Ok, I am gonna rant a bit here about some common misconceptions I have seen here at SDN regarding military service. First issue "officers will be called up first." Where are you getting this from? As a current officer in the Army I can say this is false. This statement gives the feeling that first they will send officers in to duty, why? Who do officers lead? Soldiers. The only officers that will be called out before soldiers are probably field grades (Major and above) or generals, and that would be to sit in some comfy chairs and PLAN a deployment. The first units to go are combat arms units (Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery, etc.) and if you are a Brigade Surgeon you will go with them. What does that mean to you as a doc? It means you are a REMF (Rear Echelon Mo Fo) and are sitting a comfy minimum of 20km behind the front lines (dependant on terrain). Now, when units go to Fort Irwin, CA to do a rotation at the National Training Center the REMFs get in the action, but I cannot see any of our current foes getting that far behind our front lines in any groups larger than a single vehicle or about five or six people.
Second issue: They can call you up out of residency. To do what? They aren't gonna send a medical officer to be a bullet-stopper. They aren't gonna send someone untrained in a needed specialty to war and destroy that asset. You, as a doctor, are an asset to the Army. It would make absolutely no sense for them to deploy you without the training they need you to do. Granted, the Active Duty military can be silly and make you be a GMO, but what advantage would the NG get out of that?? None, they are not the first ones to go anywhere. When they are deployed, there are already established bases (in varying levels of comfort). The last time national guard units were called up to the front lines was something like WWII. Another added point is the emphasis from our current leaders to fully and completely man ALL of our combat arms units, that will further decrease the chances of a national guard unit being deployed overseas.
Another thing is the difference between the NG and the Reserves. The National Guard is controlled by the state's governor, and is used mainly for in-state issues. For example, in Idaho (where I plan on joining the NG) they are frequently called up to fight the summer forest fires. Now, as a medical officer there is the chance that a slot will come up to send you somewhere without your unit as an attachment to another unit. In that instance you are going to be no closer than the REMFs mentioned earlier.
My final point is that the Medical Corps is NOT considered to be the 'real' Army. Allow me to explain. The MC is in a world of its own. As an active duty MC officer, the soldiering you will be required to do is qualify on your assigned weapon (usually a 9mm) once a year, pass your Army Physical Fitness Test once every six months, and you might have to participate in a ceremony or two (as a spectator).
Basically, the MC is cake. I am NOT saying that in the NG you will not ever see combat, I am just saying that the likelihood of that is very slim. Who knows what will happen in the future, especially with the growing war on terrorism. Remember, as stated before, if you don't want to serve the USA, don't sign up. If you do sign up, the only times you as a medical officer will see armed combat up close is if our front lines get overrun (not gonna happen) or if you are in Special Forces or the Rangers (which if you don't want to see combat up close you don't have to join).
Oh, one more thing. Recruiters are not all liars. It is their job to tell you both sides of what you are getting into. It is your right to know fully what you are getting into. The reason people think recruiters are misleading is that they emphasize the positive aspects and downplay the negative ones, but who doesn't do that. The advice to get names from your recruiter of physicians already in the program is very good advice, especially since not a single one of the medical recruiters have been through what you are about to go through.
Good luck with your schooling and getting it paid for. If you have any questions about the military feel free to ask me, if I don't know it I will find it out.
Ben
P.S. hosskp1, have fun at Airborne School, jumping out of planes is fun. Good luck with the EFMB, it is THE most difficult badge to earn. Also, since you seem to be so high speed, you may want to look into getting into the Batts. Good luck getting the schools, most units are reluctant to give slots to people what will not use the training. (Posts to look at if you really want those schools are Fort Bragg, NC for Airborne and Fort Campbell, KY for Air Assault those will be your best chances for getting those schools.)
