Are you talking about joining the military or working for them as a civilian PT? I can't tell you much about the civilian side, but I know a bit about the military side, specifically the Army. I was in the Army for more than a decade, including a stint as a recruiter so I have some knowledge of the benefits. After I got out I also spent a lot of time at a military clinic as I prepared to apply to Army-Baylor. I would definitely talk to a recruiter though, as they will be able to give you the most up to date information. Some enlistment benefits change on literally a daily basis based on mission requirements and other factors so it's probably impossible for anyone outside of that realm to give you up to date info.
The military provides student loan repayment under certain circumstances, which is different than forgiveness, however I don't believe they are providing it for PT's at this time. I do believe that military service qualifies under the public service loan forgiveness program. Of course this requires 10 years of service and many of your loans will probably be paid off by then. The Army doesn't take a lot of PT's "off he street. They get most of their folks from the Army-Baylor program, which brings in around 20 new PTs a year. The Air Force and Navy also send 2-3 people each to the program. I believe those branches tend to assess more civilians onto active duty than the Army does. The Marines receive their medical care from the Navy. Like I said before, the Army uses Army-Baylor as its primary feeder. When I was observing at an Army clinic I think I only meant one PT who came from another program. If I remember correctly she was in the Army before heading to PT school, which probably gave her a bit of an advantage in the application process. The Army is the biggest branch and has a lot more PT's than the other branches. In addition to PT's who work in clinics the Army has started to assign PT's directly to "combat" units. I believe all Brigade Combat Teams (4000 people or so depending on the the of brigade) have their own PT assigned. Some units, such as the Rangers, even have PTs assigned at the battalion level (500-800 people). This means there is definitely a big need for PTs in the Army. I'm not how the AF and Navy utilize their PTs, but I've heard of PT's being assigned to carriers and other large vessels. The need is definitely there, but I think people that get into the military as PT's tend to stick around for a while so open position are rare. The military has been downsizing in recent years so this trend will most likely not change anytime soon. I've heard of civilian PT students doing clinical rotations on a base. If you're close to one I would check into that. If you aren't prior service you need to show that you have at least some understanding of the "system."
As far as getting stationed in Japan goes I wouldn't bet the farm on getting that assignment, especially right out of the gate. Assignments are based on "needs of the military." You might get some say in where you go, but I wouldn't go as far as to say you have a choice. Often times you might get a list of 2 or 3 assignments to choose from. If they gave everyone a choice I'm sure day stations in Hawaii would be overflowing, while places like Fort Riley, Kansas would be ghost towns (no offense to folks in central KS, but I'm originally from the area and therefore tend to use it as a punching bag). Honestly I think I only had one assignment that I really ever liked. All of the services have small contingents in Japan, but nothing too big. My brother did a tour in Okinawa and loved it. A word of caution though, you can also end up seeing parts of the world that aren't so picturesque. I deployed 3 times, including trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm pretty sure I could have gone my entire life without seeing those places, especially when people are shooting at you. It doesn't matter how cool of a place you are stationed at, if the proverbial crap hits the fan you can end up in a less than ideal location really fast. That's just the nature of the job.
The Army has special medical recruiters, known as AMEDD recruiters. You'll want to talk to one of them, not a regular recruiter. As a former recruiter I can tell you firsthand that there are some unscrupulous recruiters out there that may push in a direction that is not in your bet interest. I'm not sure if the Navy and AF also have special medical recruiters or not. I would also advise you to also look at civilian positions within the military. The civilian staff at many clinics comprise of probably half of the total staff. They also have the opportunity to work overseas. At the clinic I observed at one of the civilians actually transferred to Japan. Of course he had been a military PT for 20 years or so before "retiring" and heading to the civilian side, but it does show that it is possible to land a cush assignment overseas as a civilian. You can find a lot of those jobs on usajobs.gov. The federal civilian job system can also be difficult to get into, but once you get into the system you are pretty much set.
I think that's enough ranting from me. The best advice I can give you is to talk to a recruiter. You can talk to crusty old Soldiers like me on forums like this or someone who "knows someone who knows a guy who joined the Army," but you're best off talking to recruiter who give you up to date info. Personally, if I was joining the Army for the first time I wouldn't base my entire decision to join on information I gathered from strangers on the internet. Talk to the SMEs (subject matter experts).
Finally, if after talking to a recruiter you want to talk to a current military PT let me know and I can reach out to some of my contacts. I might even be able to put you in touch with the PT I previously mentioned who entered the Army from a civilian PT school.
Best of luck!
