May COT is quickly approaching. I know of only 3 of us here who are in. Who else is going?
I still haven't commissioned, should be soon obviously.
I can't get on base to get all my uniforms, but I have a friend who can take me to do it. Does everyone have their stuff?
As I organize to close up my house for my renter, I am stressing about it getting moved before I leave for COT. I can't get to TMO before my orders.... kind of freaking out about that. I know I can have someone else do it for me, but it would have to be a friend, as I have no family here.
So many questions and lists in my head!
I'm out running to make sure I can keep up once I get there; it's a great stress killer.
mid- yeah Im excited you are going before me ha.....Please when you get out hit the message board back up and let us know how it was. Im glad your ICU as well. I was also scared about getting to a new ICU and having to deal with the ICU attuides if you know what I mean. I hear that it is not like that at all in the military and Im so glad for that. Im excited the nurse in the military act as a familly......Sorry I have had to work in a tuff crowd of nurses in the ICU
Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.
I've worked in a really tough crowd too. I referred to them as the B#$@# clique. They acted and thought that they ran the place. They ate up new staff and step all over anyone they could. Well, they tried me too. Good attitude and strong teamwork from us lowlife nurses actually won out! We just treated them nicely and professionally, we stood up to their unacceptable behavior as a group, not individuals. There are only 2 members of that group who still work at my hospital. They saw the shift in power and played nice. :)
yeah for the 1st year I thought I was going to quit bc of that type of nurses... When they tell you that nurses eat their young....it is so true. I do think it is worse in the units though..... Thanks to everyone on this site for talking about things and answering questions it has helped me out
Legs - I've not seen too much of that in the military - we have a civilian who's trying those tricks but everyone's pretty much onto it, so we just treat it with professionalism and eventually she moves on.
You can shop at the commissary. You ran into someone who has no idea what they're doing. It's common - believe me, it's common. I had an active Reserves ID card once I commissioned and had some yahoo in MWR tell me she couldn't sell me tickets for Busch Gardens because my ID card didn't say "MWR" - it took me an hour and her supervisor to explain that my ID card will NEVER signify what I'm entitled to because I'm the member - the LT - and not the dependent, and am therefore entitled to all of it (dependent ID cards specify what the dependent is permitted based on the status of the sponsor).
I also had someone at the PX at Ft Belvoir say she couldn't let me in the PX because I didn't have an ID card - yet I had commissioning docs out the yin-yang. I asked her to call the store manager - very polite, very professional - and she made a few comments about how "you won't get what you think you deserve" - and you should have seen her face when the manager, a retired enlisted guy, welcomed the "Lt" back to the military and told me to enjoy my shopping.
Technically right now you can get a CAC card that entitles you to emergency medical care under TRICARE (they changed US Code about two years ago - I had a CAC when I went to COT). You're a commissioned LT (or whatever your rank is) in the Air Force Reserves.
Don't worry about the commissary. You don't really need it, and at Maxwell it won't be a problem.
I was told that I couldn't shop at the commissary...with only my military orders and commissioning paper.
How do you go about getting a CAC and an active Reserves ID card? My recruiter didn't mention any of these, but it would be nice to know.
Thanks carolinapooh!
-Maria
You can shop at the commissary. You ran into someone who has no idea what they're doing. It's common - believe me, it's common. I had an active Reserves ID card once I commissioned and had some yahoo in MWR tell me she couldn't sell me tickets for Busch Gardens because my ID card didn't say "MWR" - it took me an hour and her supervisor to explain that my ID card will NEVER signify what I'm entitled to because I'm the member - the LT - and not the dependent, and am therefore entitled to all of it (dependent ID cards specify what the dependent is permitted based on the status of the sponsor).
I also had someone at the PX at Ft Belvoir say she couldn't let me in the PX because I didn't have an ID card - yet I had commissioning docs out the yin-yang. I asked her to call the store manager - very polite, very professional - and she made a few comments about how "you won't get what you think you deserve" - and you should have seen her face when the manager, a retired enlisted guy, welcomed the "Lt" back to the military and told me to enjoy my shopping.
Technically right now you can get a CAC card that entitles you to emergency medical care under TRICARE (they changed US Code about two years ago - I had a CAC when I went to COT). You're a commissioned LT (or whatever your rank is) in the Air Force Reserves.
Don't worry about the commissary. You don't really need it, and at Maxwell it won't be a problem.
You just get on base to the ID office and sign in, WAIT till they call you and they will take your picture and finger print. it is going to be a reserve ID card though. My recruiter says you can't get CAC till you are AD, which I won't be till I get to COT. I got the Reserve ID and that gets me on base and other military privillages.
Not true - I had a CAC when I went to COT, and I wasn't AD.
Under US Code, once you are sworn in you are entitled to emergency care under Tricare. To get this you need a CAC. You CAN get one - I had one. The base didn't believe me, and they had to call AFPC, but they gave me one. I had a long stretch between commissioning and COT, and I wanted to be completely covered. So I got a CAC.
If you get an active Reserve ID card, like AF Nur said, it's a blue officer one, and it will eliminate a lot of trouble. You are an officer in the USAF Reserves and you ARE entitled to shop in the commissary. As I said, people are running into people who can't think outside the box and who aren't with it enough to check their own rule book.
Wanted to add - if you have dependents, get them a Reserve Dependents ID card when you get your reserve ID. The reason I say this is: (1) they'll have no trouble getting on base when you leave, and (2) once you go AD and your status is updated in DEERS, they can then go to any military installation and have a new AD Dependent ID card issued.
You may have to make them pay attention to DEERS status changes at COT in order for this to happen, because it seems staff wants to push this off on your first duty station. Don't let them. It can cause problems if your spouse needs medical care and you're not there to push it. They do this for the BOT side of OTS without question and they need to shape up and start doing it as a matter of rote for the COT side of the house - especially since a huge number of us aren't new college grads and actually HAVE dependents, mortgages, and sizable car payments that others are managing for us in our absence. The more of us who make them pay attention to needs such as this, the more likely they are to pull their heads out and start providing it as a matter of rote.
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midinphx, BSN
855 Posts
legs, you have plenty of time before August to improve those pushups. Get to work! lol. There are some great resources at military.com http://www.military.com/fitness-center/military-fitness/pt-workouts/archive
I will be at May COT then straight to Lackland at end of June. I'm ICU as well. Of course I'll disappear off this message board for a month... :)