army reserve nurse corps-need the real truth

[roachm224]

hello,

i am interrested in the army reserve nurse corps. looking for positive and negative feedback about reservenursecorps. being that i have a wife and 2kids my biggest hold up is the possibility of going overseas?? looking to get all the facts i can about this????? if anyone can give me truthful info it would be a big help????this is a big committment and i need to know that i can fillful it!!!!!thanks for your time!!!!!!!!!

[66HotelMikeFive]

Do you know the best way not to get deployed? Volunteer to go, I know many RN's who have volunteered to go and have not, but others who have not and have been deployed a couple of times. Deployment depends on your unit and what year it is in the 5 year cycle.

This is true to an extent. However, like anything else in life, the Army merely creates opportunity, it is up to you to Carpe Diem. You make your own career. As far as "volunteering" for deployment... it depends on how aggressive you are about obtaining an assignment and how well you "network" and utilize your resources. Sometimes doors open ... other times you have to kick them in. To simply volunteer and then wait it out may not always be enough if you really want to go down range. If you really want to go... you will go eventually. If not, and you leave it to chance... you might go... you might not. The point is, to stick to the OP, as a soldier in the Army.. the possibility of deployment is ubiquitous... it comes with the job. Some jobs have a higer OpTempo than others. Obviously a 66 series officer will not deploy with the same frequency as say an 18 series officer. Deployment is subject to the needs of the Army. However, you create your own destiny.... I dont believe in coinsedence. Everything happens for a reason. There is a cause and effect for every event under the sun. You can throw it to the wind.... or grab it by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. I prefer to wrestle.

[joannekuhl]

Hello, I just read the last comment and have to say I totally agree. I commissioned last June and have been waiting for my assignment for OBLC. I never got notice then I began calling and calling my training mgr. I just returned from APMC in Georgia and believe you me I began kicking and knocking on doors trying to get answers and a date for OBLC. I began asking why have they been sitting on me without scheduling me for OBLC when I have had a volunteer status since I commissioned. Well believe you me when they started listening and they heard that I was volunteering for deployment low and behold I got a date for OBLC. So take the advice from the previous post if your serious about volunteering then do as advised you can not just click on the button that states volunteer you have to call,kick down doors and keep knocking. It was nice for me as I told them to put a face with the name so now when I call they will know who it is they are talking to and know I am serious. Good Luck !!!! I am a 2ndLT,66H but was authorized as an 02 which is a 1ST LT

[jeckrn, BSN, RN]

My last comment on this subject about being deployed was an often said joke in the Army Reserves. Getting deployed depends on what unit you are in, your skill set, and if you volunteer is there a slot for you. Doing your homework and finding a slot will go a long way if that is what you want.

[just_cause, BSN, RN]

check out the reserve unit in your AO... some are not designed to deploy but to augment conus shortages.. many different types of 'nursing/medical' missions see what is in your area for the position you are interested/eligible for... that being said - always be mentally prepared that deployment COULD occur despite all of this just a bad idea to commit to something where you couldn't deploy or mentally refuse .. ie. 2LT wa-ta-da

[DCtraumarn]

Hello-

Are there still opportunities for the 40+ group of professional RN (BSN+MSN) to join the Army Reserve (Nurse Corp) under the two year service obligation?

[mmm333, LVN]

Even in tough times, there is only one thing that makes the military "worth it"- and that is not the money, the benefits, the experience, or whatever. Because those are never as good as the recruiter makes them sound. The reason to join is because you are into the military and the people in the military. To a certain extent, you thrive on misery and know how to suffer in silence. Because I can promise you that the military is such a hot flaming pain in the a$$ that none of the other things you get out of it are going to seem "worth it" once you are living in a trailer park in the rectum of the world for more than a year without seeing your family. You will work with difficult personalities. Just like nursing is a "calling", the military is even moreso "a calling". Not to lay the bravado on too thick- but a realistic view is in order. We could be fighting a ground war with Iran, North Korea, or China in four years ( for all you or I know!)- be prepared for any possibility.