Air Force Air National Guard during residency after Flight Surgeon HPSP commitment

[Sweetpotatoguy]

Hi all!

I did a couple searches and was not able to find a collective post regarding this topic.

I am currently finishing my 4 year AD tour in the USAF and I plan on pursuing a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency after my commitment. I am a GMO Flight Surgeon (transitional residency internship)

I have spoken to many Air National Guard ANG (not Army National Guard) and Reservists about the possibility of going into one or the other after my commitment. I have not talked to a recruiter as of yet.

Once I start my residency, how possible is it to be in the ANG/Reserves and complete residency concurrently? Is there a bonus when I sign up? What is the benefit of not accepting the bonus? Is Tricare by itself worth joining the ANG/Reserves during residency (or after)? Would I be able to transfer my GI bill to my dependents in the ANG/Reserves (I have less than 3 years currently which is why I haven't transferred it already)?

All in all, I enjoy the comradery and the opportunity to deploy every once in a while (get away from the daily grind and the tax free money). This may change as I finish my commitment and I may just appreciate my service as a season which has passed. I like the fact that Tricare can cover my family and if I'm able to transfer my GI bill, there is another plus.

If it comes down to just $$$, would I make more in the civilian sector when all the benefits are included?

Also, I forgot to add, can I use my GI bill during residency?

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[Ba52]

Hi all!

I did a couple searches and was not able to find a collective post regarding this topic.

I am currently finishing my 4 year AD tour in the USAF and I plan on pursuing a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency after my commitment. I am a GMO Flight Surgeon (transitional residency internship)

I have spoken to many Air National Guard ANG (not Army National Guard) and Reservists about the possibility of going into one or the other after my commitment. I have not talked to a recruiter as of yet.

Once I start my residency, how possible is it to be in the ANG/Reserves and complete residency concurrently? Is there a bonus when I sign up? What is the benefit of not accepting the bonus? Is Tricare by itself worth joining the ANG/Reserves during residency (or after)? Would I be able to transfer my GI bill to my dependents in the ANG/Reserves (I have less than 3 years currently which is why I haven't transferred it already)?

All in all, I enjoy the comradery and the opportunity to deploy every once in a while (get away from the daily grind and the tax free money). This may change as I finish my commitment and I may just appreciate my service as a season which has passed. I like the fact that Tricare can cover my family and if I'm able to transfer my GI bill, there is another plus.

If it comes down to just $$$, would I make more in the civilian sector when all the benefits are included?

Also, I forgot to add, can I use my GI bill during residency?

Can't speak for the Air Guard side of things but the Army Guard is doing loan repayment of $200k or so or bonus. It is the Army though. So consider carefully. I made the switch from Air to Army Guard in med school for a program they were doing at the time.

Maybe someone in the reserves can confirm but my understanding is that they can pull you as an individual provider for deployments whereas in the guard you are only activated with your unit, though granted you do get activated stateside for things like hurricanes. Plenty of guard providers volunteer for solo missions but I haven't heard of anyone being voluntold. Guard allows med pros to submit CME in place of attending drill (you get paid without having to show up).

If I were in your shoes I'd look into the new and existing VA programs. As an attending you can get loan repayment called EDRP which recently went from $120k to $200k. Heard they're doing a new program for residents with $160k of loan repayment. Though not sure with your service if you have loans.

You will totally make more money civilian side. And freedom to control your destiny is truly priceless. Good luck and thanks for serving!

 

[notdeadyet]

Maybe someone in the reserves can confirm but my understanding is that they can pull you as an individual provider for deployments whereas in the guard you are only activated with your unit, though granted you do get activated stateside for things like hurricanes.

This is incorrect. Both Reserve and Guard can pull up entire units (when you deploy with your combat unit or hospital) as well as individual augmentees (when you get tasked to fill a slot in a vacancy not your own).

The main difference between Reserve and Guard in this respect seems to be that for individual augmentees, the Reserve tends to deploy docs to back-fill CONUS vacancies of deployed/maternity’s/etc docs, which I have never heard of Guard docs doing. Guard tends to deploy individual augmentees only to overseas deployments.

Guard allows med pros to submit CME in place of attending drill (you get paid without having to show up).

This is not universal. Some states allow you to do this, many do not. This tends to correspond to the size and activity level of the state’s Guard. In my state, which is large and busy, they would laugh at that idea. You drill. And even the flexi-training (drilling only six times per year if necessary) is determined by command and while I’m given some flexibility to SUTA and attend an alternate drill, it averages out to monthly drills.

If I were in your shoes I'd look into the new and existing VA programs. As an attending you can get loan repayment called EDRP which recently went from $120k to $200k.

EDRP is not a given. Each region (VISN) has a pot of money devoted to EDRP, but nowhere near enough to cover demand. Each VISN determines how to allocate that money. In my VISN, docs can not use EDRP if they are based in the main hospitals, only if they work in rural and hard to staff CBOCs (regional clinics). The advice for taking a VA job is that if you can not get EDRP specifically referenced in your offer letter, you may not receive it.

For folks with a lot of active duty time, but not 20 years, it would be wise to consider a VA job. If you can finish out your 20 in the Reserve, you can pay in to have your active duty years count towards your VA retirement but still draw the mixed active/reserve military pension after your 20.

 

[Ready_User_1]

If you didn't get your questions answered, shoot me a PM. I'm in the guard and can give you some more insight.