Civilian Deferments

[Perrotfish]

I was recently told by an Army recruiter that if you secure a civilian residency and the Army cannot offer you a residency in the same field your are guarenteed a civilian deferment. Is there any truth to this, for any service? Also, does anyone know what the odds of getting a civilian deferment are for the various services?

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[The White Coat Investor]

I was recently told by an Army recruiter that if you secure a civilian residency and the Army cannot offer you a residency in the same field your are guarenteed a civilian deferment. Is there any truth to this, for any service? Also, does anyone know what the odds of getting a civilian deferment are for the various services?

I was told the same thing by my Air Force recruiter. It wasn't true then and it isn't true now. He either doesn't know (more likely) or is lying. The odds vary by service, specialty, and year. The odds of getting a civilian deferment in my specialty and service the year I applied was about 25%. Another 25% did a military residency. The other 50% were told they couldn't do that specialty.

Good luck, and stop listening to recruiters. Come here with your questions instead. At least you'll go in with your eyes open, which is more than most of us did.

 

[Perrotfish]

Thanks, I thought it sounded like BS. I guess I'll be sticking with my choice of Navy, then.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Thanks, I thought it sounded like BS. I guess I'll be sticking with my choice of Navy, then.

Expect the number of deferments to plummet with the recruiting woes. They will fill all the Navy internship slots before giving any deferments away.

 

[edmadison]

What the recruiter told you is not completely false. The unwritten medcom policy is not to force anyone (HPSP) into a specialty that they do not want to do. This has resulted in a number of deferrals that I know. The Army does have almost all of the specialties and numbers are way way down. Thus the odds of not matching in the Army are lower than before.

Ed