heirn13

Atlrn0828, Congrats on getting all of that done. I bet that feels good! Have you received orders yet? Everything is going well, not doing much other than PT stuff right now. Still awaiting orders. I won't give my notice until then. I joined the Facebook group. Where is everyone else I wonder.

Congratulations bryango!! Join us on the Facebook page too.

Thank you for the info midinphx, I can use all the advice you are willing to give! I will take a look at the site you mentioned.

ATLRN0828, You have no idea how excited I was to see that email too!! How is everything going with your medical clearance and such? Did you already quit your job in preparation for all of your summer travels?

samm0705, I have a 5 yr old daughter that will start kindergarten in Texas also. I have been researching and putting out feelers for ideas of where to live. I was thinking that living closer to BAMC would make more sense, but have not decided yet. I plan to live off base as of right now, but we shall see if that changes once I am able to speak with a sponsor and get some questions answered. We should definitely compare notes. How long have you worked NICU? Congratulations on everything!

I agree that this is totally inappropriate for so many reasons. I work in a NICU unit that encourages primary nurses, but our management team discourages this type of behavior. I know of a few nurses that over-step this boundary at times, but not to this extent. Is your managment team aware of this practice? If not, I would make sure that they are made aware. This type of practice could cause problems for other people and ruin the career of these nurses.

I think you need to decide if this is something that you really want to do. It will be difficult, as everyone has stated, with some obstacles that you wouldn't find in the civilian world. This was the one thing that really held me back for a while, but I decided that if others could do it than so could I. And now I am an AF nurse!! You just need to think about what you want and then go for that. Good luck in everything. I know this is a tough decision but you will make the right one!

Are there any AF NICU nurses out there that can give me some insight into career opportunities? I am interested in advancing but it seems as though that might be difficult with my speciality. Any words of advice?

I am interested in any info I can get regarding Lackland AFB and the surrounding area. I will be stationed there (actually BAMC) for my first assignment in October. I am curious about where to live and neigborhoods with good schools for my kindergartener. Any advice would be appreciated.

I agree that you should inquire about commissioning.

Congratulations ERMags and rndiver82! Jenks7- congratulations to you too and I hope you get your COT date soon. Destiny2k5- I think you should try again. Don't let this get you too down, just think of it as a small obstacle and get everything ready for the next boards. I wish you the best in all your endeavors. See some of you in august:)

Hello all! Congrats to all the newcomers!! I continue to wait for orders so I can continue on this process. Otherwise just working on physical training. I just received an email from the flight commander for my unit in San Antonio. It made everything seem so real:) I can't even begin to explain how excited I am about this new adventure. And I can't wait to meet everyone. samm0705, I am also a NICU nurse and will be stationed at Lackland after COT in august. It's nice to see someone else out there with NICU. We'll have to compare notes:) Where are you moving from? I'm currently in Spokane, Washington so this is going to be quite a change for me! Congratulations to all of us!!!!!

Hi atlrn0828,I understand what you mean. I feel like there are a lot of people that I will not have a chance to see before I leave. Silly work keeps getting in the way of my social life! Of course I would not have much of a social life without work. I haven't heard anything about orders, but I haven't asked lately either. Originally my recruiter told me a few weeks after all the commissioning paperwork was completed. I will have to ask her. I would really like to get moving with some of this stuff. Like uniforms, ID cards, and scheduling movers. Oh, and give my notice at work. I am too chicken to give it before final orders arrive. I am afraid they may postpone my COT date and I would be out of a job. No good! How is the physical fitness coming along? I am working at it, but I am still afraid that I will be the slowest person!! Just have to keep working I guess and make sure that doesn't happen.

Hi all, How did everyone's commissioning ceremony go? I had mine on May 20th and it was perfect. My dad was able to swear me in with my two best friends and daughter in attendance. I could not have asked for anything better. Does anyone else plan on getting uniforms prior to COT? Also, has anyone else tried to get their ID card? I saw what KUHNB1788 posted and was curious if anyone else was successful. My recruiter also told me it would have to wait until COT but I would rather do it sooner if able. Things are really starting to get close! Just waiting on official orders so I can turn in my notice at work:)

Hi ATLRN0828, Heard anything?? I spoke to my recruiter today, but it is still a waiting game! The reason that I will reschedule my trip is so my dad can do the commissioning. If I am not approved to be commissioned then I will just try to schedule it for the end of next month. I'm just a planner and I had my mind set on how this was all going to happen....I guess this is a lesson best learned early on:) I know that the military works on its own timeline, not mine! I hope that we stay in touch through all of this, to include after COT. I can't wait to hear about all of your travels. And we may end up stationed at the same base at some point:))

Hey ATLRN0828,Still no news on my commissioning so I am starting to think I might need to reschedule my trip. Such a bummer, but what can you do, right? As for you moving overseas, I lived overseas several times while growing up and each one was super exciting for me as a child. I think your son will really enjoy seeing new things. I have a friend that was in Japan until the tsunami and she said it was wonderful. Her kids are older, but they all really enjoyed living there. She showed me pictures of sme of the hot springs that they went to and they are amazing. I think a lot of it will be what you make of it. Have fun! I am slightly jealous of you actually:)

Hey ATLRN0828, My recruiter told me that you can go to COT without being commissioned, they don't like to do that but it can be done. And it seems that the Scroll approval is one of those things that happens at various times. It is very confusing to me so I am just waiting for my recruiter to give me the green light!:) I am working until the beginning of August and we are planning some family/friends visits as well. I want to make this summer as fun as possible for my daughter. She is five but I have not really explained the Air Force to her yet. She is sad about leaving her friends and family so I try not to talk about it too much yet. Even at five, the concept of time is skewed and I figure there is no reason to stress her out until it gets closer to time. How does your family feel about your decision to join? How exciting to go to Okinawa as your first duty station! I hope I end up stationed overseas at some point in my career. My book should arrive in a few days and I will let you know how it is. My dad said that there is one for each branch of the service and they are full of great information. I bought it so I would feel like I was doing something!! Good luck with all of your paperwork!

ATLRN0828, I guess, from my recruiter's explanation, that the list of people to be commissioned goes before Congress for approval prior to anyone being commissioned. As I am re-reading my explanation I realize that it is about as clear as mud, but that's all I've got! lol. The only other things that I am doing right now are stressing and stressing:) I am still working at my job and trying to plan a fun summer for myself and my daughter prior to moving. I just purchased the Air Force Officer's Guide, so I will start reading that when it gets here. There isn't really anything else that I know of that I can do. You? I haven't done anything for medical/dental clearance. What is that all about? Not another thing for me to be worried about I hope:) lol

RN4Life2, Congratulations on everything! And best of wishes for you at COT. I was just curious about your commissioning ceremony. Where did you have it and what did you wear? I know, such girl questions......but what can I say?! LOL. I'm sure that you must have tons to do to get ready for COT. I can't wait to read about your adventures.

Hi ATLRN0828! I will be stationed at Lackland AFB after COT. I am feeling some pressure about the commissioning. I thought it would be nice to have my dad do the ceremony, which means a trip to Little Rock, and now Congress has not approved the scroll. And we are 2 weeks away from the date we scheduled!!! I'm getting a little nervous! How is your training going? I really need to work on my push ups. I'm trying to improve my running time as well, but not much I can do about learning to run in heat and humidity! It's still chilly where I live with day time highs in the 50's. The climate will be a huge adjustment!

I am scheduled for August COT also. I am nervous about a lot of stuff including the fitness portion. I am training but I still worry that I will be the one holding my flight back. Has anyone had their commissioning ceremony yet? Even with the nerves, I can't wait to start on this new journey!! I look forward to meeting all of you:)