Family life in the Army, AF and Navy?

[exmissionary]

What are some aspects of family life in the Army, AF and Navy that I should be concerned about (or excited about) as I look towards getting a Health Proffessions Scholarship? Would you reccomend one branch over the other as being more family friendly (and most importantly, less time away from family)?

GMOs are always away from the family? How do you know what periods you will have a chance to be with the family vs. away?

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[Jet915]

If you are thinking of deployments, AF tends to have the shortest deployments....3-6 months I think. Navy is usually atleast 6-7 months (unless IA'd by the Army). Army can be up to a year. Obviously, w/the Navy, you will be on a coast somewhere so you need to take location into consideration.

 

[Caverject]

If you are thinking of deployments, AF tends to have the shortest deployments....3-6 months I think. Navy is usually atleast 6-7 months (unless IA'd by the Army). Army can be up to a year. Obviously, w/the Navy, you will be on a coast somewhere so you need to take location into consideration.

Yeah, the army "can be" up to one year for deployments but all the physicians I've worked with are 6 month deployers...

 

[exmissionary]

Thanks for your responses.

Can you take your family? Or isn't that kinda the whole big thing about being deployed, not being at a location that you can bring your family?

Maybe I didn't catch something... how does being on the coast (Navy) affect anything? What do you mean by, "Obviously, w/the Navy, you will be on a coast somewhere so you need to take location into consideration." You are probably pointing out something really simple, I just didn't catch it.

 

[Lee]

Thanks for your responses.

Can you take your family? Or isn't that kinda the whole big thing about being deployed, not being at a location that you can bring your family?

Maybe I didn't catch something... how does being on the coast (Navy) affect anything? What do you mean by, "Obviously, w/the Navy, you will be on a coast somewhere so you need to take location into consideration." You are probably pointing out something really simple, I just didn't catch it.

When you PCS (Permanent Change of Station) to a new location, usually your family can come along (i.e. Italy, Germany, Kentucky, Alabama, etc). However, that's different from being deployed.

When you're deployed you're usually in a place with bullets, IEDs, etc. Not a place for families.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Yeah, the army "can be" up to one year for deployments but all the physicians I've worked with are 6 month deployers...

I can walk less than 100 ft to see two physicians who did 15 month Army deployments as Navy docs (IA'd into Army billets) and I know of another one going next month (which shows that this is still happening).

"can be" should not be in quotes

The reason I picked the Nav over the other branches was the locations of the MTFs. IMO, there is way more for a family to do and a better quality of life in most Navy locations.

 

[midwestpremed]

I understand that family life is difficult when one is deployed. How about when not deployed ? What have been people's experiences living on bases as an Army doc with a young family. Heck any family for that matter. I ask because I hope to have a family by the time I enter med school.

 

[DocArmy]

I understand that family life is difficult when one is deployed. How about when not deployed ? What have been people's experiences living on bases as an Army doc with a young family. Heck any family for that matter. I ask because I hope to have a family by the time I enter med school.

And the dead shall come back to life!!!! (old thread)

I grew up as an Army brat and have spent a lot of time on base/post. Basically, living on base is like living in a gated community, owned by your employer, with it's own rules that you have to live by. Meaning: in order to come on base, you have to show id. Some bases only allow those with a military id (driver) to come on base, others let anyone who shows id through, and still others require that everyone in the vehicle show an id and that the driver have a military id. The speed limits are a bigger deal on base. Federal cops write federal tickets, and if you get one, your direct supervisor (military) will know about it and you'll get in trouble at work. Lots of the buildings are beige/ plain looking. The stores are cheaper and lots of things are sales tax free. On the positive side though, when you're in the military, you make a special commitment which requires more of you than is required of most civilian jobs. Living on base, you are surrounded by others who have volunteered in the same way that you have and understand the struggles that you are facing, as they have faced them as well. In high school, the kids on base were a much more welcoming group than the civilian kids, because we'd all been the new kid, and we were all one phone call away from being the new kid again.

In a nutshell, when you live on base, you live the military lifestyle. Order, cleanliness, discipline, etc.

You don't have to live on base though. If base housing is full, you can live off base in a civilian community.

If you're serious about the military, read the stickies, talk to some military doctors and be sure that you really want to be a military officer who is also a doctor.

 

[Kingfisher]

If you're serious about the military, read the stickies, talk to some military doctors and be sure that you really want to be a military officer who is also a doctor.

Maybe we should make this a mandatory disclaimer that must be agreed to before posting on here for the first time. 😀

It seems like about every week or two the same types of questions come up. "What is military life like?", "how often will I deploy?", and my personal favorite "I am thinking about a military scholarship. Is this right for me?"

I think the longer I am on here, the crabbier I am. I think I used to be more helpful.

 

[midwestpremed]

Maybe we should make this a mandatory disclaimer that must be agreed to before posting on here for the first time. 😀

It seems like about every week or two the same types of questions come up. "What is military life like?", "how often will I deploy?", and my personal favorite "I am thinking about a military scholarship. Is this right for me?"

I think the longer I am on here, the crabbier I am. I think I used to be more helpful.

Sorry if I annoyed; I have been studying this forum for about two days or so but was didn't to find anything that answered my question. I'm sure there are I just haven't searched everything quite yet. I appreciate the comments and advice. They are very helpful.