Looking for experienced AF officer advice

midinphx, BSN · Jun 17, 2014

Yes, you will be able to support a family. With 14 years icu I came In as O3. If you go to military.com you can look up pay scales. You get your base pay, housing, and $200+ food allowance. For the economy where I was at, it was initially a pay cut. But deployments put me in the positive range. Housing is most often off base and family life can look rel similar to civilian - depending on needs and assignment.

Your age age is fine - if you are good physically. Again, military.com can guide you to fitness requirements.

Will your job make a difference? Honestly, day to day, all of us ask ourselves that. Maybe I don't make a daily difference, but I've made more of an impact being in the AF to people I am so honored to care for than I ever did as a civilian. I'm never going to change the world. I know I'm completely expendable, but there is a line of highly skilled amazing people ready to do this job.

Bottom line, one, you have to want this for the right reason (and that reason differs for everyone of us). It is a major life changing decision for both you and your family. You sound like you have everything you worked for and want more. It may be to serve. That is our key word. Serve.

AF nursing has been the most difficult years of my life. Parts have really sucked. I do not regret a minute of it. I'm all in.

alternate · Jun 17, 2014

I'm not an OB Nurse, but I'll try to answer a few of our questions. I came in to the AF with 10 years of critical care experience. I was very burned out on gang violence, and knife and gun club of central Florida. I wanted to take care of people with a common purpose, and feel good about that I was doing. I was given 5 years of constructive credit for my civilian time. As long as you have a good recruiter, you should get 7 years of constructive credit. That would put you in as a mid-level captain. For pay, look at 0-3, with less than 2 years experience on the 2014 military pay chart for pay. Also factor in COLA (if you're stationed overseas), non-taxable housing stipend (BAH) if you are stationed stateside, no fees/co-pays for health insurance, and a few other perks (shopping at the commissary, BX, and military discounts).

The Air Force is always looking for experienced nurses. Given your background, you'd most likely be stationed at a larger medical center- Travis, San Antonio, DC, or possibly overseas. Many times for your first duty assignment, they won't put you overseas, but it's all based on need. If there's an open slot, say at Kadena, you can be stationed there. Timing is huge. Housing would depend on where you are stationed. You always have the option of on or off base. Depending on the ages of your children and where you end up stationed would most likely determine where you live. If you went overseas, you'd have the option of living off-base and submersing your children in a foreign culture, or staying on base. Most base housing offers anywhere from 3-5 bedrooms, and are usually pretty decent. If you choose to live off-base, your BAH is based on the zip code of your base. IE Travis in CA gets a higher BAH than Scott in IL.

Air Force nursing is very rewarding. But, it's like any other job, it's not without it's faults. Remember, you are a salaried worker, and on the back of your ID it says government property. They don't mean the ID card. I've deployed 3 times in 7 years, seen more of the world than I ever did as a civilian-Afghanistan 3 times, Germany, Guam, Japan, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, etc... I've had the privilege of starting wounded warriors on their journey home. There is nothing like it! But when you come home, it can be difficult going back to the monotony of floor nursing. No, I definitely don't regret it