Potential Navy Reserve Opportunities

[FutureDukeEMPA]

Hey all,

 

I am considering the US Navy Reserves. I'm far from that goal (still a pre-PA), however, I am curious as to the workings of a Naval Reserve PA in the Medical Service Corps. I have thought about it since a friend, in passing, stated some information on military opportunities. Now, I have never served in the military and I will probably be 32-33 years old once I graduate. I have looked at the Navy Reserve website but still have some questions for anyone who is well versed in this area. Please forgive any ignorance as this is the first time I am considering this option.

1. I thought that I would have to go through OCS, but that might only be for active duty personnel only -- I'm not sure. If I am a PA grad, no prior military experience, and looking into the reserves, is Direct Commissioned Officer school the only route? I of course would like to be commissioned as an officer upon entering.
   
2. When you graduate and become a commissioned officer and a reserve PA, I understand that approximately 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks per year will be spent doing drills. Is this at one location or are there multiple places you can go to get this done?
   
3. I understand that in order to be a commissioned officer in the reserves, 2-8 years of service is usually required. Is that dependent upon your occupation, ranking or other variables?
   
4. Again, forgive my ignorance but I would like to join the Navy Reserve Medical Service Corps. as a PA as a supplement to my daily life...is that how it works? In other words, once I finish PA school and become commissioned as an officer through DCO or OCS or w/e else, can I go and find a regular job(s) and have a "civilian" life in the meantime? What happens if 6 months into my new job, the Navy calls me up and wants me to deploy...what will most likely happen with the job(s), would it be available when I come back? How have other medical practitioners in the Navy Reserves go about this?
   
5. I've heard that usually for PAs, for every one year you're deployed, you can stay stateside for 5 years. So how exactly does this work? You deploy for one year, come back, spend 5 years in the states, maybe working a regular job as an Emergency Medicine PA at a hospital for example. Then after 5 years, if the Navy calls you again for deployment, you drop everything and deploy for another year? What about your job stateside? Do employers have any special arrangements/contracts with military reserve personnel when it comes to this?
   
6. Admittedly, one of the reasons I am interested in doing this is because of the financial help. I understand that you can choose up to $50K in grad school loan repayments, up to $30K in specialty pay or a one time sign-on bonus of up to $10K. Naturally, for me, up to $50K in grad school loan repayments seems to be the most desirable choice. As a reserve PA, are these three the only financial incentives or do you get paid in addition to this? Are you getting a regular pay year-round for being in the reserves, or only when you deploy or do your monthly and annual drills? What is the pay like?
   
7. Finally, I know most active duty personnel can retire and collect military pension after 20 years of service. Does this apply to reserve officers as well? and how is that calculated? Years of service, rank, occupation?
   

Apologies for the long post, but there is so much information and I want to make sure I understand it correctly. Thanks for your time!