Army Nurse Corps FY2013

[AjaxAndronicus]

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!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Things are moving more joint now with bases and even with command for increased efficiency. All militAry medicine is going to be under one command. Anyways. I am rambling.

Don't hold your breath on this happening before you retire. I'm not, and I can retire in ten years.

This idea has been around since 1945, and has yet take hold.

As it is, they're finding out that joint operations are neither as simple as they look on paper nor are they as cheap as they wanted to believe they would be. (And any on-the-ground, in-the-ranks service member could've told them that. You don't need four stars to figure this out, just a bit of sensibility about the reality of the situation.)

They've combined bases and services across the board, yet there was still a major budget shortfall/cutback/restructuring necessary (or not, depending on your stance) just to get through this fiscal year. Even our own Chief of Staff took a step back before his retirement and said, well, things aren't what we expected them to be at this point.

There's a lot of deep, long second looks being taken at this whole approach, so literally, watch this space.

[zombie]

A three star already has been slotted for command. Air Force general.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

A three star already has been slotted for command. Air Force general.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20130501/NEWS/305010022/Air-Force-general-appointed-head-single-military-health-agency

You read about the unification of TRICARE Management Activity into one division - that's the USAF three star appointed, a Maj Gen Douglas Robb.

TRICARE has nothing to do with unifying all medical personnel under one command.

The Defense Health Agency isn't the same thing as a unified medical command.

This combines the way health care is MANAGED across the board for all TRICARE recipients - dependents, veterans, retirees, and active duty members.

This is more along the lines of what the USAF and the USN Surgeon Generals wanted, while what the Army wants (and this is not meant to poke at a sister service; I'm only reporting public record here) is what you speak of - a single MEDICAL COMMAND, with all personnel answering to one commander.

This TRICARE realignment has nothing to do with the medical techs, LPNs (Army), Corpsmen, nurses, doctors, PAs, and the rest of the non-line medical divisions falling under one commander. That is so far off in the future that we may never see it, and I certainly don't expect to see it in my career's span.

The pushback to these unified command proposals has been a disproportionate spread of line-funded members (the USAF only provides 5 percent of the military's medics, and the USA provides over 45 percent, with the Navy in the middle), increased cost, and the sheer problem of essentially creating a fourth branch of the military under the DOD (remember, the Marines belong to the Dept of the Navy) with no separate guidance and possibly a limited ability to respond to wartime needs - since there would be no singular command directing the flow of people. For example, if the USAF suddenly needed medical support, who pays to get them there? Currently it's the USAF - and that's already determined in finance and budgeting. But if a realignment occurs, who determines who gets them there, who foots the bill, and how long do they remain there? Is it the determination of the requesting service, or the determination of the Unified Medical Corps? Who pays for supplies - the service who needs it, or the service who provides it? Or the Pentagon? How are these bills paid, tracked, traced? Who deals with overages and underpayments? Where does the money go? These aren't cut and dry questions or answers.

All of this stuff is mandated by manning documents, individual service requirements and quotas, and even Congressional law - so it's not a simple reorganization and realignment. We are one DOD, but we are three separate services (Coast Guard comes under the DHS; Marines are budgeted into the Dept of the Navy) with three separate bottom lines. There's also cost, logistics, and the problems of establishing governance over the medical command, since you'd need more than the UCMJ; again, you'd be creating a fourth independent branch of the Armed Forces which would require its own set of regulations.

Part of what I want to do in my career as I advance in rank is to have a position over at AFMOA, the Air Force Medical Operations Agency. It's things like this - the TRICARE realignment, the possibility of the creation of a US medical corps, cost analysis, and healthcare delivery - that this agency works on, not only for USAF personnel, but for the greater good and improved management of resources DOD wide. I find this both fascinating and essential if we are manage costs and still deliver the caliber of care we do today, with ongoing worldwide and immediate capability.

[zombie]

Perhaps it's gossip. But I don't think it is. I think things will change in slowly, like in steps/stages. Won't he over night. But it will change.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Wanted to add that in the event of the creation of a United States Medical Corps, the leader of that division would be the leader of a new branch of the Armed Forces - a Chief of Staff - and he (or she - we, meaning the military, have one female four star right now, USAF General Janet Wolfenbarger, and I believe she's the only one service-wide, unless Army General Ann Dunwoody, who was promoted in 2008, hasn't retired) would be a four-star general, to put that person on even footing with the other heads of the Armed Forces, who are also four stars.

You'd never intentionally have that sort of disparity of power at that level.

I also can't imagine that they'd promote a military generalist to the head of a medical corps; you'd more likely see someone like my former commander, who is now a three-star, the USAF Surgeon General, and a flight surgeon by trade, being promoted to full General rank to head a medical force. You'd want a medical person, not a pilot or a combat soldier or a ship-commanding admiral, commanding a medical force.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Perhaps it's gossip. But I don't think it is. I think things will change in slowly, like in steps/stages. Won't he over night. But it will change.

It's not gossip. What it is is an idea. Even Congress has bandied it about, and it's a nice theory. But too many people think you can just go 'ZAP!' and have it work - and it can't and won't.

Things have been changing since 1945, as I said. Joint command of bases is one move, consolidating medical centers is another, but they're finding out that in practice it doesn't work like it does or should on paper. It's not something they can just 'do'.

You'll find there are a lot of things inside the DOD like this.

[AjaxAndronicus]

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to give ya'll an update. I have applied to USAGPAN For June 2014 start. Just finished interview down at Bragg. Was told by the LTC that I certainly earned a good recommendation. So well see, USAGPAN releases admissions results in August, officer boards are oct, hopefully will be in BOLC in March 14, phase 1 June 14. Anyways that's the dream, loved every second of the interview at Bragg, hope I get to do it for real

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Awesome! Best of luck to you!!!

[jeckrn, BSN, RN]

Wanted to add that in the event of the creation of a United States Medical Corps, the leader of that division would be the leader of a new branch of the Armed Forces - a Chief of Staff - and he (or she - we, meaning the military, have one female four star right now, USAF General Janet Wolfenbarger, and I believe she's the only one service-wide, unless Army General Ann Dunwoody, who was promoted in 2008, hasn't retired) would be a four-star general, to put that person on even footing with the other heads of the Armed Forces, who are also four stars.

You'd never intentionally have that sort of disparity of power at that level.

I also can't imagine that they'd promote a military generalist to the head of a medical corps; you'd more likely see someone like my former commander, who is now a three-star, the USAF Surgeon General, and a flight surgeon by trade, being promoted to full General rank to head a medical force. You'd want a medical person, not a pilot or a combat soldier or a ship-commanding admiral, commanding a medical force.

From what I have heard the joint medical command is not moving forward at this time. When there was talk about it the Army & Navy were supporting it but the Air Force was not. This was about a year ago that I heard that so it could have changed since then.

[AjaxAndronicus]

Hey all, another update! Just got accepted to USAGPAN for fy2014! So freaking pumped! Hopefully commission board goes well and will be in SATX for BOLC in Feb! Then into phase 1 at USAGPAN!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Hey all another update! Just got accepted to USAGPAN for fy2014! So freaking pumped! Hopefully commission board goes well and will be in SATX for BOLC in Feb! Then into phase 1 at USAGPAN![/quote']

Omg, yay!! Congrats, that is outstanding!

[AjaxAndronicus]

Omg, yay!! Congrats, that is outstanding!

Thanks Lunah! Congrats on your promotion! Hopefully we will be serving together at some post in the future!