National Guard service

[aphistis]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I've read comments about the military in a number of different forums here at SDN, and while exceptions exist, I've noticed two common threads connecting the majority of the posts:

1) General consensus tends to agree that military scholarships aren't worth the money in the end.

2) The threads I've encountered deal exclusively with active duty military scholarships--HPSP and the like.

What's interesting, I think, is that nobody has discussed the intermediate option--part-time military service. I've been in the National Guard for two years now, and I have every intention of putting in my 20. In undergrad, I served in a military band, but I'm transferring to the Medical Service Corps during dental school, and the Dental Corps after that.

The drawback compared to HPSP are that you don't get the guaranteed full ride. What you DO get are $50k in loan repayment, and $30k in lump sum cash, after getting your DDS/DMD. While in school, you get ~$575 a month in base pay and GI Bill, and $4000/year in tuition assistance. All told, it breaks down to about $1000 a month, which compares respectably to the HPSP stipend. All told, my education benefits will total out at just under $120,000.

The biggest advantage, however, isn't realized until after graduation. In active duty, you're stuck working for peanuts (comparatively) wherever Uncle Sam decides to send you. In the Guard (or Reserve), *you* decide where you're stationed (as long as there's a dental facility nearby). Most importantly of all, however, since you're only serving one weekend a month (plus a couple weeks in the summer), you don't lose the ability to immediately begin practicing privately, as you do in the active duty service.

Personally, you couldn't torture me into accepting an active duty scholarship; but part-time service can be a phenomenal way to serve the country and significantly reduce the cost of dental school, without significantly impacting your ability to jump into private practice right after graduation.

PM me with comments/questions if you want, but I'd like to publicize as much of this thread as possible. Release the hounds!

 

[aphistis]

Also, for anyone who's interested, I just discovered this at INARNG headquarters yesterday, while I was polishing up my application packet:

One of the biggest worries about joining the Guard is the possibility of deployment. Not only will you have NO worries about deployment during school (the quicker they can get you through school, the sooner you can start being a dentist for them), if you're ever activated afterward, it can only be for 90 days. It's another benefit the military has to offer physicians and dentists in order to help draw the doctors to service. It's been unofficial policy for some time now, but in the near future, it will become law.

Just one more reason to consider part-time service!

 

[bustbones26]

I am an HPSP student, not National Guard, but just recently I met a gentleman in my wifes family practice residency program that is National Guard. From what he tells me (again, not facts, just what he tells me) He will never get deployed, he gets his $50K loan repayment, and he gets a monthly stipend. He is at an advantage from all of his other colleagues in residency with him because he gets additional money every month from the guard.

Hearing this made me wonder why I ever did HPSP? I mean, my HPSP is a three year agreement, I would like to do a surgical residency, which you find out that at most army hospitals gen surg, ortho, etc are six year residencies, not five. Which means that I will owe the Army six years of service for only paying for three years of medical school! And even though I was commmissioned as a second lieutenant during med school those years don't count toward retirement? Holy ****! Why did I do this to myself?

Well, there are some good reason why to choose HPSP over the Guard! The military has the cream of the crop! EVen though you are not guaranteed a spot in a military hospital for residency, should you get one, you will train at a facility that has everything any civilian hospital will have and more!

Most people in HPSP will make major by the time their commitment is up, most will then make LTC if they stay. If you're young, youl probably make colonel! IN the Guard, you are limited to the rank you can acheive. Imagine retiring on a full colonels salary vs. being limited to a lower rank in the guard.


THe guard is a reserve unit, so you do not have Tricare!! In the Army , you have access to Tricare, even after you retire.

And how about some pride in serving your country? I hate to say it, but the guy I know that joined the guard milked the system! The will never get deployed, he gets more money than his colleagues, and will retire young. He openly admits that he has never had any interest in the military, he only did this because it was a failsafe plan to milk uncle sam from dollars. Sounds like a coward to me!

But please, don't get me wrong. It is a good idea to join the guard if you did not do HPSP or are already in residency. It is probably the best decision if you have a family. But don't just do it to milk the system

 

[R-Me-Doc]

Release the hounds? WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!

Anyone who tells you "they'll never be deployed" or "can only be deployed for 90 days" is living in a fool's paradise. Let me explain something to you all: once you put on a uniform, Uncle Sam OWNS you, lock, stock and barrel. There are plenty of reserve and guard members right now in the Persian Gulf and central Asia who have been there way over 90 days. Think that being in a state national guard unit protects you from this? Think again. Once you are called to active duty, you are FEDERAL US ARMY property and go when, where and for how long they want you to. In fact, nowadays it seems that you are almost more likely to be deployed as a reservist than as an active duty doc.

Now, the comments about the financial benefits of part time service are indeed compelling, but remember that you can get snapped up to active duty any time. What happens to your solo dental (or medical) practice when you are gone for 90 days (especially when it somehow mysteriously gets stretched to 180 days, then 270, then 365 . . . ). Get the drift?

Signing on the dotted line and putting on a uniform is a gamble, especially nowadays. So . . . unless you have a burning desire to be in the military, you're better off staying as far away as possible.

 

[Caffeinated]

Originally posted by aphistis
if you're ever activated afterward, it can only be for 90 days. It's another benefit the military has to offer physicians and dentists in order to help draw the doctors to service. It's been unofficial policy for some time now, but in the near future, it will become law.

Just one more reason to consider part-time service!

Don't take what I am about to say the wrong way. Let me preface it by saying that I am active duty Army, and committed to the Army for quite a bit of time. It's a choice I made. But there are some fundamental truths to military service that everyone has to realize. So let me introduce you to rule #1: Anything offered up to you in a recruiter's office prior to your commissioning may not be true. In fact, if you ever hear anyone new to the military start a sentence with "My recruiter told me..." the next thing to follow will probably be a stretched truth or just plain false. Any law that would have such a dramatic impact on operational policy as the "90 day law" will likely never go through. Sure, it sounds good coming from the recruiter, and it has been practiced to some degree for a while, but how much does your recruiter really know about what is happening in Congress? If a law like this did go through, it would probably be subject to various conditional provisions to the effect that the law would be impotent at best. The new Chief of Staff of the Army said it best in a recent statement: the coming years will be ones of "sustained engagement." And where there are ground pounders, so go the docs. It won't always be feasible to stick to 90 day tours. Commanders and operational planners will not stand for reduced flexibility.

Furthermore, the active duty side has to balance the operational needs with the impact on the garrison activities of their docs (i.e., financial impact on the military health system due to provider loss, health and wellness of non-deployed forces). This is only one of many reasons we have seen an increase in guard/reserve deployments over the last few years.

I applaud you for wanting to serve, but I don't want to see anyone set themself up for disappointment or upset their family by not questioning something that sounds too good to be true. The realities of military service are not "bad," (though not always comfortable). Coming to terms with the realities of military service will give you a better chance of having a rewarding and successful military career.

 

[aphistis]

Caffeinated,

Thanks for the calm, thoughtful input. The 90-day bit wasn't something I was told by a recruiter to get me in (I was in for two years prior to starting dental school); it was thrown in almost as an afterthought by the AMEDD officer helping me compile my commission packet. I lent it more weight than I would a similar comment from an ordinary recruiter, given the circumstances by which the topic arose. I guess we'll see whether it turns out or not 😉

 

[Caffeinated]

Thanks for your input. If they do actually make it into a law, then I will gladly eat my words. But I would hate to see people disappointed or put in a bad situation by inappropriate expectations. Thanks for your willingness to serve, and congratulations on your commissioning!

Originally posted by aphistis
Caffeinated,

Thanks for the calm, thoughtful input. The 90-day bit wasn't something I was told by a recruiter to get me in (I was in for two years prior to starting dental school); it was thrown in almost as an afterthought by the AMEDD officer helping me compile my commission packet. I lent it more weight than I would a similar comment from an ordinary recruiter, given the circumstances by which the topic arose. I guess we'll see whether it turns out or not 😉

 

[Boopieness]

Recently, 2006 monthly stipend (Specialized Training Assistance Program) now offered for nurses, med and dent students.
~ 1600/month in addition to GI Bill and tuition assistance.

90 day boots on the ground is a reality after residency.
Not deployable in med/dent school or residency while in IL ARNG

Loan Repayment offered for certain specialties.

Feel free to message/contact me if interested in Illinois Army National Guard