Army Nursing

This is an interesting flip of the tables, I think. Deployment is 6 months long and I have had many, many friends that have endured their husbands in the Army and the Navy being deployed for 6 months or longer.

The question is what can your spouse, you, and your relationship bear in terms of time apart. Every relationship is different.

Deployments are part of the military lifestyle - especially at a time of "war". My wife and I both were active duty army and served 3 deployments - between the both of us. Our deployments were 12,12, and 15 months in length. I have read that the nurse corp has chosen to do 6 months...but I personally don't know anything more then that. The ability for a family to both cope with active duty or reserve obligations is definitely feasible - but I'm not sure whether you have kids or not currently. If a marriage is wanting to go this route and understands the possibility of both being deployed - go for it. If you don't have kids and are both deployed - it is not nearly as bad as you both are serving simultaneously - but perhaps at different locations. I personally don't think 6 months would be bad at all. I also don't know the number of active duty nurses and the % that are deployed at a given moment.

I have served both on active duty in the Army Nurse Corps and also in the reserves. I got married while on active duty to a Army Reserve Officer. I did fly home every month for a few days to see him. He did not join me at various duty stations due to his civilian career. I eventually went reserves so I could be home with him. I ended up retiring about 4 years ago. I do miss it. I had so many opportunities to travel, try different specialities and learned to adapt very quickly. The last unit I was with in the reserves, my husband was also in it with me, not a medical unit. We were being deployed about every 18 months. Is it hard, yes it is, was it worth it, yes it was. What would I do differently...I would have stayed on active duty. I know a lot of husband and wife teams in the reserves and on active duty. It really depends on the foundation of your relationship and what you want. There is an awfully big world out there to explore and lots of opportunities to excel.

I have heard that the Army reserve nurses are staying state side to fill in the holes for the active nurses. Any truth to this? I hope not.

littlehody

You may be the person i need to talk to. I want to know what army nursing is really like. I have also had CT ICU experience along with other icu experience. I am considering joining the reserves next may after my son graduates high school ( He is already in the resreves and other son is active) Is army nursing similar to civilian nursing? I have about 23 years of icu experience and want to continue my education and not let life pass me by without doing this. But I must admit to being slightly afraid of the unknown.

me and my husband are both active duty. my husband was in and then i joined and we were dual military for 6 years and then i got out. came back in over a year ago and dont regret it at all. so now we are back to being dual military. we have 4 kids. it works for us, but we both love the army and our jobs. we work hard at keeping our marriage strong along with our kids in a stable home. im not so sure it would work if we both didnt want it. in fact i would say that my husband prefers me being in the army rather than being a stay at home mom. I think I felt like something was missing when i was a stay at home mom and my hubby could tell that i was happier when i could be a soldier too. i love being a mom, and even loved being a stay at home mom and would not change what i did. my career got put on hold for about 10 years while i was out, but i missed it.

so, most people do not understand. they do not understand the pull to be in the service or why a woman, especially a mother would want to join the military at a time of war when you could be deployed, killed or wounded. my husband just happens to understand my desire and has the same desire. so it works for us but it does not work for a lot of people.

:nurse:Army Reserve Nurses do not only stay state side. You make the call and volunteering for a deployment is possible. You need a Bachelor degree for the reserves, a long time ago they accepted Associate degrees but I am pretty sure they don't now. Active duty nursing is different than civilian. You have a lot more autonomy, more responsibility. I could do more in the military when I worked ER than the civilian sector, order blood work, x-rays, suturing etc. But then I didn't have insurance issues to deal with.

After OBLC how long before you can volunteer to be deployed? I like to plan ahead, and if I volunteer, then I won't be sitting at home waiting on orders. The reserves is taking ASN nows, my friend is doing that now.

me and my husband are both active duty. my husband was in and then i joined and we were dual military for 6 years and then i got out. came back in over a year ago and dont regret it at all. so now we are back to being dual military. we have 4 kids. it works for us, but we both love the army and our jobs. we work hard at keeping our marriage strong along with our kids in a stable home. im not so sure it would work if we both didnt want it. in fact i would say that my husband prefers me being in the army rather than being a stay at home mom. I think I felt like something was missing when i was a stay at home mom and my hubby could tell that i was happier when i could be a soldier too. i love being a mom, and even loved being a stay at home mom and would not change what i did. my career got put on hold for about 10 years while i was out, but i missed it.

so, most people do not understand. they do not understand the pull to be in the service or why a woman, especially a mother would want to join the military at a time of war when you could be deployed, killed or wounded. my husband just happens to understand my desire and has the same desire. so it works for us but it does not work for a lot of people.

I was in the Army also. I got out to take care of my son. But the day I signed my DD214, I knew that I didn't want to get out. I miss the good and the bad that came with being in the military and having a family. I love my boys but I felt like something was missing. I've been looking into military nursing (Airforce or Army) since Jan 2008. (I graduated May 2008). I'm working on my packet as we speak. My AD husband is supportive but the rest of my family is not 100% supportive. I tell them all the time that I take a huge risk when I'm driving around. I think about all the soldiers and my friends who are in the combat zone. I am okay in my decision to return to AD (should I be selected). I believe that I have some skill that I can share that will help them come back home to their family.

Plus I believe my boys would prefer a happy mommy more than one who is cranky and tired. I get this big surge of energy when I walk through the door and they are running to greet me.

After OBLC how long before you can volunteer to be deployed? I like to plan ahead, and if I volunteer, then I won't be sitting at home waiting on orders. The reserves is taking ASN nows, my friend is doing that now.

Hi MMFbts,

I am a new AR-ANC. At a recent drill weekend, I heard one of the other nurses in my platoon (ICU) say she has been on the volunteer list since 2003, and never has been called up.....

On the other hand, I know of 2 others who have volunteered for many Oconus missions.

So, who knows.......unpredictable. However, my unit is on a 5yr rotation for deployment....in 2 yrs we will be up.

cb

Thanks for the info. I am new to all this so I am trying to let everything soak in. What does "Oconus missions" stand for. I can't believe that nurses are volunteering to be deployed and she has not gone yet. I am sure there are plenty of nurses that would like to come home. Do nurses only go with their unit? Or can you go with others?

What does "Oconus missions" stand for.

CONUS - continental US / OCONUS - outside continental US (ie korea, germany....)