MrsRonSwanson Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Hi all, I graduated a few weeks ago and will take my PANCE next month. I'm joining the Army as active duty and was wondering if anyone had any advice for me. Just anything they wish they had known beforehand. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick87 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 If a colonel tells you to jump, you ask how high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Wow things have really changed. When I was in the military you asked "How high, Sir?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REMPAC Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Don't be the "ONE"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatheadPA Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 If a colonel tells you to jump, you are in the wrong place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatheadPA Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 On a realistic note. You will be operating alone 99% (but with HIGHLY trained medics 68W) of the time. Make sure you master the alphabet cards (ACLS, ATLS, PALS, ABLS, etc...) go to the TCMC before deployment and absorb everything, attend tropical med course, BCT3 and C4. These will all help you immensely on the critical life saving tasks that you will not learn much about in school What is your first duty assignment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 What is the promotional timeline for 65Ds? I am assessing as an O-2E, with 6 months constructive credit for O-3. I have looked at career lifecycle models, but the info is old, and I don't know if it has changed with the drawdown. Are O-2 65Ds still looking at O-3 with 24 months TIG as an O-2, and O-4 in 4-6 years after making O-3, or have these timeframes changed in the last few years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatheadPA Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 No man, at least for the AD side. You are looking at 4yrs roughly from O2 to 03 and 7+ to major. It's no longer automatic to 03 too. You must actually board and have your shit straight. Roughly 80% were picked up last cycle. Your OERs need to be perfect and organized. Army SP corps is not longer like the medical corps. It is more similar to MSC now. I see you are NG. How much active time? I have a career mapper that I can send you. Ill get back to you if can find it. DA photo, OERs, duty's ( you need more than just hospital/sick call, something operational), and then ASI (ABN,ASSLT,EFMB,AMPA, TCMC, BCT3, TC3) are 99% of your board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Interesting. Yes, I am Guard, and new as of this year. I have 7 years active duty time, serving enlisted before crossing over as a 65D. I am on the TO&E side still, so operational experience won't be a problem. I have a few ASI's currently, generic stuff like ABN, combatives etc. I am looking to add some more specific things like AMPA, TCMC and JSOMOC in the near future. If you can find that career mapper it would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatheadPA Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Unless you are with 19th (I see you are in Utah), JSOMOC/SOCM would be real hard to get as a NG PA. TCMC just changed last fiscal year. They now only accept PAs who are on schedule to deploy. When I attended, that was the case. Their budget has been cut tremendously. If you know much about the course (dont really want to go in detail online) you know how expensive that course is. AMPA shouldnt be a problem, but the guard might require you to be in an aviation unit or be in a TO&E directly supported by aviation. You and I are flip flopped. I did NG first, AD second after PA school. I was with the Idaho ARNG. We trained with the 19th out of Draper sometimes. THey would come to our TA. I have had long talks to them about PAs. 19th is a good unit, but from what they told me, you need to basically be a prior service 18D to get their PA slots. I found the career mapper. I just need to upload it somehow to digits. Its paper format right now. Look into tropical medicine course at Walter Reed. They just changed the name. Im planning on attending next year. It supposed to be real good. From what the AD branch manager said, he recommends: Line unit (mix of Cav/Infantry, both is better), then senior line PA, then AMPA, then hospital to make Major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Great info, thank you. I am not assigned to 19th Group yet. I have a paragraph and line number lined up for the GSB, but still have to meet for an interview with the Group Surgeon next month before I will be placed in that position. If placed there, I will pursue JSOMOC, as well as other distance courses from the JSOU like Intro to UW and various other things. I am excited about the potential placement with 19th, from what I have seen, they are good dudes with good missions. I for one am a believer in UW/FID/COIN and the like. It's awesome to see force multipliers in action like that. I'm also excited they are entertaining me even though I come from a conventional background. It was made clear that this is not the norm, so it's humbling for sure. That's awesome that you are with Idaho ARNG. I just moved from Meridian, ID to SLC last August. I went to ISU's PA program. So far ID has been my favorite place to live, it is such a beautiful state. Anyway, thanks for the info on the name change for Trop Med. I had tried looking for it but was only getting old info. Makes sense now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatheadPA Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thats great! Sounds like a good position to have. You will be working with some high speed individuals. Additionally, its one of the only airborne NG units in the US Im not in the NG anymore. I was only NG while i went through undergrad at Boise State. Ive been active duty for some time now. When I finish up here, Ill be going NG again. And if you do get the 19th slot, the whole promotion scheme is different. If you are in the GSB its the same, but if you are direct support for ODAs, different promotion scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatheadPA Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Also, check out TOD on GKO. They list vacancies worldwide. There is almost always an SOF unit looking for a temp PA for 300+ day tour. They are great spots all over the world. Most of them require a few years as a PA. What year did you graduate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I will be in the Support Battalion for the foreseeable future, so i'll be on the traditional promotion timeline. From what I understand, the link on GKO is like the old MODs portal where AMEDD personnel could volunteer, correct? Sounds like I'd have to bide my time and get some training under my belt. I just graduated last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRonSwanson Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Thanks for the advice. I'm really looking forward to all the educational opportunities the Army offers. No word on my first assignment as I'm still waiting for final approval of the scrolling process. Hopefully the process doesn't take too much longer because I am getting a bit restless waiting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamingPA Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Hi all, I graduated a few weeks ago and will take my PANCE next month. I'm joining the Army as active duty and was wondering if anyone had any advice for me. Just anything they wish they had known beforehand. Thank you! Most likely you will be assigned to BCT, like Fort Hood or Blisss. You will likely deploy with your unit and do a tour or two - it can be anywhere from Africa to middle east to Asia. Your daily duties will be working in a troop medical clinic seeing patients, while CONUS. Probably doing something similiar out in a tent down range. You may or may not do PT everyday depending on the command. I know a few that made their PA's do it before or after the clinic with their platoon sergeants. Some liked it and some were miserable. It all depends on how well you adjust and take orders This is the army and not a boyscout. If you have family and dont want to deploy or relocate frequently, this is not for you. I have seen so many docs and PA's bi*ch and whine about field work, non-medical work, being away from their kids, deployments and so on. But then, no one will pity since medical officers or nurses have it way easy compared to medics and other endlisted. It surprises me sometimes how people join without knowing everything they are gettng themselves into Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper-PA Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 So...soak up as much as you can learn during BOLC. It's watered down bullshit and won't give you half the skills you need to truly survive in the "real" army but it does at least give you the basics. Listen to your NCO's and MEDO whenever you get to your unit. They may not be able to tell you how to do medicine but they can help you with the Army stuff, tactical, deployment, etc. Don't be "that guy" basically medical officers, especially direct commission officers, don't get a lot of respect. You have to earn that. What’s a good way to impress your Infantry Battalion commander? Show up looking good, fit, professional and smoke your PT test. This is a simple thing that will get you instant respect. Seems stupid by especially in the Combat Arms arena physical fitness is very important. You have to balance your clinic and Battalion time so that you can be a good PA and be available to your patients and also to fill your limited staff duties. You "owe" the clinic about 60% of your time and the unit about 40% when in Garrison. This obviously changes when you deploy, FTX, do other training. You will have 3 bosses, your clinic OIC/Medical director, your Brigade Surgeon and your Battalion Commander. you have to balance your loyalties between them all to accomplish your mission and to make sure that you are successful. Their agendas will all conflict with each other at times, the clinic will want you there more, the commander will want you at meetings etc. One of the first things I tell my new Commanders when I meet them is that I'm taking care of "their" Soldiers, in order to do that I have to have time in Clinic/sick call etc. I also need to have a good feel of what the rhythm of the Battalion is so that I can prepare my schedule and try to avoid having to cancel appointments. It's not fair to the Soldier who waited two weeks to see you to have to reschedule because all of the sudden you can't miss a training meeting that was on the calendar for two weeks and no one told you about it. There is so much more..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFPA824 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Thanks for the input Sapper-PA. Any more insight by anybody on the daily life of an active duty PA would be greatly appreciated. I am about to start PA school at the University of Florida and I am very interested in joining the military (either Army or Air Force) as a PA right out of school. I've been told by recruiters that I would need 6 months to a year of experience in the civilian world before I could apply to be a PA in the military, but I've read online that you can apply for active duty 6 months out from graduation. Can anyone shed some more light on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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