Army vs Air force nursing

Courbsh17 · Mar 31, 2012

Thank you for you post. I think I will choose army nursing as opposed to airforce because it's something that I want to instead of what everyone is telling me what to do. I guess if I make a poor choice, I can at least hold on to the experience and make the best experience I can out of it. I'm not a high class girl who needs super fancy dorms, I'm just looking for a quality experience I can tell my kids and grandchildren someday. It is true that people do have some kind of bias with AF or army or any other branch, my head/heart just keeps telling me to do army for some reason..

midinphx, BSN · Mar 31, 2012

Then follow your heart! Good luck. Make sure you see a nurse recruiter, not the mall recruiters. look it up on the army site. It's a long haul getting in, just keep on it.

caliotter3 · Mar 31, 2012

Decades ago, before the current economic crisis, I met military nurses who informed me that jobs weren't so stable any longer, due to the drawdowns of military personnel. Keep it foremost in your mind that it is very competitive to get into today's military and even more difficult to make a full career of it. Best wishes.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Mar 31, 2012

We recently had a visit from our HR folks at Ft. Knox, and the Army is VERY overstrength in the area of med/surg nurses. The Army has more ICU and ER nurses than it needs as well, but not nearly the surplus as in med/surg. You should probably explore both branches if the military is your goal.

midinphx, BSN · Apr 1, 2012

That is true for the AF as well Lunah. I don't know the numbers they are cutting, I don't think it's as high a number as the army, but proportionally, I bet it is similar (AF being a smaller branch of service).

Courbsh17 · Apr 3, 2012

Yeah, I think I will obtain some more experience to better my chances. I guess if the military has down sized so much where they don't accept me, I won't have anything to lose by trying. I think I'll try working my way into the ER for my second year and see how that goes.

whimsical_1 · Apr 10, 2012

I applied to become a nurse in the AF last year, and the process was soooo long, and in the end, I didn't even get in. I have heard that it is easier to get in as a nurse in the Army. There are pro's and con's to each. DEpends how picky you are.

ZoeGuzman · May 26, 2013

I am in a similar dilemma (I want to join the military, but not sure which one Army or AF). Everyone is telling me go for AF (even an Army Sgt!) but I have been so related into the Army (JROTC, ROTC, remembering ranks, etc). I think even the respect is different (I may be wrong). What did you choose by the way? I am reading through the replies...

brawneyez · May 27, 2013

I am currently an Air Force ROTC cadet and will graduate in December with my BSN. My husband is currently enlisted in the Army. When I made the decision to go back to school and join the ROTC program, my husband would not allow me to join the Army. I am not a premadonna or a girlie girl, but the Army training is pretty rough. The Air Force ROTC and the Army ROTC share the same building at K-State. Our Cadet Lounges are right across the hall from each other. I swear that they are always running around campus hiding in the bushes doing different training in the dark hours in the morning. And they are pretty much in the fields every weekend training. I am sorry, but I am really not built for all of the GI Jane training. Joining the military and commissioning as an officer, I know that I am a leader first and a nurse second. I would rather spend the majority of my time learning how to be a leader and how to be a nurse versus playing laser tag and hide-and-seek in the bushes (just my opinion).

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 28, 2013

I don't know a lot about the military particularly nurses in the military. However, the air force has had to cut back on several thousand officers, and nurses are officers. Something to consider. Even the .mil downsizes.

Every branch has cut back. All of them, across the board. I know this is an old post but it's annoying me.

These are LINE SIDE cuts. LINE, not medical. (For the uninitiated, 'line' means 'everyone who's not medical' - it's an oversimplification but a good definition - and 'rated line' means anyone who's qualified to fly something.)

To put this in perspective, the USAF is STILL offering loan repayment to RNs currently serving in the Air Force. That's not a cut - that's a shot at RETENTION of qualified officers.

The line is different than medical.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 28, 2013

I am currently an Air Force ROTC cadet and will graduate in December with my BSN. My husband is currently enlisted in the Army. When I made the decision to go back to school and join the ROTC program, my husband would not allow me to join the Army. I am not a premadonna or a girlie girl, but the Army training is pretty rough. The Air Force ROTC and the Army ROTC share the same building at K-State. Our Cadet Lounges are right across the hall from each other. I swear that they are always running around campus hiding in the bushes doing different training in the dark hours in the morning. And they are pretty much in the fields every weekend training. I am sorry, but I am really not built for all of the GI Jane training. Joining the military and commissioning as an officer, I know that I am a leader first and a nurse second. I would rather spend the majority of my time learning how to be a leader and how to be a nurse versus playing laser tag and hide-and-seek in the bushes (just my opinion).

This made me LOL. In a nice way.

You've hit on the difference in the missions and how it's approached across the services.

The Army has a separate mission from the USAF - they conduct ground war, we conduct air war. The USAF was born, essentially, on the backs of pilots. (This is probably why every single thing we do has a checklist - am I right, brawneyz? Irritated with checklists yet? LOL) The Army is a huge, single entity that conducts ground war, and they expect - and need - every single member to conduct their portion of that ground war, just like the Marines - even a Marine who's in personnel is combat trained to an extent.

I'm an ex USAF security forces K9 handler - part of our training used to be at Ft Dix, with the Army. The cops are the 'ground combat force', if you will, along with super-cool jobs like Tactical Air Control Party (TAC-P, who direct airstrikes) and Combat Control (these guys go in and build combat airstrips so the planes can get in and we can set up bases, along with working with TAC-P and doing all sorts of other cool stuff - I think these guys are awesome). While these dudes (and they're all dudes) do their thing, guess who's setting up and guarding the perimeter? Cops!

I hated some of the combat training stuff - now whenever I get a chance to do it in courses like EMEDS or CASF, where we learn how to set up and run combat hospitals (and work very very closely with the Army while we do it - they're called CASHs now instead of MASHs), triage patients, and prepare them for air evacuation, I realize my cop training was priceless for the current state of the world - guess who always, always runs facilities and security? Certain basic principles of security haven't changed; the way you set up a perimeter and guard it hasn't changed either. tAnd I love it, I really do. I wouldn't trade my prior 'life' for anything - it's proving very, very valuable. I can really contribute in a very valuable and unique way to a medical team.

That's not for everyone. Believe me. :) And I certainly wouldn't want to do things the Army way.

I have a brother who's now retired Navy and the other is retired Army. When I was considering enlistment 18 years ago (and I was 22!) the IMMEDIATE comeback from both of them was, 'well, you're not going in the Army'. I've always thought that was pretty funny.

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 28, 2013

In the Army, we're soldiers first. Period, end of story. I don't know if I'd call it laser tag and GI Jane training, but hey, whatever blows your skirt up. I'm proud to be Army!

The Soldier's Creed

I am an American Soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.