Air Force Nurse Rank Advancement and RB Q's

[Fly-T-Nurse]

Couple of questions:

1: How do you rank up as you gain years of experience as a nurse in the AF? Back story: hubby has been a nurse for 3yrs as of tomorrow and leaves for COT in July. We know they only count civilian nursing time as 1/2 so he will technically only have 1.5yrs and has to go in as an O1. From what we were told, once he is AD his nursing time counts day for day. So 6mo from the time he starts working at his first duty station he will be at the 2 full, counted year mark. Do they just automatically keep track of that and promote you (barring any corrective actions of course) or how does that work? He does have 4yrs prior AD enlisted experience so time in service shouldn't be a problem if that is part of it. We weren't sure if there was a specific time in grade requirement he would have to fulfill.

2: He has done the things that are outlined in the Nurse Corps Pay Plan to be qualified for the critical care retention bonus. When he just went through all the packet of papers to finalize there was a copy of the Retention Bonus forms to sign. We understand that he has to do all of that with his chief nurse once he is at his first assignment but that form read as though it is paid at the time the contract starts and then yearly. Did we read that correct or do you not get your first RB payment until the end of the first year?

Thanks in advance!

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

Promotions are technically competitive and you technically meet a promotion board. However, 99% can generally expect to promote to O-2 after 2 years (so 6 months after your husband starts COT). You will hit O-3 2 years after that (so 2.5 years after your husband starts COT).

After that, it will be about 6 years before you are eligible to promote to O-4. There is an actually competitive promotion board for that.

I've yet to take a retention bonus because it can prevent you from applying to certain programs (such as AFIT in the case of the 6 year bonus). However, I've generally heard you get the first payment shortly after signing the paperwork.

[Fly-T-Nurse]

Ok thanks. We were hoping that’s how it would go. Would be nice to have the extra $ being that his first assignment is in California. Is it feasible to even get accepted to AFIT within a 6yr time frame? I have read a lot about it being super competitive and hard to get in to.

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

Yes, it's realistic to get accepted to AFIT after two years. However, the requirements/pre-requisites for each program vary widely and may take longer than that to accomplish. For example, adult-geriatric CNS could easily be started after two years. However, that might be a bit ambitious for CRNA (which is typically the most competitive program).

If AFIT is a goal for your husband, make sure he clearly states that when he meets with the chief nurse at his first base. The chief nurse will then be able to provide guidance on what restrictions various retention bonuses place on each individual.

[Fly-T-Nurse]

Awesome. Thanks for the info!