VA Nurses... Your Thoughts Please

Question for VA nurses. Do you think it would be easier to make nurse II if you were hired as nurse II lvl1 with an MSN and only a year or two of experience, or if you were hired as nurse 1 lvl3 as a new nurse with an MSN and tried to make nurse II? Any likelihood of making nurse II after only a year of working there? Job postings says nurse II is an MSN and a year or more of experience, though I get the sense there's more to it than that. I have an MSN and less than a year of experience working in a private sector hospital/system. 

Any responses would be greatly appreciated and for any who read this, thanks for all you do!