Unmotivated recruiter???

[traumaowl]

Hey... I had my application all ready for boards last year when "surprise" I found out I was pregnant. I decided to put application on hold and wait til baby. Now I am proud mommy to my daughter, but still am wanting to join army nurse corps. Apparently things have changed.... last year my army health care recruiter was very prompt in replying to my e-mails and questions and seemed very excited for my to apply. This year it is so hard to get ahold of her and she doesn't seem that interested in submitting my packet. I'm kinda discouraged. I've been an ER nurse for 3 years now and would love to serve my country, but I feel like I'm getting the cold shoulder.

She did mention that there are ALOT more applicants now and that there was competition even with my experience, but I still want to be considered. I feel like she's giving up on me...

[jgcadet]

The services are full nursing wise until the end of the fiscal year so its not surprising (Plus there is probably a list of already qualified people waiting to get in)...However, she/he should not be ignoring your requests to at least try to get in.

As for the average age of an officer, non-direct commission it usually 22-23. Honestly enlisted soldiers are not usually really that much and in fact most SPC or SGTs are older then brand new LTs.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

That's true now, yes, but the regulation governing the status of enlisted single parents and commissioned single parents does not take that into account. Having served as an enlisted troop and now as an officer, I can say with certainty that the expectations of and the assumptions made of both differ greatly.A brand new second Lt with no prior service makes about $3200 a month with all allowances. A brand new enlisted troop, even if they come in as an E3, makes less than half that - and this is taken into account for single parenting purposes, as well as the average age of a brand new recruit (this maximum age varies by service, and in the Air Force the upper limit is only 28 - but the regulation governing these waivers is written by the Department of Defense and is not service specific).