Air Force Nurse- Rank Expectancy?

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I was looking into military nurses and came down to 2 branches: Army/ Air Force.

One big problem I see is the Air Force promotes slower. Does this mean that you won't make rank enough?

By that I mean, what rank can you expect to reach in the Air Force before retiring? (i.e Colonel, Lt. Col, etc.) I plan to make a career out of the military, so being forced out at 16 years wouldn't exactly be ideal.

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The rank one attains by retirement is highly variable. I have know folks who retired as captains and others who retired as full colonels. It just depends. And with the service getting even more competitive due to budget cuts, you can bet they will start forcing more and more folks to retire earlier and earlier...

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

Army nurses do seem to make rank faster. I'm AF I have every expectation of retiring as a LtCol. The only reason I care about making rank is to ensure I don't get asked to leave. lol. In the AF as a new grad you come in as a 2Lt for 2 years. then 2 years as 1Lt. Usually make captain at 4 years - there is a board to make captain now and right now 95% make it. Generally 8 years as Captain before Major - this varies depending on numbers. Basically, making colonel in 20 years is doable for a motivated hard worker.

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