National Guard instead of HPSP?

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JONA1976 said:
Does anyone have a contact email address for someone involved in the program from the National Guard - and let me specify not from a state or local recruiter? I would like to talk to someone directly involved in the program - to see what my chances are of securing a spot within a specific unit. It's complicated and I'd rather not waste my time with a local recruiter who probably knows next to nothing about the program.

PM preferred. Thank you ahead of time.
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PM amindwalker...the only person currently IN the program...there are several of us applying.
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The active duty billet for medical/dental/PA students in the Army National Guard is called ASR - AMEDD Student Recruiter. The unit to which you would be assigned is the recruitment & retention command for your state Army National Guard. For all practical/physical purposes however, it will be as if you are posted to your medical school. All you gotta do is pick the state (preferably the one with your med school in it). There are PLENTY of spots left, but it is first come/first served. PM me, I'll hook you up.
 
JONA1976 said:
Does anyone have a contact email address for someone involved in the program from the National Guard - and let me specify not from a state or local recruiter? I would like to talk to someone directly involved in the program - to see what my chances are of securing a spot within a specific unit. It's complicated and I'd rather not waste my time with a local recruiter who probably knows next to nothing about the program.

PM preferred. Thank you ahead of time.
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Amindwalker has a good contact for a NGB recruiter that has a firm grasp on the program. He's not in my state but said he could recruit me. I think he's been very busy fielding inquires from SDN but he could be helpful.

Something to consider is that once you're in your job will be to be a recruiter for your states guard and you will have to work with your states recruiter. What I did was talk to everyone I could and I'm letting my local recruiter sign me up.
 
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amindwalker said:
The active duty billet for medical/dental/PA students in the Army National Guard is called ASR - AMEDD Student Recruiter. The unit to which you would be assigned is the recruitment & retention command for your state Army National Guard. For all practical/physical purposes however, it will be as if you are posted to your medical school. All you gotta do is pick the state (preferably the one with your med school in it). There are PLENTY of spots left, but it is first come/first served. PM me, I'll hook you up.
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perhaps a naive question, but since you are assigned as a recruiter to your states NG program, does that limit your options for residency? In other words, would you need to stay in-state for your residency/payback period as service to the state guard? Or, are you only assigned to state guard during the 3 year ASR program while you are a student recruiter and then can complete your NG payback wherever you happen to be? cheers.
 
I will graduate long before my 3 year ASR billet is up. Upon graduation, I will be commissioned (not reassigned, not promoted) as a captain in the medical corps. I will then be able to fulfill my NG service obligation in whatever state I want. The Guard understands that I might not match (or choose to do so) in the state of Pennsylvania, & that I will therefore have to move/transfer. This is a normal thing & really not a big deal.
 
amindwalker said:
I will graduate long before my 3 year ASR billet is up. Upon graduation, I will be commissioned (not reassigned, not promoted) as a captain in the medical corps. I will then be able to fulfill my NG service obligation in whatever state I want. The Guard understands that I might not match (or choose to do so) in the state of Pennsylvania, & that I will therefore have to move/transfer. This is a normal thing & really not a big deal.
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Pardon my ignorance, but my understanding is that you were commissioned to become a 2LT when you start the ASR and are promoted to 1LT after two years. I had thought when you graduated medical school, you were automatically promoted to Captain. How can you be commissioned again as a Captain?

Again, I'm probably just confused with the military protocol here. Thanks.
 
Yeah, I know, it sounds funny. You are correct. You are commissioned as a 2LT in the medical service corps, & after 2 years (provided you have completed OBLC) you get promoted to 1LT. When you graduate from med school, you get commissioned (not promoted) into the medical corps as a captain. If that were not the case, I would have to stay a 2LT until I went to OBLC, as would any of the HPSPers in that situation. It's how they skip 1LT. Docs that enter the service after med school get the captain's commission into the MC, that's what we get at graduation. It's all transparent to us med students, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.
 
so assuming one were to start the ASR in their first year at med school, they would be a 2LT for 2 years, then promoted to 1LT as MSIII....then what happens in MSIV prior to being commissioned in the medical corps as a captain? i ask because you mentioned that the ASR was a 3 year billet (the question was adressed earlier but went over my head)
 
amindwalker said:
If that were not the case, I would have to stay a 2LT until I went to OBLC, as would any of the HPSPers in that situation. It's how they skip 1LT.
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That makes sense, in a twisted kind of way. I suppose that's how they get out of promoting you to Captain without the required time-in-service (or whatever the term is), right?

One other question: while in the medical services corps, for your ASR service, are you considered "active duty army" (as was explained to me) or are you "activated National Guard army"? The reason I'm asking is for my follow up question: if you're the former, then technically won't you be eligible for VA benefits, a higher rate at the GI bill, and a slew of other benefits not normally eligible to National Guardsmen?

You're a help, amindwalker. Much appreciated.
 
You get 2 commisions at a time in the Guard; Army reserve (from the Federal government, by act of Congress) AND Army National Guard (from your state). I'm considered ARNG on active duty status.

As for the benefits you mentioned, I dunno. I'm so busy with school right now and I haven't made the time to look into that stuff. That begs the question; "Shouldn't an AMEDD Student Recruiter know that kinda stuff?" Naaah, I'm just the carnival barker, the regular (non-medstudent) AMEDD recruiters do all the real work.

In other words, I attract 'em, they sign 'em up. The ASRs' job is to be the "boots on the ground in med school" representatives of the AMEDD recruitment and retention command. I know a lot about a little and a little about a lot, but my primary duty is to succeed in medical school. I send all the tough questions to the professional recruiters.
 
The benefits for the state of Michigan really blow compared to many other states. Great thread, this has really turned my eyes away from HPSP and towards ARNG or ANG.
 
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Hey just thought i would note that I have the paperwork outlining this ASR program and it states "200 spots per fiscal year" so there will be more than just 200 overall. Also I am currently on the application list.
 
Does this mean that if all 200 are accessed at the 1 Sept board that another 200 spots will be available starting 1 January?
 
RDC12304 said:
Does this mean that if all 200 are accessed at the 1 Sept board that another 200 spots will be available starting 1 January?
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I can't answer this question but I can say that the governments budget year starts in October not January.
 
Yeah, I don't think there will be anywhere near 200 sworn-in by 1 September. Probably more around 5, or so I SWAG.
 
amindwalker said:
Yeah, I don't think there will be anywhere near 200 sworn-in by 1 September. Probably more around 5, or so I SWAG.
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Amindwalker,

How does drill pay work for you? You are paid as a full time solider, but then you drill...do you get drill pay on top of ASR pay? thanks
 
I've got MEPS tomorrow. I know my state only has one other in the pipeline and she's just getting started.
 
I got drill pay when I was assigned to the Med Det before I started ASR. Now, I don't get drill pay, but I only have to drill quarterly. For what they pay me, I have no problem giving them a weekend every 3 months or so.

Enjoy MEPS EMH :hardy:.
 
amindwalker said:
I got drill pay when I was assigned to the Med Det before I started ASR. Now, I don't get drill pay, but I only have to drill quarterly. For what they pay me, I have no problem giving them a weekend every 3 months or so.

Enjoy MEPS EMH :hardy:.
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Right on, what I figured.


MEPS :barf::poke::bang:

Yeah, have fun EMH :smuggrin::thumbdown:
 
Yeah I highly doubt 200 spots will be filled by Sept. From what my med recruiter told me I am the first in Michigan with one other person in the process as well. Oh and I get to enjoy MEPS again, I did it two years ago when looking at HSPS then decided not to, well apparently it expires after two years. So I'll be spending another wonderful day with the really nice people at MEPS.
 
do you need a letter of acceptance to start the whole process or do you think if i called the main recruiter he could get me the information so that i can start reading and get a jump start on the process?
 
TheGoose said:
do you need a letter of acceptance to start the whole process or do you think if i called the main recruiter he could get me the information so that i can start reading and get a jump start on the process?
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To be honest, Goose, I think you'll find that you'll get about as much information about ADSW/ASR from SDN as you will from your recruiter. Don't expect the glossies and material that you get for HPSP for this program. I think it's too new at this stage.

That said, if you can get the recruiter to send you out at least the DCA Worksheet and other forms, that would be a good idea. Granted, I'm not the brightest blade in the pack, but filling out the DCA alone took me hours, as you have to account for every job, house, school you've attended for the last 7 years and come up with a reference w/ contact info for each. If you've travelled a lot or lived a varied life, you'll find it takes a while to get up to date info on folks you've known.

Also, if you've had any kind of hospitalizations/surgeries, I'd start contacting hospitals/doctors now and request your file. Some of these places take weeks to send you material and it might behoove you to get the files in hand so that you can bring whatever is requested to MEPS rather than delay your appointment while waiting for materials.

After submitting my initial paperwork, I was offered MEPS appointments two weeks out, which wouldn't have allowed time for me to order medical records had I not done so already.
 
^^ gotcha.

i wasnt really looking for the bells and whistles like HPSP would offer, but more interested in getting the hard info with the contractual obligations and all the ins and outs just to give myself time to really read into it...i guess i can also just ask the recruiter what is the right direction to go...seems like its gonna be either this program or USU for me (we'll have to wait to find out which one it will be....oooh the suspense is killing me!)
 
I got food poisoning at meps. It was horrible.
 
amindwalker said:
I got food poisoning at meps. It was horrible.
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I just got done this morning and was out before lunch at 1030.

So, now I understand it takes about a week for my results to make their way back to my recruiter's desk. I know she's not yet done getting the last few things done yet either. My question: Does the guard have monthly boards like the HPSP does? I want to know if there's a deadline I need to find out and bug my recruiter to make the deadline.
 
If I could help you out w/the MEPS thing, I'd say be as conservative as possible with what you disclose (i.e. don't put every time you got a sniffle, rolled an ankle, felt a little short of breath, etc.) I'm not saying you should lie, but exercise a fair amount of discretion in how much you disclose since every minor thing is going to get an extensive workup, which in Army speak means that things get put on hold with your packet and paperwork for a long time (i.e. several weeks-months). I've done it as an 18 yo PVT-nobody enlisting and as a 23 yo 2LT coming out of ROTC for what it's worth
 
rookem11 said:
Oh and I get to enjoy MEPS again, I did it two years ago when looking at HSPS then decided not to, well apparently it expires after two years. So I'll be spending another wonderful day with the really nice people at MEPS.
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Same thing happened to me...good times. :thumbup:
 
Does anyone know how long it takes to get accepted into the ADSW/ASR program. I've had my paperwork complete for a while now. My POC is saying that SIDPERS is a month behing/ anyone else in the same boat?
 
slycaper said:
Does anyone know how long it takes to get accepted into the ADSW/ASR program. I've had my paperwork complete for a while now. My POC is saying that SIDPERS is a month behing/ anyone else in the same boat?
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It is behind...I'm in the same boat. It is suppossedly good to go for Sept. 1, but I'm not holding my breath. Have you been boarded yet at least? If so, you should be good to go in Sept as well.
 
I'm still a bit unclear about what happens after I'm done with MEPS and everything in my packet is complete and submitted. Could someone line out what happens from there, cause my recruiter hasn't been very clear on this except to say "you just wait".
 
When your packet is complete, it goes through some sort of review process to check for spelling errors, typos, dates that don't line up perfectly, the correct font, the correct page order, etc, truly anything at all. Once it has been rejected, your recruiter and staff make the appropriate corrections and send it back in. Plan on it getting rejected a cupla times. Once it gets approved it goes I think to the USAREC board. Once they approve it, then you have to be scheduled to go to your state Guard headquarters in person for a board interview. If they approve you, you get sworn-in. My packet completion to oath time was nearly 4 months. There are however, people on this forum that got it done much faster than that.
 
question for amindwalker, i am scheduled for my board interview Aug 19th. Do you know how long it takes from when you interview to when you can be sworn in? Thanks in advance.
 
rookem11 said:
question for amindwalker, i am scheduled for my board interview Aug 19th. Do you know how long it takes from when you interview to when you can be sworn in? Thanks in advance.
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Board interview date = swear in date...for me anyway.
 
Yup, he's right. You get sworn-in a few minutes later. It's a bit anticlimactic because suddenly you're an officer, but you have no uniform. I wanted to have the whole wife pinning on my bars event thingy go down, but it didn't work out. If you want a uniform on the day you get your commission, get an ACU ahead of time and have some name tapes made and in hand, along with all of the proper unit patches and the little square velcro 2LT butter bar. You can't wear it until after you are commissioned, but you can change in the head (navspeak for ****ter) afterward.
 
iatrosB said:
It is behind...I'm in the same boat. It is suppossedly good to go for Sept. 1, but I'm not holding my breath. Have you been boarded yet at least? If so, you should be good to go in Sept as well.
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I'm not sure what boarded means? I have all my paperwork in, still waiting for my orders to be cut. The sooner the better. I was never told anything about a board interview. Could you expand on that?
 
amindwalker said:
Have you taken the oath of office?
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Not my officer oath yet. Since school is going to start very soon, is there a chance that I will not be able to use my states tuition assistance? I tried to get the ball rolling so to speak but I wasn't able to get anything going without be enetered into the system and on orders. The same goes for tricare prime, gotta be on orders. Man it's taking forever!
 
slycaper said:
Since school is going to start very soon, is there a chance that I will not be able to use my states tuition assistance?
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Very good chance, unfortunately. You have days from the start of the semester to get tuition assistance...and you have to be in the guard BEFORE the semester starts...sucks dude.
 
slycaper said:
I'm not sure what boarded means? I have all my paperwork in, still waiting for my orders to be cut. The sooner the better. I was never told anything about a board interview. Could you expand on that?
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Board interview is just a meet and greet before the board approves your packet officially ("boarded"). It's really just a formality, no stress or pressure.

Then, they approve you (usually) and you get sworn in that day.
 
amindwalker said:
You get sworn-in a few minutes later. It's a bit anticlimactic because suddenly you're an officer, but you have no uniform.
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Agreed. They took pictures and tried to make it a big deal, but I was like "uh, I'm still wearing my business casual dress close and I'm supposed to feel like an officer".
 
I know that you saw "An Officer and A Gentleman." Wasn't it supposed to be something like that? At any rate, congrats LT!!!! You'll get the ASR no doubt, because you'll probably be number 2 in the nation (after me:D).
 
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