Military Career?

ComradeNapoleon · Apr 2, 2018

Background: I'm currently a BSN student. I plan to become a flight nurse after I gain ICU and emergency medicine experience. Once I graduate I'll be pursuing a dual degree MBA-MSN while I work. I've always had a passion for the military and I want to give back to my country and our soldiers. I think it would be beneficial to have one tour of active duty and then finish my career with the reserves until I retire. I hope to join the Air Force because there is a base with a hospital close to where I live.

caliotter3 · Apr 2, 2018

All questions for your military recruiter. Make certain you see the healthcare recruiter, as regular recruiters are not always well-versed in healthcare personnel issues.

ComradeNapoleon · Apr 3, 2018

Thank you Caliotter! I've never heard of a healthcare recruiter. Do you know how can I come into contact with one? I'm sure my recruiter can throw me in the right direction.

caliotter3 · Apr 3, 2018

Call and ask for the healthcare recruiter. You might find dedicated healthcare recruiters at the larger recruiting stations.

medic665 · Apr 6, 2018

I was an Army combat medic so your mileage may vary a bit. I'm assuming you are looking into the Air Force since you mentioned flight nurse.

Most branches of service will want an initial 6 to 8 years in. This can be combined like 3 years active and 3 reserve etc, but plan on at least 3 years active.

If you are going active plan on relocating. Choice of duty stations can be affected greatly by what your MOS is. If one base has too many of you, you probably aren't going there. If one you don't want to be at needs your MOS, you are probably going there. Some AF guys I know say AF is a little better and has better posts. At least you wont be stationed at fort "middle of nowhere" like the Army and Marines.

Deployments can vary a lot in length . In the Army it was 6-13months. My first Iraq deployment ran almost 13 months. And they would get you with what was called a hardship deployment every now and then. Not actual combat per se, but something that almost sucks as bad. If you are a grunt think Korean DMZ. Basically they didn't want us setting around too long. Again, I hear the AF is much better.

These are all things you need to be discussing with your recruiter. If you enlist you will have the chance to review your contract before signing it with somebody other than a recruiter, so don't worry about being lied to and getting stuck in some horrible job.

I called it quits after 8 years so I really cant help much with retirement questions, but they have career councilors who are very good at keeping you up to speed on that stuff. Right before ETS, the Army sent me to a class explaining how many retirement points I had and the pros and cons of getting out or staying in. It was pretty impartial too and not just some sales pitch.

The military is an awesome choice and opened more doors for me than I realized at the time. Its a good move and will help you a lot in life.

Good luck.