Nursing for the USAF or Army- questions!

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Hi,

I am vaguely thinking about joining either the air force or army as an RN. I will be done with my B.S.N. in 4 weeks, but I am also an old lady, almost 38. I have almost 18 years of experience in E.M.S. and seven years of experience as an ER nurse.

It sounds crazy, but I want to go over to the dessert to do medivacs, is this even possible at my age? Is it true once I sign up they can stick me wherever they want, it it may not be where I want, or do they really give you your preferred area of interest?

Any information would be helpful, as it is not a decision I am taking lightly.

Thanks,

Annie

[AuDDoc]

Well in terms of age you are pushing it. I believe for active duty the cutoff for officers in most branches is 38-40 (you have to have 20 years in by the age of 58 I believe) Age waivers can be granted, but are not always guaranteed and with the drawdown an age waiver is doubtful at this point.

AMEDD or the Army Medical Division is the largest healthcare group in the military and would probably be your best bet for joining and probably the easiest to get a waiver for. With your experience and BSN you would direct commission as an officer if you joined which would require your paperwork/application/physical results go before a board that then decides if you meet the qualifications. You would probably go in as a 1st LT or 0-2 rank, possibly with your experience you could direct commission as a captain or 0-3. In the Army you would have to go to BOLC (basic officers leadership course) which is 6-8 weeks usually of training. Then you would be sent to your unit.

It is true they can stick you wherever they want. So you could end up somewhere nice in the US or somewhere nice overseas or somewhere not so nice overseas.

The other option is you could continue working civilian and join the National Guard or Army Reserves as both have AMEDD divisions. Then you get the best of both worlds.

The best thing to do if you're interested in joining and I would do it soon is talk to the AMEDD recruiter for your state. You can look it up on the Army website. They are the ones to know all the requirements for you and whether you would be eligible for military service. You must meet the height/weight requirements or body fat % requirements to be sent to MEPS for your physical.

Good luck!

[Dranger]

At 38 not likely, while it is within range they are more apt to take a 25 year old even with less experience. I would say a few years ago you would have a good shot but not now.

Also the reality is that deployments are WAY down. Even if by an act of God that you got an active duty slot you would probably never deploy.