make it sound amazing which I'm sure it is. Does the navy try to keep one parent on sea duty and the other on shore duty?