air force nursing

I wanted to know more information about air force nursing if anyone out there is an air force nurse or knows a lot about it. I am about to graduate in december and wanted to enter as an officer. The main thing I wanted to know is about when you are off duty or work are you allowed to leave to do what you need to do. For instance if I was off 4 days in a row would I be allowed to go to my home 800 miles away for a few days or am I bound to the surrounding area of the base I would be stationed at. My recruiter said my time is my time but he is not an air force nurse so I do not know if he knows. But any information about this area would be helpful to me. Thank you.

[cmggriff]

ceculia,

I just got out. Whether or not you can travel extended distances in your off time is ofter determined by the commander. At some bases the orders give a specific distance. At others there is a specific time limit (i.e. 8 hours return). If something happens to you and you cannot get back to station in time for your shift, you are Absent Without Leave (AWOL). In the Officer Corps this is a career ender. In fact, there are a lot of things not tolerated in officers that are no big deal in the enlisted ranks. Good luck, Gary

[JenKatt]

I'm entering my second of four year commitment..

First off, you may not be at the base that is only 800 miles from your home, you might be at one thousands of miles from your home. Your recruiter might say, hey you'll be sure to go there, bull, all your sure of is to get an assignment.

Our HI (hospital instruction) does not havea specific time or distance to be away from base. However, most of the nurses won't travel to far without taking leave. Considering you get 30 days paid leave each year, and don't get a tremendous chance to take it, you usually have the ability to use the leave when you need to.

[darby]

hi, i am retired navy,the recruiter is not always up on everything, there are resources to find this on the net, the nursing officers control their own time, as long as there isnt any emergency status, i retired after 22 years, my retirement gives me everything i need, i am 57 now and 32 when i retired,i work parttime now and market on the internet,military.com is a good site for info, keep your goals in line and the financial security will benefit you in the end, good luck to you,darby,moderator.

[LoriUSAFRN]

I'm currently an Air Force nurse with 15 years in. If you're interested-go for it. I joined with no intention of making it a career, just wanted to do something different...now I'm five years away from a retirement check!

I have loved the life style and respect I get as an officer. The best thing about AF nursing is that you can't stagnant and you won't be a staff nurse for the next 20 years.

Re: going places on your time off-yes traveling 800 miles on a four day weekend is do-able, obviously you plan on flying. Just keep in mind that flights are late, cancelled and the weather can get bad...although you can always call your supervisor and explain your situation, I don't advise it. You'll more than likely come back to a letter of counseling.

BUT don't let this stop you from joining-it wouldn't be any different in the civilian world.

Good luck!

e-mail me if you have any more questions

[e-mail]

Lori

[Chuckie]

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