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I have an update for all and welcome any further input. So I interviewed with the air force (ANG) and sure enough (and fortunately) they offered me the flight nurse position. And as all have said there is about 4 months (not always consecutively) of training vs 4 weeks with army. The job is significantly more in depth and essentially a year and a half to two years would be necessary before I am deployable. The location is 2 hours away but 10 minutes from my in-laws (wife likes that aspect) vs 1 hour away for army. Money was never a big deal but AF did offer a nice sign on bonus. The base was extremely welcoming and laid back. Almost felt like I belonged just by walking in and having interest. On the other hand the army did get me in as an OR nurse vs med-surg based on my cath lab experience (a big plus). Also the commitment if relatively limited and the pregant wife will have me around much more often. I did send the army recruiter a few questions and mentioned how the air force has also offered me a position. To my surprise the recruiter essentially blew up in a bit of disapointment and anger, trying to sway me to army as being better. So long story short I am very blessed to have options and a guarantee to serve, of which was my primary objective. Anyone have any input? I'm completely torn at this point and time is closing.

Hi all thanks again for all the input. I did speak more with the flight nurse commander and you all are right. Significantly more training and significantly more deployment. The job would be much more in depth and would greatly broaden my nursing scope. It would however strain family and relationships and I likely would not be able to complete an msn degree in a timely manner. So job satisfaction vs family is at play. Guess I will continue to weigh my options and press on. Thank you all for your invaluable input!

Thank you all for the responses! I really am still torn! Anyone have any insight on bolc? How long is it for nurses these days? I know there is a lot of online stuff prior.

Thank you for the insight thus far! I do have a few other questions! 1) What do you folks that are med surg typically do on your drill weekends exactly? Just curious as to what is considered boring....paper work? Meetings? Etc 2) Benefits are essentially the same on the reserve side for both branches right? 3) I'm told that army is much larger than AF and therefore often presents more opportunity for advancement as well as more opportunity to qualify for certain specialties (OR nurse, OB nurse, weapons qualification, etc) 4) Are any of you attending school to earn an advanced degree at this time but not going on "student leave"? Is the military paying for you to go back to school? Are they requiring anything in terms of commitment? Thanks again!

Hi all, I'm new to this site and am hoping to get some feedback. I have a fortunate predicament. I've had a burning desire to join the military as a nurse for some years now. The wife has given me the green light to join the reserves. I've been pursuing this since May 14' and have sent applications to both the army reserve and the air national guard. Long story short, I've just been accepted into the army nurse corps as a reserve nurse on a local CSH unit and also have been called upon to interview with a medical board for an air national guard flight nurse position. I'm unsure of which path to take and any advice would be appreciated. A few factors: 1) I am prepared and ready to deploy so that is a non issue 2) I simply want to serve, so I really am unbiased as to which branch I commission with 3) I am a 26 year old male nurse with 4+ years of experience in med-surg, acute care (ED), and now cardiac cath lab nursing 4) Both units are relatively local and have the same 6 year commitment 5)Army has already accepted me, so I'm guaranteed a spot whereas AF has not yet accepted me. Sorry for a long winded post! Any pointers would be great!