Commissioning with prior service ! HELP

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Soooo a little background on me... I am active duty Air Force E4 & will be separating soon . I will have 4 years of service once i separate. I'm going to apply for a BSN program & will complete the program in 2018.( I am not doing NCEP for multiple reasons) Upon completion, I am considering direct commissioning . How competitive is it to get in with prior service ???

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I have to say that from an Army nurse standpoint, a lot of the new grad nurses that went to officer basic with me were prior service — most had been Army, but some had been Air Force and a couple Navy. They were very helpful to the direct commissions (like me) who had very little experience actually being military (I grew up as a military brat, but definitely not the same!). I think prior service probably helps with selection, but that's not based on anything concrete. I had several years of ER + my CEN/CPEN certs + a 4.0 in my BSN program, which made me competitive. Having something that stands out (like prior service) should help.

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Great, thank you for the advice ! It will be a while before I put in for it but at least I have an idea of what's to come !

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

Very. And you will have no nursing experience. "competitive" is a somewhat subjective term and hard to answer. What I would say is focus on your nursing school. for commisioning you need best GPA possible. Don't put the cart before the horse. Just focus on school and grades. The rest will work out however it works out.

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Wow...I have to say I am very surprised how many prior Security Forces decided to become a nurse. Prior Security Law Enforcement (K-9) USAF 7 years myself. Got out, received my RN diploma (last graduating class for that diploma program), worked for a few years, and then went back to school for my BSN and the MSN as a FNP. I am commissioned in the USPHS (US Public Health Service) at this time as a FNP. The only military branch that does not carry a weapon. RN - BSN or RN - MSN; you can qualify for COSTEP and be commissioned in your last year of school receiving full military benefits and pay as a O1 (or O1-E in your case). Or you can receive your commission as a RN after graduating. Both are VERY competitive. Depending where you work you may qualify for student loan reimbursement as well. Really good deal. Let me know if your interested and I will tell you more about the PHS. usphs(dot)gov

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I know this is a old thread, but I am set to graduate Nursing school this year and have been considering going back in to the Army as an officer. I was Enlisted Infantry for 7 years and have been out for 6 years. I am 30 years old I first joined at 17. How would one go about this and am I eligible. I keep reading conflicting things. For one can't go to OCS if you have 6 or more years active federal service, but I keep hearing of people who have with as much as 12 years. I am pretty sure I knew a LT when I was in who was prior enlisted E-7 with 12 years service. Any Advice ? Thanks

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I know this is a old thread, but I am set to graduate Nursing school this year and have been considering going back in to the Army as an officer. I was Enlisted Infantry for 7 years and have been out for 6 years. I am 30 years old I first joined at 17. How would one go about this and am I eligible. I keep reading conflicting things. For one can't go to OCS if you have 6 or more years active federal service, but I keep hearing of people who have with as much as 12 years. I am pretty sure I knew a LT when I was in who was prior enlisted E-7 with 12 years service. Any Advice ? Thanks

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

You may be confusing the rules for the non-medical people with the medical people. The rules for non-medical officers are typically far more strict.

I'm AF, but the rules for the nurse corps are fairly similar (minus the max comissioning age of 42 for Army nurse corps and 47 for the AF). Your prior enlisted experience is an asset and not a hindrance. You can definitely commission at 30 as a nurse in all 3 branches as long as you have a BSN and can pass a physical. In fact, you could comission in the Army as late as 49 years old due to your 7 years of enlisted time.

I know AF nurses who were retirement eligible E-7s with 20 years of time in service prior to comissioning. The one catch is that you generally need 8 years of officer time to retire as an officer. So that guy with 20 years would need to do 28 to retire with their officer rank. You will be able to be grandfathered into the legacy high-3 retirement system too.

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What's it like ? I have thought of AF supposed to Army. What all has changed in the last 6 years ? Is it true you no longer get free medical ? And what you mean grandfather into the legacy high 3 retirement? I thought it was 50% of your current base pay with 20 years ? Has that all changed? Do you speak with your local recruiter or is there a particular recruiter for Nursing Officer? Do you work both night and day shifts as a Nursing Officer ? I hate to ask so many questions but I know if I decide to sign up I can't just quit lol

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

Active duty still get 100% free medical. I don't have any, but I've heard dependents using off base medical providers have small copays.

The 50% of base pay for 20 years is officially referred to as the 'high-3 retirement' system, because your base pay at retirement is calculated by the highest 3 years of your pay over the course of your career. A new retirement system was launched in 2018 and applies to those with no time in service before 2018: the blended retirement system (BRS).

The BRS is very complex and made that way to keep people from getting upset. The BRS is essentially an effective cut of 10% in compensation. In it, 50% of base pay for 20 years is reduced to 40% for 20 years; the member must contribute 5% to get the government match for the other 5%. That equals the same 50%, but now it includes some of your money.

There are specific medical officer recruiters who only do doctors, nurses, etc. You need to find one of them, typically best done on the branch website's find a recruiter tool.

We take turns working nights (usually 3 months on and 3 months off), since there is no shift differentials for active duty people. It's very similar to civilian nursing when not deployed except the patient acuity is typically lower (I've was an RN as a civilian first).

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Thanks this helps a lot. I still have friends who are still in but as I said Infantry and most are upset with all the recent political correctness that's now out there lol and have no idea what other jobs are like I've heard rumors about a lot of things but like I said rumors.

Thank you

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In the Navy, nurses (doctors, lawyers, dentists, other "license holding professionals") go to ODS. I am not sure if other branches differentiate.

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