FY2015 U.S. Navy Nurse Corps AD Commission

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jan 21, 2015

You're way to late to apply as a new grad for any branch. Generally you start your package at the beginning of your last year of school. You'll be applying for a direct commission as an experienced RN. Get a civilian nursing job and start talking to a recruiter now.

You really have to be persistent with officer recruiters; they have way more applicants than spots and are spread very thin. Also, look at other branches too.

Contact Us: Find a Recruiter - airforce.com (select 'healthcare')

https://www.navy.com/locator.html (select 'officer')

The Army is the most over-manned and won't look at you until you have several years of experience. That's why I didn't include them.

Trojan0627 · Jan 22, 2015

Thanks for the information, nothing ever seems to be easy with the Military.

irfarmer · Jan 25, 2015

Trojan0627

Not sure for the other branches... but the Air Force has a selection board for new grads in June I believe. I would contact a recruiter now if you would want that opportunity to try for this coming selection board. You might have enough time to get your package together. The stipulation would be of course, that you would have your license by the time the selection boards come around. Good luck, and be patient. These things take time. I was previously a Navy Reserve Nurse and just transferred to active duty Air Force, both took a lot of waiting and patience.

Motherofcorgis, BSN, RN · Jan 26, 2015

You need to be specialized in something before applying for Direct Commission to the Navy. The navy looks at hiring nurses by their subspecialty, and they categorize them into subspecialty codes i.e. 1910 - medical/surgical nurse, 1920 - labor and delivery/post partum, 1922 - pediatrics, 1960 - critical care etc. You will be offered a commission and come into the Navy as one of those subspecialties, and to be competitive you'll need more than 6 mo. of experience before you should even look at putting a package together. Right now all branches are extremely competitive, so any certifications you can grab up to fatten your package will work to your advantage.

Trojan0627 · Jan 27, 2015

Thank you! I you don't mind me asking, what were your reasons from switching branches?

irfarmer · Jan 31, 2015

Trojan0627,

I switched branches because I wanted to return to active duty. I was enlisted for 5 years and got out in 1997. After quite a number of years, I wanted to return and finish out my career. I put in my package for active duty Navy as 2910 med/surg nurse. I was 41 at the time I submitted my package, I needed to do 15 years to complete my 20 years of active duty. 3 weeks after I put in my package, the recruiter called me and told me I was too old for active duty, but not for reserves. The rest of that is a long story, but I opted for Reserves at that point, but I also called the Air Force recruiter. They told me they take me on active duty up until age 48, but I chose to stick with the Navy Reserves anyways. About 8 months ago, the Air Force called me to see if I'd still be interested in active duty, and I started my package for them. I got picked up and I report in a couple of weeks, I'm not for one branch over the other, but the Air Force offered a better deal overall. I would've stuck with the Navy had they offered me active duty, and I tried again for active duty before I submitted my Air Force package, but there was nothing available. Reserves just don't have the retirement that active duty does, and the military offers a far better retirement package than my civilian employer.

Rick