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oh wow. ROTC never even came to my mind because I thought it was for "real=1st degree" college students. My army recruiter made it sound like the reserve was my only option. I'm calling ROTC now. I can't thank you enough!
Also make sure you're talking to a properly qualified recruiter. There are of specialized programs recruiting medical personnel; make sure you are talking to someone who knows these programs inside and out. There are distinct differences between how medical, legal, and chaplains are recruited, trained, and employed in the military. For example in the Air Force medical personnel can attend Commissioned Officer Training (COT) instead of ROTC or standard Officer Training School. Again, make sure you're talking to the right people.
I'd consider going enlisted reserve for this - you'll get some very good educational benefits, and you could make some great contacts if your MOS/Rating is medical. ROTC is another possibility - check for specific Nurse ROTC options, for each service.
Once you have a BSN (RN is not enough), you can very easily make the transition to the officer side. All branches are desperate for nurses and MDs, all the time.
Its interesting - your experience underscores something that some posters here do not understand - getting in as an officer is much tougher than it used to be. In the 70s or 80s, a BS and a pulse did the trick. Since then, as the population has gotten more educated, it has become much more difficult.
Have you looked at the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps? These are the officers working under the Surgeon General and the Assistant Secretary for Health. Whether this qualifies as bonafide "military" is a debate that resides far outside the scope of this thread, but it's uniformed service to country nonetheless. I just thought I'd throw that option out there for you in case you've never heard of them, which many people haven't.
I've talked to the ROTC recruiter and found out they are no longer accepting BSN students from the particular program I was interested in (probably because people were dropping out due to the tight schedule). Yesterday, I took the ASVAB and luckily I passed (97 percentile), but I still haven't been able to get in touch in any recruiters other than from the Army.
Also, I have been warned that AMEDD hasn't had an open nursing position for the past six months. Of course, that can change by the time I get my license, but it was pretty devastating to hear. I got a chance to talk to a few random Army recruiters while I was at MEPS, and they all seemed to agree that my best bet would be to enlist and then go officer. This could work for me if I can gain engineering experience while serving the required x years to be eligible to go to OCS or G2G or other programs I'm not aware of. I need to figure out if it is actually possible, not just theoretical, especially since I'm turning 26 already. I've been assigned a new recruiter (he's a SGT, as opposed to the SFC I first met with, and seems to be more informative) and I'm going to meet with him next week to discuss my options.
I'll update on how it goes, if anyone's interested Thanks again!
I got a chance to talk to a few random Army recruiters while I was at MEPS, and they all seemed to agree that my best bet would be to enlist and then go officer.
There are times that you just have to take the best offer. A difficult decision to make. The Army has a lot of options, at times appear a bit confusing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by trulyours
This could work for me if I can gain engineering experience while serving the required x years to be eligible to go to OCS or G2G or other programs I'm not aware of. I need to figure out if it is actually possible, not just theoretical, especially since I'm turning 26 already.
There is no requirement of "serving the required x years to be eligible to go to OCS". There is a minimum age, and a maximum age. At one time you could not have over 10 years enlisted service.
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Thanks again!
