I'm a prior Navy enlisted guy with a brand new BSN and just about to start an ICU position (civilian) :) I am talking to an Army Recruiter about joining the Reserve this spring and then applying to the Army's CRNA program and the Army Nurse Corps in the Fall of 2011 (ANC as a back-up). I don't have a problem with deploying, but I do have some questions about various aspects:
Are you able to request to be stationed at an overseas base with your family in lieu of deploying without your family?
Where are some places other than the Middle East sandbox where you are able to be deployed?
How is life when you are deployed to the Middle East or elsewhere in the world?
During your "free time" what do you do?
Are you able to access internet and is it fast enough in order to to video calls?
Do you get your own barracks room or are you bunking with other people?
Do you only operate on US troops or do you get to work on locals?
Do you carry around a weapon?
Do you have any time off during your deployment to visit surrounding areas?
Anything else of interest about deployed life would be much appreciated as well.
The Navy Nurse Corps gives ICU nurses an annual bonus of 5k to 20k depending on how long they are contracted for, does the Army do anything like this?
I've seen several posts on this forum that indicate that CRNA's receive a 15k/year bonus during their payback time from school however my recruiter said this wasn't the case. Can anybody confirm or deny?
I saw a posting on this forum that claimed that if you take a sign-on bonus when entering the ANC you cannot apply to the CRNA school until you pay back the time for the bonus, can anybody verify this?
While stationed in the US, how often do you get to go out and and shoot guns? Are you able to do any sort of firearms qualifications (or whatever the Army calls it)?
When you're deployed, what sort of extra pay do you get? In the Navy we would get Family Separation pay, hazardous duty pay, and all payments for the time in a combat zone were tax-free, is that similar to the Army and if so, any rough estimates on how much these are now?
Placing medial personnel on convoy duties and guard duty is what I would consider combatant duties and we would therefore forfit our rights as medical personnel. Training with SAWs, grenades, and mortars would be considered offensive weapons.
In modern times, most combat medics carry a personal weapon, to be used to protect themselves and the wounded or sick in their care.[2] When and if they use their arms offensively, or carry arms that qualify as offensive, they then sacrifice their protection under the Geneva Conventions.[3]
You know the next time we go to war with Canadians or British it is going to be nice, civilized, and we all follow the Geneva convention.....lol
Still my point is the same it is stupid of me or any other medical person to have goto 2 months of army training on top of the AF training I already have to receive.
placing medial personnel on convoy duties and guard duty is what i would consider combatant duties and we would therefore forfit our rights as medical personnel. training with saws, grenades, and mortars would be considered offensive weapons. medical personnel do not train on or carry these offensive weapons. as stated earlier medical personnel do not carry out guard duty or primary convoy duties. but they do travel by convoy or are assigned medical duties on a convoy thus they need to know how to react to contact.
in modern times, most combat medics carry a personal weapon, to be used to protect themselves and the wounded or sick in their care.[2] when and if they use their arms offensively, or carry arms that qualify as offensive, they then sacrifice their protection under the geneva conventions.[3] as a former hospital corpsman assigned to a line unit my choices of weapons were, 9mm, m16, or shot gun. i was not allowed to carry any of the offensive weapons that you listed earlier. if fired on you are allowed to fire back in self defense.
you know the next time we go to war with canadians or british it is going to be nice, civilized, and we all follow the geneva convention.....lol would be nice.
still my point is the same it is stupid of me or any other medical person to have goto 2 months of army training on top of the af training i already have to receive.
yes, part of that two months of training does include using all sorts of infantry weapons including saws. yes, i know of af crnas that have been asked to go on convoy detail when deployed with the army. i had army nurses tell me they were required to pull guard detail while deployed.
i think the army would be better off sending their medical personnel to trauma training before they deploy such as c-stars. afms public site -
which i am going to need more trauma training/small arms training or 2 months of infantry training for medical personnel........
aw well it is what it is and we all just have to shut and color sometimes. i just never was very good at the shut up part...
jeckrn, BSN, RN
1,868 Posts
Very true, they never have and proberly never will!