Want to find out more about direct commissioning

Guest43184 · May 27, 2005

you can contact a recruiter at any time to get more information about military nursing. i'm an af nurse and can tell you that medical, dental, jag, chaplains are all direct commission for us. basically the rated/line officer trainees had to earn their commission at ots (or via academy/rotc) while we went through training as commissioned officers.

as far as the recruiting process...once i applied and things were in the works i had to go to meps for my physical and wait for the board to meet for a result. i was offered a commission and accepted. at that point i just had to find an officer to perform my commissioning ceremony.

i'd recommend talking to a recruiter sooner rather than later so you can sort out a timeline for yourself down the road.

good luck to you :)

hey everyone, i've just found this great sight and was looking for some words of wisdom. i was in the army dep as a 91wm6 and pulled out in order to get my bsn. i'm currently in the process of my pre reqs for nursing school, and since i already have a bs it will only take me about 2-3 years for my bsn. my question, what is involved in getting a direct commision, how does the process work, when should i contact a recruiter? etc etc. anyway i was wondering if anyone has been thru direct comm. or is in the process of. any adivse, words of wisdom would be greatly appriciated. thanks laura :flowersfo

ArmyKitten · May 27, 2005

PLEASE look into direct commission, and do not get sucked into ROTC. Its been a great 4 years in ROTC, but loosing study time and having to take cruddy clinical times in order to fit in squad tactics training has been rather frustrating to me. ROTC has molded my leadership greatly, but it can be so time consuming too. I dont expect active duty Army to be easy- but if you can have an easier time in college I believe you should take that route. Why make it harder than it needs to be? I may be bitter- too many semesters of pt at 0600, classes 8 til 2, clinical 3 to 11, study until 2am and wake up at 0530 and start it all over again. If you do not need financial assistance going through school now, consider direct commissioning with loan repayment after you commission. If you direct commission you also do not have to attend those pesky summer trainings.

Then again if you LIKE the idea of learning battle drills, ROTC may be the place for you :)

lmacks4 · May 28, 2005

I was honestly thinking about doing Army rotc. However, I wanted to see where I was a couple years down the line and like many I have to maintain school and a job so it would be tough to get in time for Rotc. I was looking at either the Army or Air force direct comm. programs. Probably leaning a little bit more towar Army but I also want to keep the others in mind. With a dir. comm. can you be commissioned right after you graduate? Or I've even read you can commission while in your final year, is this true? What happens after commissioning? You go to OBC in sam houston then get sent to your unit right? sorry for all the questions:) Anyway thanks for your responses....Laura :beercuphe

viper16731 · May 28, 2005

Would y'all mind if I enter into this conversation? My question is this....I am also thinking about direct commissioning into the air force...but they sent my packet to the board in march. Unfortunantly, it was denied due to there being no preceptor slots available till Oct... but anyway, I graduate with a BSN in Dec...I would love to hear what it is really like to be a nurse in the Air Force. I was a Army medic before I went to school. I also have a family a wonderful wife and the cutest boy ever, my 2 1/2 year old son zack. How is the family support like as an officer and in the Air Force?

Thanks for your input

Guest43184 · May 28, 2005

Would y'all mind if I enter into this conversation? My question is this....I am also thinking about direct commissioning into the air force...but they sent my packet to the board in march. Unfortunantly, it was denied due to there being no preceptor slots available till Oct... but anyway, I graduate with a BSN in Dec...I would love to hear what it is really like to be a nurse in the Air Force. I was a Army medic before I went to school. I also have a family a wonderful wife and the cutest boy ever, my 2 1/2 year old son zack. How is the family support like as an officer and in the Air Force?
Thanks for your input

I'm ADAF and just went through this entire process. If I were in your shoes I'd do some further investigating in regard to there 'not being preceptor slots till Oct' maybe your recruiter can clear that up for you. When I was commissioned the AF didn't commission people based on preceptor spots and I know of multiple preceptors at my facility...and the next NTP (nurse transition program) starts before Oct. There are ongoing NTP sites at various bases w/varying numbers of students at any given time. I would definitely recommend asking that your app go before the board again :)

As far as being an AF nurse...it's been good to me in the short time I've been in. I'm not prior service so I can't speak to that but I work w/4 nurses I can think of offhand that were prior enlisted. My COT class was half prior enlisted so I think most find it to be a positive change. Family support varies based on your supervisor/coworkers, etc but I think it's pretty good overall. I suppose this is a given but as long as people remember they're in the military and that family can't always come first (or at least be realistic) I don't see too many problems.

I'd recommend looking into it more and trying to follow an ADAF nurse for a day or just try to meet one in a similar situation. I'm happy to give my opinion but I don't have children so my take is a little different.

Good luck!