Army Nurse Corps FY2013

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Hey everybody, I'm starting a thread here for those applying to the Army Nurse Corps in FY2013. I figure this might be a good place to get to know other future nurse corps officers and a place for the veterans of the ANC to pass on some advice.

Share your story and hopefully we will meet down in San Antonio this Winter/spring of 2013

Ill start with my story,

I am a 28 y/o critical care nurse with 2 years experience in a level 2 trauma center in Virignia. I passed MEPS at Ft. Eustis and have submitted security packet, letters of reference and letter of intent.

I am applying to the October review board for Active Duty Army Nurse Corps for the 66H8A(critical care) and 66T(trauma) programs( I am not sure if they are still running this one, but you don't get what you don't ask for).

I am happily married with a baby on the way, my wife is 100% behind a move the Army and I feel blessed to have her love and support.

The road to the Army has been a long one with a degree in Biology, stint as a drug rep and return for an accelerated BSN.

I love being a nurse and love working in critical care. I hope to serve my country in uniform treating service members & their families at home and in forward deployed units.

I want to be an critical care nurse and officer in the U.S. Army and I hope that I will get to meet all of you in uniform at BOLC, at MEDDAC, CSH or FST in CONUS or OCONUS.

Here's to all us achieving our dreams of becoming Army Nurses!

HOOOOOOAH!

I'm giving my 2 weeks notice today!! .. I can't believe BOLC is so close. I'm not looking forward to the long drive to Texas, but it will be so worth it.

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Specializes in Burns/Trauma.

LunahRN thanks! Normally I feel pretty smart but this process has made me feel unprepared and vulnerable at times for sure! I still haven't gotten any type of written orders and am just unsure how and when they are going to come. Can I go to TX without them? Do I need my recruiter to assist me in making flight reservations? Can my husband and I start looking at homes to rent? How much of this uniform stuff do I buy before I get there? Aaaahhhh! So many questions!!!

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LunahRN thanks! Normally I feel pretty smart but this process has made me feel unprepared and vulnerable at times for sure! I still haven't gotten any type of written orders and am just unsure how and when they are going to come. Can I go to TX without them? Do I need my recruiter to assist me in making flight reservations? Can my husband and I start looking at homes to rent? How much of this uniform stuff do I buy before I get there? Aaaahhhh! So many questions!!!

Most of these are answered in your BOLC link. You can start with housing when you have your orders, and your dependents are enrolled in deers.

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brandon, did you see the link chudder posted? U.S. Army Medical Department Center & School Portal -- pretty much all the info you need there. :)

As far as your "E" pay, the finance folks will work with you during your finance briefing to ensure that you get the appropriate pay. If there are forms you need to have that establish prior service, etc., they will tell you what they are. My roommate had some "E" pay issues, and they got them worked out for her.

I did not have a CAC until Ft. Sam. Until that point, I just carried my orders and my drivers license, that got me into where I needed to go. Our cadre folks just rounded us up early one morning and took us over to the ID card place and got them done. There were a lot of us that didn't have a CAC yet.

I have looked at that website through and through. I still haven't seen a date for BOLC though. The ones that pop up when I look at class dates are from last year. I have looked at the packing list and have already started gathering what I have now from being prior service. The ASU's will be the worst because that is a lot of money it seems to get all that stuff. Thanks for your help though. Can't wait to start training.

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I have looked at that website through and through. I still haven't seen a date for BOLC though. The ones that pop up when I look at class dates are from last year. I have looked at the packing list and have already started gathering what I have now from being prior service. The ASU's will be the worst because that is a lot of money it seems to get all that stuff. Thanks for your help though. Can't wait to start training.

You will receive a 1 time clothing allowance of 600$, of course though this is a repayment since you need these things before you report.

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Specializes in Burns/Trauma.
Most of these are answered in your BOLC link. You can start with housing when you have your orders, and your dependents are enrolled in deers.
But when and how do we get our orders! Also, it says in there buy/ bring everything but there is no retailer by me and I hate to buy that much stuff without knowing if it will fit properly.
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But when and how do we get our orders! Also, it says in there buy/ bring everything but there is no retailer by me and I hate to buy that much stuff without knowing if it will fit properly.

You will get your orders through email, from what the history shows within the past couple years, people have gotten them 2-3 weeks out from reporting. You will have to travel to a retailer, if you can. Or maybe get to post a day or two earlier and buy some at the clothing and sales in Fort Sam. There are also size charts online, where you can actually tape yourself to make sure you are getting the perfect size uniforms.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I had to go to my nearest clothing sales place to buy my uniforms. Yes, expect to spend about $1K, you'll get reimbursed (one time) $600 after you arrive at BOLC. Your recruiter should be able to help you with this.

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Specializes in Burns/Trauma.

Okay, I will speak with my recruiter and see if we can take a road trip together. How about the dress uniform? Can I wait until I get there to purchase that? When will we wear that during BOLC...only for graduation?

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For the ASU I recommend marlowwhite.com They have a great package deal that is cheaper than the exchange. I got everything including tailoring for around $550. However, just a word of advice. I went and tried the stuff on in person instead of buying online, and the sizes run very small. For example, I wear a size 4 in jeans, but I had to get everything in a size 12.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Don't wait to get ASUs. You will have an ASU inspection during the first handful of weeks, and you don't want to be picking your ASUs up the night before - Ft. Sam clothing sales and the tailor can get backed up/backordered.

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Okay, I will speak with my recruiter and see if we can take a road trip together. How about the dress uniform? Can I wait until I get there to purchase that? When will we wear that during BOLC...only for graduation?

Before you take a road trip, you could try creating an account on the exchange website. I created an account and was able to order additional uniforms that I was not able to get on base. The website is Shopmyexchange.com. You have to do some clicking to get to the right page, but when you are there click on the uniform store.

It may not work because you have not received orders yet, but it's worth a try. I was able to do it, but I used my husbands info because he is in the USMC. I never tried my info, but it might work.

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