National Guard Special Branch Recruiter, Ask Me Anything

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

Hello, I am a special branch recruiter for the National Guard. Special Branch recruiters specifically recruit for AMEDD, Chaplain, and JAG. Every state will have an Officer Strength Management shop and within that shop will have a Special Branch Recruiter. Those are some key words you will want to use when speaking to a recruiter within your state.

Being blunt, there is a lot of misinformation out there about the serving as a physician in the National Guard. Further, it is difficult to find accurate information about how you can serve in the NG as physician on the web. I am here to assist with clearing that up.

I am an AMEDD Officer myself and serve as a medevac pilot when I am not recruiting.

I will create another post which outlines the current benefits we offer. I look forward to answering your questions.

Edit: NotDeadYet is of the opinion that my post is misleading to future students, attempts to only sell the incentives, and is below certain standards of professionalism. Let me be clear, if you come in MDSSP you will direct commission and you will be in an active drilling status while you are attending medical school and residency. You will be required to drill one weekend per month and two weeks per year during medical school and residency. There is a flexible training policy, but not all states or commanders allow medical students to use it. Plan on having one weekend per month taken up by the National Guard and two weeks per year taken up by the Guard.

Since you are a direct commission officer your time in service counts the day you take your oath. If you come in as a M1, by the time you finish residency (assuming 4 year residency) you will have 8 years in service. This means you would have served 8 years in an active drilling status at the completion of residency. After residency, you will begin paying back your obligation to the guard based on the amount and type of incentive you choose is best for your situation. You will drill one weekend per month and attend a two week AT as an attending physician. Your state may or may not work with your work schedule. Drill weekends and annual training may be a burden on your free time once you are practicing. You should plan on deploying at some point during your Guard career.

The Guard is not for everybody and if you are looking at it solely for the financial benefit, I would discourage you from joining. However, I would recommend the Guard to anyone who would do this job even without financial incentives. Look at incentives as an added benefit to serving, but not the only benefit for serving.

Make sure you speak with a special branch recruiter in your state for specific questions regarding your situation.

If you want to read more about the program, you can google Army Regulation (AR) 621-202 and read the chapters containing benefits you are interested in.

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[backrow]

I hope you did some research on here before opening yourself up to this. There is a long list of recruiters who have gone down in flames on here, so good luck!

I’ll be sitting over here with my popcorn

(I would recommend sticking with the areas you have direct experience in, e.g. how to join, the payback terms, etc. Highly recommend staying away from “what it’s like being a physician” since you are a helicopter pilot)


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[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

Whether you are a practicing physician, resident, medical student, or pre-med, the National Guard has multiple options for you to serve. Below are the benefits we offer:

MDSSP - Medical Dental School Stipend Program. MDSSP pays medical students $2,272 per month paid on the 1st and 15th. It is taxed. For every 6 months of benefits you incur a 1 year obligation in the Guard.
STRAP - Specialized Training Assistance Program. STRAP is a continuation of the monthly stipend. Residents will receive $2,272 per month. It is taxed. For every 6 months of benefits you incur a 1 year obligation in the Garud.
HPLRP - Health professions Loan Repayment Program. HPLRP will pay up to $250,000 in medical loans. Loans MUST have been used to pay for the qualifying degree (MD or DO). It pays $40,000 per year directly to your loan servicer. It will not pay interest. $40,000 will be taxed. At the time of this post it is taxed at 22% for federal taxes and your rate will vary based on your state. This is a 6 year benefit and which can be canceled at anytime.
Accessions Bonus - If you are a practicing physician without student loans, we offer a three year accessions bonus. This bonus pays $25,000 per year for a three year agreement. After completing the agreement for an accessions bonus, you will be eligible for a retention bonus. Retention bonuses pay $25,000 for a two year agreement.

The as a medical student or resident National Guard can add another $32,000 - $37,000 per year to your income stream for one weekend per month and two weeks per year.

Deployments:
Since 2003 the standing policy has been physicians and dentists will not deploy for more than 90 days boots on ground in country. 120 days door to door. I have this policy in writing. Exceptions to this policy have to be approved the Office of the Chief Surgeon (the head physician in the National Guard). I have doctors in my state that have been in for over 20 years and have experience with this policy. The week before their 90th day, they had a plane ticket home. If you hear stories of doctors staying for 12 months its because they volunteered to stay or the Chief Surgeon felt the mission would be significantly degraded. This is extremely rare for the National Guard and I do not know a single doctor that has stayed beyond 90 days.

MDSSP/STRAP:
If you take these two benefits together, every year of residency will take a year off of your obligation for MDSSP. For example, if you used MDSSP for all four years of medical school and STRAP for a four year residency, you would owe the NG 12 years of time, not 16.

About the National Guard while in Medical School or Residency:
The NG drills one weekend a month, two weeks a year. Doctors and dentists are different. If you are a medical student or resident, you are given the AOC of 00E67. You are placed in a non-deployable unit until you complete your residency program. 00E67 coded officers also participate in Flex Training programs. Simply put, you do not have to drill every weekend. The NG wants you to do well in school. If you have a test to study for, let your unit know and they will often let you phone in for drill just to ensure you are still alive. Also, for your two weeks per year, the Guard will allow you to use 7 of those days to attend CME.

Medical Insurance:
The day you sign up you are eligible to participate in Tricare Reserve Select. For an individual the cost is $50/month. For a family, it is around $220. This covers your entire family.

This should be a good general overview.

 

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

I hope you did some research on here before opening yourself up to this. There is a long list of recruiters who have gone down in flames on here, so good luck!

I’ll be sitting over here with my popcorn

(I would recommend sticking with the areas you have direct experience in, e.g. how to join, the payback terms, etc. Highly recommend staying away from “what it’s like being a physician” since you are a helicopter pilot)



haha Thank you for the advice! The Army conducted a survey of residents and found that physicians and medical students don't want to hear from recruiters, they would rather speak to doctors that are actually serving. I try to keep that mindset when I speak to them. Whenever I present and medical schools I always bring one our physicians along to share their experience.

 

[Polkarma]

Hello, I am a special branch recruiter for the National Guard. Special Branch recruiters specifically recruit for AMEDD, Chaplain, and JAG. Every state will have an Officer Strength Management shop and within that shop will have a Special Branch Recruiter. Those are some key words you will want to use when speaking to a recruiter within your state.

Being blunt, there is a lot of misinformation out there about the serving as a physician in the National Guard. Further, it is difficult to find accurate information about how you can serve in the NG as physician on the web. I am here to assist with clearing that up.

I am an AMEDD Officer myself and serve as a medevac pilot when I am not recruiting.

I will create another post which outlines the current benefits we offer. I look forward to answering your questions.

Thanks for posting and you answered a couple questions on a earlier post I did. I have reached out to my specialty branch recruiter in my state who answered a lot of questions although he is leaving his position very soon and I will be working with his replacement.

I am 48, prior service 8 years both enlisted and medical corps officer (Navy)

He was not sure if I need to go to DCC. I know I need BOLC 3 week course. DCC is required as of Oct 2017 - is it required for prior commissioned officer (medical corps navy, Navy ROTC). I am fine with DCC off needed, especially as I would be new to the ARNG, but would like to know.

I asked him about differences with ARNG and Army Reserves and got the impression that deployments are more statewide backfill for the Reserves and overseas for the Guard (I would much prefer overseas).

Prior HPSP is now supposed to give you a “good” 50 point retirement year for each year you do in the selected reserves only if you are in a critical wartime specialty (title 10 2126). I personally know AF and Navy reservists who have gotten this credit - it’s only toward a reserve retirement not AD retirement. It’s the real deal for them- basically if you have 12 years active duty and do 4 more in the Reserves you qualify for the 20 years needed to get your retirement at age 60 by only doing those 4 extra years.

I am family medicine which appears on all the services critical wartime specialties list except the Guard as they don’t have specialties, although a chart I posted of the critical wartime specialties does have 62 B under Guard. Are you aware of anyone in the Guard getting this approved (HPSP credit)?

Is the 90 days boots on ground still policy?

Thanks so much appreciate your time!

 

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

Thanks for your questions!

Regarding DCC, you have to attend that course if you do not have a commissioning source (ROTC or OCS) or are coming in off the street. If you were a direct Commission into the navy, you’d most likely have to attend. However, I’d request an exception to policy because of your prior service.

His description was pretty accurate regarding the difference between the two. Another is that the guard keeps you in the state you live. The nearest unit in the reserves maybe another state away. Also guard docs can volunteer for state side tours.

Regarding HPSP, I can’t give an accurate answer because I don’t know. Im guessing they count your time as a Ned student under hpsp as a good year? As far as retirement, in order to qualify for retirement, the guard/miltary looks at time in service, not how many points you have. The number of points will determine the your retirement pay percentage. You can have 5000 points in the guard but if you don’t reach 20 years, you still won’t qualify for retirement.

Regarding specialities, all specialties except 5 can be placed in the 62B AOC which will qualify you for the incentives. I am not aware of hpsp credit.

90 days BOG is still policy.

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[Polkarma]

Thanks for your questions!

Regarding DCC, you have to attend that course if you do not have a commissioning source (ROTC or OCS) or are coming in off the street. If you were a direct Commission into the navy, you’d most likely have to attend. However, I’d request an exception to policy because of your prior service.

His description was pretty accurate regarding the difference between the two. Another is that the guard keeps you in the state you live. The nearest unit in the reserves maybe another state away. Also guard docs can volunteer for state side tours.

Regarding HPSP, I can’t give an accurate answer because I don’t know. Im guessing they count your time as a Ned student under hpsp as a good year? As far as retirement, in order to qualify for retirement, the guard/miltary looks at time in service, not how many points you have. The number of points will determine the your retirement pay percentage. You can have 5000 points in the guard but if you don’t reach 20 years, you still won’t qualify for retirement.

Regarding specialities, all specialties except 5 can be placed in the 62B AOC which will qualify you for the incentives. I am not aware of hpsp credit.

90 days BOG is still policy.

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Thanks for the reply! My commissioning source was Navy ROTC but I wasn’t sure if it had to be Army ROTC. Sounds like I may be able to go to BOLC without DCC then since I was not a direct commission in the Navy.

I’ll attach the Army and DoD policy for the HPSP credit- if more docs knew about it, they may decide to go into the Reserves! One year of service is credited toward a reserve retirement for retirement purposes for only those in a critical wartime specialty. I have seen the critical specialty lists from the Army, Navy, AF and they include the usual Family Med, Surgery, ER specialties on the list.

Do you know if the ARNG field surgeon is on the critical wartime list? It appears 62B, 61N and 60 W for the ARNG are on the critical list. If so, it should meet the requirement to get HPSP credit for retirement purposes.

Thank you again!

 

[notdeadyet]

A few points for clarification and being a little more transparent:

MDSSP - Medical Dental School Stipend Program. MDSSP pays medical students $2,272 per month paid on the 1st and 15th. It is taxed. For every 6 months of benefits you incur a 1 year obligation in the Guard.

This payback begins after you finish residency. So if you join as a first year medical student and continue taking MDSSP through four years of medical school, you will incur 8 years of obligation. If you end up doing a four year residency, this means you will end up drilling/serving for a total of 16 years for the $110K. For 8 of those years, you are deployable.

STRAP - Specialized Training Assistance Program. STRAP is a continuation of the monthly stipend. Residents will receive $2,272 per month. It is taxed. For every 6 months of benefits you incur a 1 year obligation in the Garud.

See above. In this case, if you join as a first year resident of a four year residency, you will end up serving/drilling a total of 12 years for the $110K. For 8 of those years, you are deployable.

HPLRP - Health professions Loan Repayment Program. HPLRP will pay up to $250,000 in medical loans. Loans MUST have been used to pay for the qualifying degree (MD or DO). It pays $40,000 per year directly to your loan servicer. It will not pay interest or taxes. This is a 6 year benefit and which can be canceled at anytime.

Not quite. The government holds about $11K from the payment. So you get about $29K paid directly to your loan providers per year. The $11K goes towards taxes. In my case, it means I come out neutral in my federal taxes but owe a bit in state (ymmv).

The as a medical student or resident National Guard can add another $32,000 - $37,000 per year to your income stream for one weekend per month and two weeks per year.

I'm curious about this math. While a resident, as a Captain, with about four year's service, I was making about $600 per drill weekend and about $2500 for my two weeks per year. I grossed about $10-12K any given year.

If your talk about adding another $32-37K/year by drill and weekend service, you must be adding in the benefits above, which is a little misleading.

More realistically, if you take MDSSP and drill every month and 2 weeks every year (which few medical students or residents will likely do), you will earn up to $37,000/year for 4 years, then you drop to about $12-16K for the same schedule for the next 12 years (which you are obligated to for a total of 16 years).

MDSSP/STRAP:
If you take these two benefits together, every year of residency will take a year off of your obligation for MDSSP. For example, if you used MDSSP for all four years of medical school and STRAP for a four year residency, you would owe the NG 12 years of time, not 16.

True. Take MDSSP for 4 years, followed by STRAP for 4 years, and you will be obligated to serve/drill for a total of 20 years.

About the National Guard while in Medical School or Residency:
The NG drills one weekend a month, two weeks a year. Doctors and dentists are different. If you are a medical student or resident, you are given the AOC of 00E67. You are placed in a non-deployable unit until you complete your residency program. 00E67 coded officers also participate in Flex Training programs. Simply put, you do not have to drill every weekend. The NG wants you to do well in school. If you have a test to study for, let your unit know and they will often let you phone in for drill just to ensure you are still alive. Also, for your two weeks per year, the Guard will allow you to use 7 of those days to attend CME.

Ooof. This is where I get a little disgruntled.

The language of Flexi-training is very specific that it is up to the wishes of your commanding officer. Depending on your command and your state, you may be able to drill as little as every other month. Or in other commands/states (like mine), you drill every month and make up for any that you have to miss due to school commitments. Even in my state, the command is flexible and tries to accommodate but phoning in to drill or studying during drill is very hit and miss, so I wouldn't portray this as the norm.

And I've yet to get the ARNG to authorize CME.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Well...his post had 10% truth. It's like Juice Drink.

 

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

Well...his post had 10% truth. It's like Juice Drink.

Thank you for your post! Do you have direct experience using MDSSP, STRAP, HPLRP or serving in the Guard? Please share if you do.

 

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

A few points for clarification and being a little more transparent:

This payback begins after you finish residency. So if you join as a first year medical student and continue taking MDSSP through four years of medical school, you will incur 8 years of obligation. If you end up doing a four year residency, this means you will end up drilling/serving for a total of 16 years for the $110K. For 8 of those years, you are deployable.

See above. In this case, if you join as a first year resident of a four year residency, you will end up serving/drilling a total of 12 years for the $110K. For 8 of those years, you are deployable.

Not quite. The government holds about $11K from the payment. So you get about $29K paid directly to your loan providers per year. The $11K goes towards taxes. In my case, it means I come out neutral in my federal taxes but owe a bit in state (ymmv).

I'm curious about this math. While a resident, as a Captain, with about four year's service, I was making about $600 per drill weekend and about $2500 for my two weeks per year. I grossed about $10-12K any given year.

If your talk about adding another $32-37K/year by drill and weekend service, you must be adding in the benefits above, which is a little misleading.

More realistically, if you take MDSSP and drill every month and 2 weeks every year (which few medical students or residents will likely do), you will earn up to $37,000/year for 4 years, then you drop to about $12-16K for the same schedule for the next 12 years (which you are obligated to for a total of 16 years).

True. Take MDSSP for 4 years, followed by STRAP for 4 years, and you will be obligated to serve/drill for a total of 20 years.

Ooof. This is where I get a little disgruntled.

The language of Flexi-training is very specific that it is up to the wishes of your commanding officer. Depending on your command and your state, you may be able to drill as little as every other month. Or in other commands/states (like mine), you drill every month and make up for any that you have to miss due to school commitments. Even in my state, the command is flexible and tries to accommodate but phoning in to drill or studying during drill is very hit and miss, so I wouldn't portray this as the norm.

And I've yet to get the ARNG to authorize CME.

Thank you for your post!

You are correct that your obligation begins at the end of residency. As a point of clarification, if you take 4 years of MDSSP you will owe 8 years to the Guard. During your 4 years of medical school, you are placed in a TDA unit and are non-deployable. After you complete medical school and begin residency, its up to you whether or not you take STRAP.
During residency you are still in a TDA unit and are non-deployable. If you do not take STRAP during residency, your obligation to payback for MDSSP begins when finish residency. In this case you would owe 8 years. Yes you are deployable after you finish residency because you are fully qualified doctor at this point.

I've updated the point about HPLRP above to include taxes. It was poorly worded the first time.

My point about adding $32k-$37k in additional income includes the stipend, drill pay, and annual training pay combined. I am not stating that you will make $32k through drill and AT alone. Those numbers are the total combined benefit.

After residency, your income from the guard is reduced. This is because you are only receiving pay for drill weekend and AT. At this point and are serving back your obligation. The goal of MDSSP and STRAP is to provide financial assistance to those students who do not want to live on loans for 4 years and for those students who want additional income while in residency.

If you take MDSSP and STRAP, your MDSSP obligation is reduced by one year for every year you are in residency. For example, four years of medical school with MDSSP and four years of residency with STRAP will result in a 12 year obligation, not a 16 year obligation.

Every state is different about how they handle their students so make sure you speak with currently serving NG physicians in your state to determine how they treat their students, residents, and physicians. For our state, medical students have a lot of flexibility. Regarding authorizing CME, I know multiple physicians within my state that have attended CME using 7 of the AT days. This might just be my state so your mileage may vary.

As always, make sure you speak with the with the special branch recruiter in your state.

Edited for brevity and clarity.

 

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

Thanks for the reply! My commissioning source was Navy ROTC but I wasn’t sure if it had to be Army ROTC. Sounds like I may be able to go to BOLC without DCC then since I was not a direct commission in the Navy.

I’ll attach the Army and DoD policy for the HPSP credit- if more docs knew about it, they may decide to go into the Reserves! One year of service is credited toward a reserve retirement for retirement purposes for only those in a critical wartime specialty. I have seen the critical specialty lists from the Army, Navy, AF and they include the usual Family Med, Surgery, ER specialties on the list.

Do you know if the ARNG field surgeon is on the critical wartime list? It appears 62B, 61N and 60 W for the ARNG are on the critical list. If so, it should meet the requirement to get HPSP credit for retirement purposes.

Thank you again!

Yes, field surgeon 62B is on the CWSL. Most specialities can fill a 62B slot.

 

[notdeadyet]

I think one of the reasons folks get frustrated with recruiters on this forum is that information gets dispensed in a way that attempts to minimize the inherent cost of the benefits that are loudly touted.

So some clarification to your clarifications:

As a point of clarification, if you take 4 years of MDSSP you will owe 8 years to the Guard.

This is misleading. When people read this, they assume that what you "owe" to the Guard is how many years you are legally obligated to serve out your time. How many years you will show up for drill, keep your weight within standard, be able to pass physical fitness tests, not smoke weed, keep your hair short, etc. But you are using "owe" to mean specifically the payback obligation, which minimizes the commitment you incur.

If you sign up for MDSSP, you will actually "owe" service for 4 years in medical school (you will be drilling/serving through medical school). You will then "owe" for the duration of your residency, when you will drill/serve for 3-7 years. You will then "owe" 8 additional years post-residency.

So, no, if you take 4 years of MDSSP, you will not owe 8 years to the Guard, you will owe 15-19 years to the Guard. Of that 15-19 years, 8 years of that is specifically "payback" that you owe due to MDSSP. But please do not pitch MDSSP as creating an 8 year obligation. This misstates the actual obligation due to the way medical school and residency works.

During your 4 years of medical school, you are placed in a TDA unit and are non-deployable.

Yes. And you are still drilling one weekend per month during medical school and two weeks per year, made easier (potentially) by commanders who approve the flexi-training policy that could potentially half that. You are serving/drilling for these 4 years.

After you complete medical school and begin residency, its up to you whether or not you take STRAP.
During residency you are still in a TDA unit and are non-deployable.

Yes. And you are still drilling one weekend per month during residency and two weeks per year, made easier (potentially) by commanders who approve the flexi-training policy that could potentially half that. You are serving/drilling for these 3-7 years.

If you do not take STRAP during residency, your obligation to payback for MDSSP begins when finish residency.

No. Regardless whether you take STRAP during residency or not, your obligation to payback MDSSP begins when you finish residency. In the old days, payback began during residency, but this was changed years back (likely because the Army caught on that many medical students realized they could take 2 years of MDSSP during the second half of med school, then serve out their 4 year commitment while in residency and never face deployment).

In this case you would owe 8 years. Yes you are deployable after you finish residency because you are fully qualified doctor at this point.

No. You are using "owe" from a program standpoint that has no meaning to the applicant and minimizes the commitment. Any potential Army reserve corps applicant interprets how much they "owe" from joining the military to meaning how long they will be in the Army in active drilling status. I apologize for the bolding, but this is the part that your posts come across as misleading so I want to make sure applicants understand.

You will owe 15-19 years when you join the Army Reserve Corps as a first year medical student if you take only MDSSP.

You will owe 17-29 years when you join the Army Reserve Corps as a first year medical student if you take MDSSP plus STRAP.

 

[notdeadyet]

I've updated the point about HPLRP above to include taxes. It was poorly worded the first time.

No worries. It's a relatively recent change. You were right until a couple of years ago.

If you take MDSSP and STRAP, your MDSSP obligation is reduced by one year for every year you are in residency. For example, four years of medical school with MDSSP and four years of residency with STRAP will result in a 12 year obligation, not a 16 year obligation.

This minimizes the actual obligation. We need to be clear to potential applicants.

Assuming a four year residency, you will have a total of a 20 year obligation. You will be obligated to remain in active drill status (one weekend per month plus two weeks per year, minus any leniency granted by your command via flexi-training policy) for 20 years, which includes medical school, residency, and 12 years beyond.

 

[notdeadyet]

If it isn't obvious, I am not a fan of the military recruiter's focus on medical students for recruitment of AMEDD physicians. My thinking is that it is done because they are ignorant as to their long-term worth and they are (appropriately) debt averse.

If I had my druthers, I would not sign up medical students or interns at all and minimally recruit residents. This would allow us to target desired specialties. And I would focus the big attention (and funds) on recruiting physicians. But I rarely have my druthers.

Applicants need to understand that military service is a sacrifice, even for us in the Reserve Corps. Drill weekends occur at inopportune times in medical school and sometime you have leeway with your command and other times you don't. Depending on your residency, drill weekends can eat up precious (and important) downtime. During internal medicine months of my residency, I had 4 days off per month. My program was kind enough to string two together during a drill weekend (no one gets a full weekend like that naturally) but it also cut my off-time in half. After residency, your practice options are limited because it is hard to join a small group practice when you could be pulled away from your job every few years for a 4 month block (and forget a solo practice).

I have served in the Army National Guard for quite some time and have no intent on quitting. I have found my service (limited in sacrifice though it has been in the big picture of things military) to be meaningful and fulfilling and since I actually am able to practice my specialty during drill weekends, I feel like I've actually helped a good number of soldiers. I have assisted in recruitment efforts and have actually gotten a good number of doctors to join the ARNG.

But I want to make sure we are being crystal clear with applicants on what they are signing up for and the commitment they are making. This is not like signing up someone for a 3 year enlistment. This is a many year commitment in which physicians who are not good fits ultimately put our soldiers safety at risk. We have all seen this happen.

NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter- Thank you for your efforts to get more healthcare providers to help our soldiers. But we need to be above board on this. Being very frank and honest with what folks are signing up for is important. Calling 4 years of MDSSP an 8 year obligation may just be a mistake based on misunderstanding of the medical process. I'd recommend letting applicants know what the obligation actually is based on my bolded above.

 

[deleted480308]

I’ll also add that not all states let you “phone in” for drill pay. I know of at least one state where you show up in person for drill or you don’t get paid and you don’t get points. They are flexible with permission to not show up though.

It should also be noted that eith the 50pts needed for a “good year”. You have to earn fifty or the year didn’t happen for retirement. You get 15 just for stayng alive and 4 for a drill weekend, so you have to make 9 drills to have a good yr if you don’t do an active training or something extra. Sooooo, if you flex drill and don’t get credit for even 4/12 months that year never happened and doesn’t count to your 20 for retirement

 

[NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter]

I am currently an army officer planning on applying to medical school this summer.


I am currently an army officer planning on applying to medical school this summer. If I decide not to use MDSSP/STRAP, can my AOC still be changed to 00E67 where I can benefit from the flexible training policy? Would I also get to keep my current rank or will I be demoted when my AOC is changed to 00E67?

Yes your AOC can be changed to 00E without using MDSSP/STRAP. In almost all cases you will see a reduction in rank. The exception is if you are already in the AMEDD. Typically you can expect to receive half credit for every year you have been commissioned. The recruiter for your state will be able to give you a more accurate calculation based on your YoS and current branch.

 

[MTGas2B]

No oath with sock puppets. I’m out.

National Guard Airman takes reenlistment oath using dinosaur hand puppet




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[Joriel]

Can you confirm if medical school loans (no college or other degree loans) that have already been refinanced with a private lender (ie. Laurel Road, SoFi) are eligible for loan repayment (ie. HPLRP) with the National Guard or Army Reserves? If so, is there a written source I can reference? Thank you!


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[mybluedog]

If someone could put me in contact with a WA state recruiter, that would be great! I might @notdeadyet for experience & @NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter for paperwork later if I have questions. Thank you for both your works!

 

[notdeadyet]

Cuji- if you are already in the Guard, you can quit HPLRP at any time. If you stay in 1 year after signing up for it, you get the money. If you quit 11 months after signing up for it, you get $0.

But if you are NOT in the Guard and are looking to join, there is often a requirement to sign up for 6 years drilling status (with 2 years IRR). You can NOT quit the Army NG at will.

 

[ImTheDudeMan]

@NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter
I am a newly commissioned 2LT in the Army NG and currently attending a combat arms BOLC. While here I have received my acceptance letter to medical school and intend to utilize the MDSSP throughout my 4 years. That being said, I would like to get your take on the process of switching branches to AMEDD (00E67) and starting the scholarship.

I was wondering what goes into the "STRAP only packet" referred to in AR621-202 9-4. It seems as if I am being processed for appointment as well as the MDSSP but I have been unable to find resources outlining what the STRAP only packet entails.

Thank you in advance for your time.

 

[nonTradwithPS]

NG_SpecialBranchRecruiter thanks for the info. I have a few questions when you get a couple minutes.

1) I’m a non-traditional and prior service. I am expecting to have to borrow a little more than the average student to make ends meet with my family (I.e. car repairs, school clothes, etc..,) and I’m trying to get some clarification on what loans are eligible for pay back via HPLRP. Do you have a policy on this that I could read?

2) How does MDSSP/STRAP affect a person taking a fellowship? Im wondering about if I took an internal medicine residency and wanted to further specialize (as this is a popular option). Would I be allowed to take the fellowship since I could still drill as an internal medicine physician? If so, would I be eligible to take STRAP during said fellowship?