texas_shaka

I took a pay cut when I joined if you only look at your rank pay. However, I got Hawaii as my duty station and my BAH (housing allowance) is $3100 a month. So now I am making more (technically) but in a much more expensive location. Now, you could ge...

If you want to join as an ICU nurse (AOC 66S in the Army), you need 2 years of ICU experience preferably in a Trauma 1/University hospital. You can join as a med-surg nurse, work a little while, then apply for the Army's critical care course in San A...

If you search around in the boards you can get a lot of info on different people's experiences. I joined a little over a year ago as an ICU nurse with 2 years of ICU civilian experience. So far, I am loving it. Why do you want to join the military? ...

I would get 2 years of ER experience especially if it is at a level 1 or 2. DO great there and get certified. Learn as much as you can. I commissioned as a 66S (ICU nurse) after 2 years of experience at a level 1 trauma center. Your letters of recomm...

Yes we do have a few 66S reserve nurses. Will you be working full time at Tripler or will you still be at your current hospital? I don’t know too much about the reserve side. I know that you’ll eventually do the field portion of BOLC for training.

Tripler is great! Love Hawaii and the Army ICU nurses I’ve met are awesome. Very knowledgeable and really care about their career and their patients. My OIC/NCOICs also really care about us and work hard to get us the opportunity to do “Army” stuff l...

So yeah the recruiters have a date to submit everything so it’ll get approved to go to the board. This helps prevent submitting incomplete packets. Hopefully that’s the case for you.

It’s not the phone call that you want it’s your orders. The phone call was just like a courtesy “welcome to the team” call. I got my orders in my personal email a little over a month before my DCC starting date. So that’s enogh notice for your employ...

Actually, I am Active Duty. And my recruiter and I also got my packet submitted super quick to make the earlier boards of the fiscal year. And I kept getting mixed info from my recruiter and the Internet. I assumed I would submit my packet by Decembe...

I commissioned back in March 2018, went to DCC/BOLC in the summer of 2018 and am now stationed at Tripler in Hawaii. I am a 66S (ICU nurse) DCC - 4 weeks of hurry up and wait, with a few days doing "Army" things like the obstacle course, range time, ...

I boarded last December 2017, went to DCC and BOLC in the summer and am now stationed at Tripler Army Medical Center. I am a 66S (ICU nurse). If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, or I can respond here. There aren't too many direct commissio...

If you were referring to me, you can PM me and Ill send it to you.

It was personal. I could have commissioned the next day after I received my official scroll if I had wanted to. But I had some family things come up that made me hesitant. I made the right decision by commissioning, though. At least I think so thus f...

I was officially scrolled in February but did not commission until 12 March, which delayed my official orders being cut a little bit. I received my unofficial orders 27 April and that was through HRC and I basically verified all the information on it...

I direct commissioned as a nurse with 2 years of experience. I was offered loan repayment for 3 years commitment (plus 5 IRR) or loan repayment and 10k specialty bonus for 4 years (and 5 IRR). From what I've heard, there is hardly any difference betw...

How did you feel about the 2 week nurse track after? I am at BOLC now. So far, it is a lot better than DCC at Ft. Sill!

Hey all, there are a TON of threads for all things military nursing, however, I feel like most of it is for prospective applicants who are interested in joining. Pixie RN also has several amazing articles on this forum but other than that, not many R...

I received an email with unofficial orders. In it, you receive your DCC and BOLC dates and your PCS. Once you confirm your information, your recruiter will receive and give you your official orders.

Thank you so much for the info both of you. That really helps a lot. I am very excited to start a new chapter in my nursing career with the Army. It sounds like it is going to be an amazing experience.

I am also 66S Active Duty. Has anyone received orders yet? Where are yall hoping to be stationed after BOLC?

I was selected in the December 17 board and my recruiter said he was surprised how fast I was cleared for commissioning. I commissioned early March but got the OK in mid February. I am going Active Duty as a 66S and am in Texas. For you AD nurses, w...

Hey I am loving all of the questions! I feel like I get different information from my recruiter every week sometimes. He hasn't even mentioned OPAT. My AOC is 66S or ICU nurse Active Duty. I worked in trauma/SICU so I am hoping I get San Antonio for ...

Hey all, I am able to commission this Monday. My recruiter said probably August for BOLC. Quick question. Has everyone been pretty much been told that we won't know where our first duty station is until BOLC?

I heard good news earlier this month, too. I was selected for 66S, now scrolling waiting for my orders. Pretty excited, congratulations to all.

Well, because of MEPS wanting to do an inspect, my packet got delayed to the December 12th board. Super bummed. Oh well. Also, question. I am so nervous about getting selected. According to my recruiter, the Army is allowing specialties with less th...