Does anyone have any experience with prior service credit upon med school graduation (HPSP). I have 9 years prior service and I can't seem to get a straight answer on how that will factor in for my pay. I know I will be an O-3, but over what?

Does anyone have any experience with prior service credit upon med school graduation (HPSP). I have 9 years prior service and I can't seem to get a straight answer on how that will factor in for my pay. I know I will be an O-3, but over what?

I think the 9 years count on the pay scale but promotion is a different matter. My friend was a line officer and they gave him 1/2 credit for his time in service towards promotion.

I think the 9 years count on the pay scale but promotion is a different matter. My friend was a line officer and they gave him 1/2 credit for his time in service towards promotion.

For pay that is exactly right. However, you must be careful to not to be credited for too many years in service because someone will plug your original commission date into the system. However, for anyone with a break in service (i.e. med school), this method will give you too many years. It's just a matter of working with the pay folks to get it right.

Also, my understanding of credit towards promotion is also that you get 1/2 credit (i.e. I will be promoted to O4 2 1/2 years ahead of my peers given that I had 5 years prior service). But we'll see how it really works after I return to active duty in 4 years after my defered residency.

Also, my understanding of credit towards promotion is also that you get 1/2 credit (i.e. I will be promoted to O4 2 1/2 years ahead of my peers given that I had 5 years prior service).

Be aware that the 1/2 year credit is for prior COMMISSIONED service, not enlisted service. I'm sure that's what you meant, but simply clarifying for FmrNavyflyer.

BTW, FmrNavyFlyer, what did you fly? I was an EA-6B NFO with CAG-5 on the Kitty before coming to med school.

Assuming your prior service credit was as an officer, that is correct in saying that you will be given 4.5 years time in grade as an O-3 on the day you gradutate from medical school. Hence, you should put on Major 1.5 years after the date you graduated medical school. But, that is how it works when you come on active duty and being deferred, I am not exactly sure what kind of credit you are given.

I know, because I had prior service (9.5 enlisted and 4 officer BSC USAF corps) and went thru all of this. I was given 2 years service credit for my prior commissioned time (although my TIS total is now 16).

Hope this helps.

Assuming your prior service credit was as an officer, that is correct in saying that you will be given 4.5 years time in grade as an O-3 on the day you gradutate from medical school. Hence, you should put on Major 1.5 years after the date you graduated medical school. But, that is how it works when you come on active duty and being deferred, I am not exactly sure what kind of credit you are given.

I know, because I had prior service (9.5 enlisted and 4 officer BSC USAF corps) and went thru all of this. I was given 2 years service credit for my prior commissioned time (although my TIS total is now 16).

Hope this helps.

Then this should drive the payroll folks nuts:

I've been a drilling reserve officer since 1992, with previous active duty officer time. My LES shows 18 years (all commissioned).

I'm currently a drilling O-4.

Assuming I get the HPSP, I'll be an O-1 (over 18) during med school and will promote to O-3 upon graduation. How soon, based on prior commissioned service, will I be eligible for accelerated promo to O-4?

O-1 (over 18) during med school

holy crap, lol :laugh:

now that's something you don't see every day. along with your documentation you should send the payroll folks some zantac and prilosec . .

--your friendly neighborhood crosses his fingers for the pay people caveman

Trinity,

Good question, I only know from the aspect of active duty time. A guess would be they would actually take your active duty time, and the actual number of drilling days active duty as a reserve officer and give you 1/2 constructive TIG credit for that.

But, honestly your situation will be alot more complicated than others. Also, you will likely need to speak with the AFPC folks at some point to confirm you were given the "credit" you actually deserve. When I came back on AD after my intern year, the guy who inprocessed me didn't give me any constructive credit at the MPF and I had to petition AFPC for this and it took 6 months to fix it.

As you see, TIG constructive credit when you change corps (BSC to MC or NC to MC) is only given 1/2 time and as a reserve officer drilling, I don't see how they can give years of credit when you only pulled partial years of time during drills. But good luck with all!

This is the thing I don't understand and don't have an answer to unfortunately. I have a couple years reserve officer time prior to coming to medical school. Now if I had "activated" myself I would still come in at the rank I had in the reserves. So I'm not quite sure why the time in the reserves would not be counted the same for promotion as time on active duty. I know this would seem to be unfair to those who served on active duty, but it doesn't make sense to count my time if i were to have gone into an active line position and not count my time if I go in the medical corps. Just a thought....

;)
Hey, all I'm stating is what I know. I would love for them to give 100% service credit for everything, but it JUST DOESN"T HAPPEN!

I know all prior service guys feel your pain, heck, I have angst about this, but it is the way the regulation is written. Heck, I didn't get credit for my Master's Degree (usually they give 12-18 months constructive credit) because it "wasn't on the approved list". The regulations are the regulations and I didn't write them.

That being said, I'm content with my choice to come back active duty HPSP, especially now that I'm heading off to Rads at Lackland...

;)
.......I'm content with my choice to come back active duty HPSP, especially now that I'm heading off to Rads at Lackland...

Maybe you'll get to do what a good friend accomplished: in 22 years active duty in the AF, he never moved from the same house in San Antonio.

Graduated from OTS at Lackland Medina Annex, then served as a personnel officer at Kelly (buying a house), Randolph, Lackland at BMT, Brooks, Lackland CBPO, Randolph again, then retired.

One afternoon I was obtaining a temporary gate pass for my rental car at Lackland. It was a very slow afternoon and the security police airman and I struck up a conversation. Seems he graduated from high school in San Antonio and joined the USAF to see the world. Went to BMT at Lackland. Went to SP tech school - also at Lackland. And of course the puzzle palace at Randolph assigned him to his first duty spot at ---------> Lackland. The kid was still living at home with his parents.

Trinity,

Good question, I only know from the aspect of active duty time. A guess would be they would actually take your active duty time, and the actual number of drilling days active duty as a reserve officer and give you 1/2 constructive TIG credit for that.



Yeah, that's what I've heard other places. If you convert my reserve points and add my previous active duty, it all equates to 5 years fulltime active duty credit, for which I'd get 2.5 years TIG credit at 50% constructive credit allowance.

I was in a very similiar circumstance as you. 8 years commissioned service at the start of my military internship. I went up for O-4 selection board during internship year, so you have to contact your detailer, ensure the BUPERS folks know you want to be considered for the O-4 boards. It isn't an automatic process to be considered for O-4 with only 1 year of medical corps experience. Send letter, etc. I put on O-4 the december following internship. With that said, everyone gets promoted to LCDR, unless you are a felon. I was approx number 60 on the lineal number list or about the first 25% to get promoted, i.e. 10%/month. Hope that helps.

I am prior enlisted. Are these years counted the same as commissioned years(half-time).

I am prior enlisted. Are these years counted the same as commissioned years(half-time).

Enlisted time does not count towards promotion.

It does however count towards retirement, pay, etc. I have heard that enlisted time used to count towards promotion, but alas no more.

For pay that is exactly right. However, you must be careful to not to be credited for too many years in service because someone will plug your original commission date into the system. However, for anyone with a break in service (i.e. med school), this method will give you too many years. It's just a matter of working with the pay folks to get it right.

Also, my understanding of credit towards promotion is also that you get 1/2 credit (i.e. I will be promoted to O4 2 1/2 years ahead of my peers given that I had 5 years prior service). But we'll see how it really works after I return to active duty in 4 years after my defered residency.

What were the steps that you took to get the deferred residency? What branch are you serving in?
Some folks complain about the trouble in getting a deferred residency based on the needs of the military. Do you agree with that?

Thanks

I actually did not want a deferment; it was my second of two choices. Since I have 5 years prior service, I wanted to do a military residency to get me four years closer to retirement. My guess is that they will get four more years out of me this way. Yet, a good friend of mine with more time-in-service than me, did receive a military residency in EM, which was his first choice. It's possibly specialty dependent.

I applied in neurology with the Air Force. There were two positions at Wilford Hall and two postions for civilian deferment. In previous years, there had only been the two military positions available, so I guess I should consider myself lucky to have been able to get my specialty of choice (though I do not know how many people applied for those four positions).

By no means do I consider being defered a bad thing. While I was interviewing for civilian positions while waiting for the military board results to come out (neurology was an early match), I would be disappointed when I would leave a program I really liked thinking that I wouldn't have an opportunity to train there. So now that I am defered, my husband and I are excited about our new adventures during my civilian residency.

With that said, in other specialties such as surgery, OB/Gyn and internal medicine (amongst others), the recent loss of positions at Keesler Medical Center following Hurricane Katrina damage opened up a lot of deferred positions. However, how long this abundance of defered positions will last will depend on if/how quick Keesler reopens as an inpatient medical center.

Of the three services, the Air Force traditionally has offered the most deferred positions because it does not have the number of training positions at the military hospitals to meet its need.

Hope this helps.

will depend on if/how quick Keesler reopens as an inpatient medical center.

umm...I wouldn't hold your breath on this one.