cnelson2

Hi Everyone, I'm also going to OBLC on August 2 and I found some information about the USO at the San Antonio Int'l Airport at http://www.sanantonio.gov/aviation/uso.asp It would be great if they could coordinate getting us to Fort Sam or to meet up with other Army members. In regards to the e-ticket, all you need is the confirmation number from your travel itinerary to print out your boarding pass. The computer for this is located near the sales agent at the airlines. If you need to check your bags, then you can get in line and have the sales agent print out your boarding pass after you give them the confirmation number at the same time. When I called the housing office at Fort Sam, I was told our rooms are reserved already (double occupancy) and that they are not making reservations ahead of time--hopefully this is true. Thank you Athena for all your valuable information. Can you give me a tip on a good place to live in El Paso? I will be arriving in October for RN Residency and will only have a bicycle for transportation. Thank you, CNelson

Athena, I will be going into the active army, and anyways, I do need an AKO to get into that web address you gave me. Thank you for your help-I'll probably be looking for you if you're still in El Paso come October. I will try to find out who in St. Louis might have any information since the HR in Alexandria supposedly turned in my paperwork. I think at this point, a phone number would be better. I read in a previous forum from olderthandirt that Mr. Staples might be a help..."put me in touch with an AMEDD guy from St. Louis named Mr. Staples (314-592-000 ext.5703". Cnelson

I commissioned in April 2008, healthcare recruiting sent my packet to HR in May, HR scheduled me for OBLC in August and gave me a PCS location, but I am still without orders 6 weeks out. The Army Healthcare recruiters say they don't know what the hang up is and seem to be concerned about it taking so long. All waivers including age and grade have been approved. Is there something that I should be doing such as calling St. Louis and asking about this?

the u.s. army's handbook for newly commissioned officers is useful to get accurate numbers for all types of pay: http://www.usaac.army.mil/accw/div/training/wf/s1/2lt%20entitlements%20packet%2008.doc.

Hi Lifeafter40, Regarding Q1: After your paperwork is submitted by the recruiter and any waivers accepted, you will receive a phone call from HR who will ask where you want to go, and then check on the hospital openings in the computer. If none of your choices are available, they will then ask you what other hospitals you would consider and then you can pick one of those openings or tell HR you don't want any of the choices presented. HR can wait for more choices to open up and then call you/email you with new choices a little later. I did it this way and HR called me after 2 weeks with several more choices. Then, HR will put in a RFO (request for orders) which will take they say 4-6 weeks (processing is in St. Louis). It's been about 6 weeks for me this week-I'm still waiting for my orders. Regarding Q4: You get to choose your nursing specialty when the final paperwork is typed up at the recruiter's office and you go in to sign on your final forms. HR told me that I would be able to go to the specialty course after the 2 year mark into my 4 yr.obligation because there are many nurses waiting to take the classes and they can't get you in earlier. I think it's first come-first served. You are obligated to 1 year of service after your specialty course ends. Sorry, I am unable to help with your other questions. Cnelson

Hi Lifeafter40, You will receive a one-time reimbursement for your uniforms-I think it's $400. I didn't find my size of t-shirts and boots at the Air Force Base (they carry army supplies) so I found everything including inexpensive boots online at The Supply Sergeant http://www.militaryclothing.com. My shipment was fast from Illinois, no tax and inexpensive ground UPS shipping-8 days to CA. One thing you need to try on first is the beret. The sizes seem to run big and they are difficult to tighten much with the cord. Cnelson2

Hi Scott, I just graduated with a second bachelors in nursing and joined the Army as a new grad. I noticed many other nurses doing the same and found enough positive information at allnurses.com to help me to make such a big decision. I found a blog site where one of the army Nurses wrote an online diary of their weekly events at OBLC in Texas. It starts off melancholy, but is educational and fun to read about what actually went on each week. http://armynurselife.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html Good luck with school! Cnelson

Dear Kim, Yes, I finally got the call from ANC headquarters a while after my paperwork was submitted and I chose WBAMC. I'll see you August 3rd for some camping fun! It's already 83 degrees F in Texas at 0930. Would this be hot for you! I hear it's a dry heat so it's not as bad as NYC's heat. I wish you the best of luck passing the NCLEX. It felt like I could study forever for that test. I had to wait a whole month for my test results...CA doesn't use that early result notification program that is available almost everywhere else. See you in August :weathersunhot: Cnelson

Hi OTD2. Active Duty RNs begin August 4 and go to OBLC for 11 weeks. Not sure about the reserve duty RNs. The Army Nurse Corp personnel who put in my "request for orders" said that some of the RNs that just received their commissioning have not taken the NCLEX yet- I don't know how long they give them to take the test. Since I passed the NCLEX a while ago, the ANC person said I would receive my orders sooner than some-which was supposedly 4-6 weeks after choosing my PCS. Cnelson

Hi Beanseye, I am enrolled in the Aug.08 OBLC as an active duty RN and was told there were 200 RNs enrolled for this course. Not sure if the active duty people and reservists are all in the same class, but the Army Nurse Corp personnel informed me that this class has the most people because of summer nursing school graduates, not all of whom have taken the NCLEX yet. Cnelson

Hello Acey, It took me roughly 4 months to complete all the paperwork and physical exam. I filled out the Army Nurse application while awaiting the physical. I'll be attending the August 2008 OBLC (Officer Basic Leadership Course-not basic training) and this is 7 months after the initial contact with the Army Healthcare recruiter. I had a prolonged sign-up time because I had to wait for my waivers to be signed off. With no waivers, it would have been 3 months less time for me to start OBLC. The Army Nurse Corp Human Resources said they will be starting a new RN residency program for new nurses this August where the new nurse will experience several units at the hospital over a period of one year for better preparation. After that one year, the nurse will either go to a new hospital or stay at the residency hospital for the remainder of her/his commitment. I'm not sure if a choice is given for the new hospital if a new duty station is ordered. As far as how different military nursing is from civilian nursing, I can't answer that...yet. However, I've heard from several Air Force nurses in my old chemistry class who worked at David Grant Hospital at Travis AFB, that they had good experiences working as a team with other staff members at Travis and they preferred it over civilian nursing. They (4) were all taking the class as a prerequisite for the nurse anesthesia program. CNelson

Athena, Thank you for sharing all your experiences and information. Will I find out about living quarters during in-processing at OBLC? Also, will the travel arrangements be made when orders for this TDY to OBLC be made in advance by the Army? I hope you are doing well getting settled into your new job. Will you be going directly into critical care or oncology? CNelson

Athena, Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. I emailed HR with my final choice of WBAMC yesterday. I was planning on flying to OBLC because the drive would take 3 days from CA. I imagine a car would not be that important because of the long hours/days/weeks of training. Do you suppose my orders will include a prearranged flight to OBLC or will I be having to pay/arrange this? When you arrived to OBLC, did you have living quarters arranged in advance or will this happen sometime during in-processing? Hope all is going well for you

Athena, Thank you for your reply. I am happy and eager to begin nursing with colleagues who have this team spirit; I've heard of this from other nurses. I didn't know in-processing took longer than one day. Are you actually doing something everyday, or is it just waiting on paperwork to be processed? Also, did you find the officer handbook to be helpful for passing any exams you needed to take in OBLC? Glad to hear El Paso is a nice place to live. I will be able to choose my PCS tomorrow when HR calls me back. cnelson

Dear Athena, How do you like WBAMC? Besides your hospital, DDEAMC and WRAMC are also in the offering to me for completing my nurse residency (I'm a new grad at age 42). I will be attending OBLC in August and would like to know how you came to choose WBAMC over other choices that might have been offered to you? Thank you, CNelson