Fiancee is Army, Army reserve nursing or Active duty for me?

[singmehome]

Hey guys!

I am a new grad nurse, I graduated in Dec 2016. My fiancee is a Sgt in the Army and I'm currently an ER nurse resident. After I fulfill my residency obligations, I was considering joining the Army. At that point I will have 1-2 years of experience, and I was wondering if there were any dual military couples out there to give advice. I am debating on Reserves or Active duty because I would like to be able to stay with him as much as possible and not get stationed apart. Is it relatively easy for dual military couples to be stationed together? I would be a 2nd LT going in, and he is enlisted. We would also have different MOS's since I would be MEDCOMM and he is FORCECOMM. Would the Reserves be a better option for me? I want to serve my country, but I also want to have a good marriage life especially since we will be just starting out our life together.

EDTA: I understand that there will be sacrifices made by both of us. We have already been through deployment to Iraq together this past year while I was in school and dealt with a few TDYs and will be dealing with a PCS soon most likely.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

You would need at least two years of experience and your CEN at a minimum to be competitive for active duty if you want to direct commission as an ER/trauma nurse (66T). I know couples who are MEDCOM and FORSCOM, and being stationed together (or home at the same time/not deployed or TDY) is really a total crapshoot. It has been difficult for them; sometimes they go for months and months without seeing each other. It will also depend on your AOC (officers don't have an MOS) and his MOS, and your duty stations may be more limited. A lot of people choose for one person to be reserves and the other active duty; that provides greater flexibility.

Best of luck in the rest of your residency. :)