army reserves IMA

crysviews · Mar 30, 2008

I may be able to help a little. I'm currently in the process of returning to the IMA. I got out in 2004...the paperwork to get back in has been a nightmare:banghead:.

I was active duty army nurse corps for 5 years, then went IRR. I switched to the IMA in 2002 (because I had a hunch I was on somebodies list to be activated, and I at least wanted a little say in where I might be going). Sure enough, I was activated to my assigned hospital in South Carolina.

Let me know what your questions are.

bwkinc02 · Apr 1, 2008

Well, to start off with, I'm an ICU nurse entering as a first LT. Aside from the obvious -- everybody I know telling me that recruiters ALWAYS lie, and I'll be sent wherever the ARMY wants -- here a couple questions.

1) If you have children, how does deployment affect them? My wife would likely want to come with, at least for a while, with my 2 young kids. Is it easy to accomodate them?

2) Were you deployed for the maximum amount of time?

3) When deployed, what kind of work schedule were you given (8hrs, 12hrs, 5days/wk, etc.) I also understand that when your shift is over, you can do anything you want as long as you're back for your next shift (including going home for the night if you're close enough). Is this accurate?

4) My recruiter tells me about all of the benefits (like cheap/free flights, hotels, etc.) Have you used any of these, and are they easy to use?

5) If you know anybody else in the IMA program, I'm trying to get an idea how likely it is that I'll get deployed (I know that we're supposed to be among the first deployed, but with the war slowly winding down, is that affecting the IMA nurses)?

Thanks in advance for any info. I really appreciate it.

AEE1006 · Feb 22, 2009

I actually am looking into the IMA program as well. My recruiter told me that you would only deploy to your assigned base, not to Iraq or Afghanistan (unless you volunteer)- do you know if this is true?