michmurse

Both of you, thanks for the clarification. The 8 year or longer commitment is probably the reason I would not join the military reserves. It would be hard for me to sign into something for so long w/o truly experiencing it. On the other hand I haven't seemed to get the idea off my mind. I believe whole-heartedly in the cause, and I feel it has the potential to be one the most rewarding nursing positions in the world. Fortunately, there is no deadline on making a decision. Thanks again for the information.

I have spoken with a few recruiter in the army and AF and I've basically heard two things: Active duty is 4 years active, then 4 years inactive Reserves is 6 years, then 2 years inactive reserves I was wondering, as a nurse, if you can sign 2-4 year contracts or is it purely 8 years in various obligations? Thank you for your time.

Is there a way to join the army reserves as a nurse and start directly in the emergency area of a unit or do you have to put your time in the med-surg areas first? Thank you for your time.

Wow, thank you for the insight. I understand that because of the group we are fighting that there really is no "safe zone". However, my interests contain no drive or interest in ending more lives. I wish to only save them. That is why I inquired about foot patrols. I am aware that as medical personnel you may carry personal protection. I am fine with rough living conditions and I would be happy to put in the manual labor to build the unit. Going forward, I feel as though I have a good grasp on the nurse's role in the army, but not as much in the air force. Do you know what opportunities are available on the ground for air force nurses, such as something similiar to a csh? Flight nursing remains an interest for me, as I see it as more of a flying ICU, to sustain life from field hospitals to satellite hospitals in neighoring or distant countries. Again, thank you for your time and service.

Hey I'm new to this forum and new to the profession, but I do have a number of questions for the veterans out there. I was wondering if you could elaborate on the environments nurses in the air force or army may face while being deployed to iraq? I have been considering the reserves for a few years and I'm an ER junkie at heart. Ideally, I would like to work with a csh unit in the ER or maybe even flight nursing. Another question I have is how much protection do the medical personnel/facilities have while in combat situations? Do army nurses go on foot patrol with infantry? Last but not least, is the minimum time commitment 8 years (including inactive time) in all branches? Thank you for your time and service.