ARMY Nurse Corps, should I apply now or next year?

[flimfly]

I'm a second degree new grad RN, and I start my first job on a critical care step down unit next week. However, I really want to join the Army. My father was a nurse in the Army, and it's my goal to follow in his footsteps. I called a local Army nurse recruiter, and he said I would need to start the application process in June and would find out in December whether or not I was accepted. He said that because they didn't really take a lot of new RN's last year, there will be more spots this year.

My predicament is that I will be 29 this year, and my husband and I want a baby. I don't mind putting pregnancy off another year if I felt I had a really good shot at being accepted. I will have approximately 8-9 months of critical care experience by the time the board meets. I graduated cum laude and was president of the Student Nurses' Association at my school. Will that, combined with less than a year experience, give me a good chance of being accepted?

Should I put off pregnancy and go for it hoping I get in? Should I start my family now while gaining an extra year of critical care experience and just apply next year?

[New1LT]

I may be wrong, but as of right now the Army is requiring two years experience. Your academic resume looks great for when you qualify for boards.