Military Medicine / Family Life

[Tex11]

In your opinions, what branch of military medicine is best suited for a doctor with a close family?

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[Droopy Snoopy]

In your opinions, what branch of military medicine is best suited for a doctor with a close family?

The Air Force is the conventional wisdom on this. Shorter deployments, generally nicer/newer facilities, some desireable base locations.

In reality though this is like asking which sports car has the most storage space. Joining ANY branch of the military carries with it the inherent risk of being killed or wounded, of being away from your family for many months at a time, of being stationed halfway around the world, having to relocate every 2-4 years, etc. And in general you are subject to the inherent instability and whims of an ever-changing leadership and a thoroughly bureacratic process which, truthfully, care about your close family about as much as I care about the new Jonas Brothers sitcom.

 

[i want out]

The Air Force is the conventional wisdom on this. Shorter deployments, generally nicer/newer facilities, some desireable base locations.

In reality though this is like asking which sports car has the most storage space. Joining ANY branch of the military carries with it the inherent risk of being killed or wounded, of being away from your family for many months at a time, of being stationed halfway around the world, having to relocate every 2-4 years, etc. And in general you are subject to the inherent instability and whims of an ever-changing leadership and a thoroughly bureacratic process which, truthfully, care about your close family about as much as I care about the new Jonas Brothers sitcom.

That is an inspired and insightful answer that in my experience was quite correct although my experience was with the Navy not the AF.

i want out(of IRR)

 

[The White Coat Investor]

The Air Force is the conventional wisdom on this. Shorter deployments, generally nicer/newer facilities, some desireable base locations.

In reality though this is like asking which sports car has the most storage space. Joining ANY branch of the military carries with it the inherent risk of being killed or wounded, of being away from your family for many months at a time, of being stationed halfway around the world, having to relocate every 2-4 years, etc. And in general you are subject to the inherent instability and whims of an ever-changing leadership and a thoroughly bureacratic process which, truthfully, care about your close family about as much as I care about the new Jonas Brothers sitcom.

+2. Really couldn't have stated this more accurately. If family life is important to you, I would really reconsider your decision to join the military at all. 6-7 month absences are really trying on relationships.

 

[NavyFP]

The Air Force is the conventional wisdom on this. Shorter deployments, generally nicer/newer facilities, some desireable base locations.

In reality though this is like asking which sports car has the most storage space. Joining ANY branch of the military carries with it the inherent risk of being killed or wounded, of being away from your family for many months at a time, of being stationed halfway around the world, having to relocate every 2-4 years, etc. And in general you are subject to the inherent instability and whims of an ever-changing leadership and a thoroughly bureacratic process which, truthfully, care about your close family about as much as I care about the new Jonas Brothers sitcom.

I, too, will agree with all of this, but it does not mean you cannot have a rewarding experience. But........if the above will bother you.....stay away.

 

[a1qwerty55]

I, too, will agree with all of this, but it does not mean you cannot have a rewarding experience. But........if the above will bother you.....stay away.

The only upside the USAF is the shorter deployment by 2-8 months. You have to factor in job dissatisfaction, higher likelihood of not completing your desired residency and crazier leadership into the equation as they indirectly will affect your family life.

 

[J-Rad]

In my own way I have benefited greatly from being AF (but have yet to make it to staff-level) but two bones of contention: While a lot of AF bases/facilities have much nicer amenities than comparable USN and USA bases/facilities, my limited experiences in hospitals, specifically, is much different. AF hospitals have been uniformly dingier and nastier places than other services' (compare Wilford Hall to BAMC for one comparison. It has held true at other hospitals I've seen). And base locations, en toto, is essentially the same as Army in variability of "desirability". Sure, there are Hickam and Tripler, but there aren't many more people breaking down the doors to get stationed at Cannon, Altus, and Laughlin than at some of the dumpy Army bases. O/W I agree with Tic; just don't think anyone should get any unwarranted advantage in consideration.

 

[IgD]

The opposite is true too. If you have a difficult family life, you could get time away from by joining the Navy. You can save face by going on repeated deployments. Sounds silly but this really happens!!