PHS Ready Reserve?

[need_some_coffee]

Does anyone have any information about the USPHS ready reserve? It was signed into law in 2010 as part of ACA, and nothing much has seemed to happen since then. I've looked over the USPHS website, and all the info is from 2010.

Has anyone joined the ready reserve? How often are they called to duty? Are the benefits the same as reserve military?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

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[mlkmnsgrl]

I know I'm months late responding, but the one thing I can tell you is that it's a long process to join. The best route is through the Epidemic Intelligence Service with the CDC. That's what my husband is doing--his orders will arrive next month, he starts in July. The Commissioned Corps is pretty small, and rumor suggests they want to keep it that way. I'm not sure when someone is considered Ready Reserve versus Active outside of the EIS program, but what we've been told is that he'll spend the 2 years of the program as Ready Reserve and it's nearly 0 chance that he'll be deployed by USPHS because he's mission-critical to CDC/EIS (of course, he'd deploy through EIS to just about anything USPHS would deploy him to). Then after EIS he'll be switched to Active Duty. I'm not sure how one would go about just staying in the Ready Reserve, but the application process for Commissioned Corps is a long one, and you have to get your regular job position at an eligible agency in addition to the commissioning. Applications are open for EIS 2016, so if you're eligible, I'd say go for it!