Army Guard compared to Air Guard for Physicians

[Neon Goat]

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Hi again,

NotDeadYet has already pointed out that Air Guard is a totally separate entity from Army Guard and that the praised ASR program is an ArmyNG-only program. Thanks for that and all your other sage advice, sir.

I would like to hear from anyone in the Air or Army guard that has advice on any differences between the two for a resident/attending physician. I think the ASR program is super, but I'm not looking to join for that, and I'm not really concerned about when/if it returns. I'm more interested in the long-term differences b/w Army and Air Guard drills, deployments, physician responsibilities, etc.

It's hard to find anyone who knows about both branches and can compare them. I hate to make a decision based on "Do you like planes? Do you like tanks?" This is a serious commitment to me and I'm just looking for all the information I can before beginning the official process.

Does anyone have any thoughts on an MS1 student choosing between Air/Army Guard for a long-term career?

 

[amindwalker]

Hi Neon goat,

I'm ASR-1, & I'm getting ready to graduate from med school. I once met a retired Air Guard Doc, and I can tell you that he loved being in the Air Guard exactly the same way all the Army Guard docs love the Army Guard.

Both the Air & Army Guards are under the same overall command, in fact the current commander of the National Guard is an AF 4-star General. They are different, but it's kinda like the Navy & Marine Corps, meaning the Marine corps is part of the Navy (Although all my Marine buddies see it differently).

Personally, I think the Air Force uniforms look silly, but I can tell you that if they had had ASR, I would have chosen that silly uniform so I could be a flight surgeon. The Army has flight surgeons, but they get to ride helicopters rather than F-15s, F-16s, YF-22s, etc. I'm a civilian pilot and I would love to be an Air Guard flight surgeon. ASR however, was too good for me to pass up.

It is my understanding that both Guards have the same deployment obligations (90 days in sand Q18 months) and they have the same pay & benefits. So they are really the same deal (excluding the programs available to med students) once you are a board certified physician. It really does then boil down to what do you like better.

I wish I could connect you with an experienced Air Guard doc. The one I met was at a CME dealibob, and I do not have his contact 411. The best thing to do is contact an Air Guard medical officer recruiter (not the regular recruiters, they will try to talk you into enlisting as an airman).

Best of luck to you, and congratulations on med school!

 

[TacMed]

Neon Goat- sounds like you're in the same position as I'm in. I started my app packet for ASR, but since progress on my application seems to be going backwards ("low priority status...", "temporarily misplaced paperwork...", "med student quota filled so F*ck off..."), I've been checking out options in the ANG as well.

One of the only differences I've been able to find is that the Army Guard is much larger than Air (over 3x's), and as a result there may be more options/positions available going Army.

There's also a slightly greater chance of being mobilized in the ARNG than ANG since 9/11 (47.9% compared to 43.4%) (1). Don't know how that translates to physicians, but one of the ANG recruiters I spoke with mentioned all deployed ANG docs are volunteers. I doubt I'll ever see that in writing, but according to a quote in the washingtonpost she may be accurate since "only one Air Guard doctor in the country has been involuntarily deployed" as of 2007 (2). Wonder how loosely they're using the term "volunteer" though...

So for now, I'm playing the waiting game with the ARNG to see what direction ASR takes while looking into the Early Acceptance Program for Physicians in the ANG. If you're looking for a long term career in the Guard, Neon Goat, you may want to check this out (3) among other programs.


1) www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/ADA478163.pdf

2) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120200833_2.html

3) http://www.ngbpdc.ngb.army.mil/pubs/41/angi41_102.pdf

 

[hwatson]

I worked at State Guard HQ from 2004-2006. We had both Air and Army Natl Guard under our command.
At that time, neither deployed their docs very often and both were very happy with their situations. Here are the points from our state....(note that all states are different, due to different force makeup. So check the state where you are joining.)

1) Both happy and many docs stay to retirement. (In my opinion, much higher percent than active duty docs).
2) Army has more room for advancement due to more positions. (result of larger force)
3) army ,almost always, deployed for 6 month deployments while Air guard deployed for 29 days (or less) to 120 days.
4) Both stay in the nice hotels during AT or deployment.

 

[Ascultator]

What about ARNG vs Army Reserves or Army Active duty in terms of scope of practice, overall satisfaction? Are deployments really that different among the 3?

 

[USCguy]

What about ARNG vs Army Reserves or Army Active duty in terms of scope of practice, overall satisfaction? Are deployments really that different among the 3?

One difference is the "Critical Wartime Shortage List" between Reserves and Guard. I'm matching in Internal Medicine, and the Reserves basically told me they didn't really need me, so I wouldn't qualify for STRAP during residency (IM wasn't on the list, but FP was). The Guard "Special Branches" recruiter told me he could use me as an Internal Medicine doctor (61F) to fill a 62B "Field Surgeon" slot thus qualifying for STRAP (basically most doctors can be a Field Surgeon (IM, FP, ER, etc).

Not sure why I couldn't be a 62B in the Reserves

 

[Ascultator]

So what do ARNG physicians commonly do for their Mon-Fri jobs when not training on weekends? part-time practices or locums? Can some one land a full time job when their boss knows they might get called away?

 

[AFSmiley]

So what do ARNG physicians commonly do for their Mon-Fri jobs when not training on weekends? part-time practices or locums? Can some one land a full time job when their boss knows they might get called away?

One of my mentors in school is an Army Reserve Doc. He works in a large group practice (~dozen or so Family Docs). This worked out alright: his partners are understanding-we are in Texas after all-and the practice was large enough to absorb his patient load without destroying the practice completely when he was sent to the Sandbox.

 

[notdeadyet]

So what do ARNG physicians commonly do for their Mon-Fri jobs when not training on weekends? part-time practices or locums? Can some one land a full time job when their boss knows they might get called away?

The do just about any physician job out there. The only limitation is working for an entity that can handle your being deployed. A solo or small group practice is probably not realistic while in the Guard, as being deployed and having to hire a locum tenens to cover you every 2 years would be tough.