Navy Undersea Medicine

[ENS]

I don't know if anyone in the Navy can shed some light about co-location issues. My husband is a submarine officer, and I'm thinking about going into Undersea Medicine. Is there any likelihood that we can get similar assignments where I can work at a submarine tender for his? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Church]

What you're looking for isn't Undersea Medicine... That caters more towards supporting diving. If you could get a billet as a Squadron Medical Officer, that'd be choice! Every submarine squadron has one, and you can draw sub pay, which is nice.

That said, you'd be more likely to find a billet in a Naval Medical center at one of our submarine bases (in a "normal" specialization like ER, surgery, ortho, etc), which would put you somewhere near your hubby (as in you could commute from off-base housing, and live together when he's not at sea). There are far more billets available for regular doctors than in specialized billets, and every base big enough to have subs, has a hospital.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

I am a submarine officer (who is now applying to medical school), and my wife is a fourth year Ob/Gyn resident. We have had no issues with co-location thus far. I think you have some flexibility here. If you are interested in Undersea Medicine, the Squadron Medical Officers referred to in the previous post are UMOs. Having interacted with several of them, I know their billets are not particularly exciting (think lots of physicals and screenings). If I were you, I would find the specialty that you are interested in, and determine how many billets are available at the naval hospitals near submarine bases. With the exception of Groton (not too many billets at the hospital) and Pearl Harbor (Tripler is an Army Hospital, and therefore can be difficult to obtain a billet), the other sub bases should be easy locations at which you can co-locate.

Hope this helps...please PM me if you have any other questions I can attempt to answer!

 

[ENS]

I am a submarine officer (who is now applying to medical school), and my wife is a fourth year Ob/Gyn resident. We have had no issues with co-location thus far. I think you have some flexibility here. If you are interested in Undersea Medicine, the Squadron Medical Officers referred to in the previous post are UMOs. Having interacted with several of them, I know their billets are not particularly exciting (think lots of physicals and screenings). If I were you, I would find the specialty that you are interested in, and determine how many billets are available at the naval hospitals near submarine bases. With the exception of Groton (not too many billets at the hospital) and Pearl Harbor (Tripler is an Army Hospital, and therefore can be difficult to obtain a billet), the other sub bases should be easy locations at which you can co-locate.

Hope this helps...please PM me if you have any other questions I can attempt to answer!

Thanks for all the input as well from the last post. Is your wife in the Navy? My husband and I are hoping to go to San Diego. I'm highly thinking about psychiatry, so it's either Bethesda, Portsmouth, or San Diego. Have you ever been assigned to Norfolk? If so, how did you like it? How long have you been with the Submarine Force? Do you have any children? Sorry about all the questions. My husband is just starting his career and is now residing in Charleston for training. We're both excited as we embark in our future with the Navy, but I'm just curious with what the future holds and the whole family dynamic especially when both are in the Navy.

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

Thanks for all the input as well from the last post. Is your wife in the Navy? My husband and I are hoping to go to San Diego. I'm highly thinking about psychiatry, so it's either Bethesda, Portsmouth, or San Diego. Have you ever been assigned to Norfolk? If so, how did you like it? How long have you been with the Submarine Force? Do you have any children? Sorry about all the questions. My husband is just starting his career and is now residing in Charleston for training. We're both excited as we embark in our future with the Navy, but I'm just curious with what the future holds and the whole family dynamic especially when both are in the Navy.

My wife is in the Navy. She went to USUHS for medical school. I was assigned to a fast attack sub homeported in Norfolk, and took a shore duty assignment at NAB Little Creek with a SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team. We were torn between Norfolk and San Diego when I was going through the training in Charleston. Ultimately, the cost of living, my wife's preference for the Ob/Gyn program at Portsmouth, and proximity to her family resulted in our chosing Norfolk. We haven't regretted it all! We did not have any children while I was assigned to the sub, but we are now expecting our first in October. We specifically waited until I finished my sea tour, since her residency hours and my high operational tempo were incompatible with child care.

Again, feel free to ask anything you are curious about...we should probably shift to PMs though, so we don't annoy everyone else with our one-on-one conversations!

 

[Church]

While I agree that one can work towards being co-located with a spouse, I think it's sugar-coating it to suggest that it's not that hard to be co-located with a spouse. Not trying to be inflammatory, just pointing out that many Navy families are split between duty stations. We pulled into Rosy Roads once, and by sheer chance, one of our J.O.'s wife was a J.O. on a tin can that happened to have just pulled in. They hadn't seen each other for quite a while. Admittedly, if one partner is in a non-deploying unit (like a naval hospital) it'd be some easier, I just don't believe that ENS should only hear the rosy side of things.

Lest I sound like a bitter short-termer, I had 14 years in before getting out to go to med school. And yes, I still miss going to the pier in Groton every morning Subs are just cool. Hated duty at prototype tho, darn kids are tricky to watch/prevent from joining the one-bus club.