ROTC obligation + MDSSP?

[WhyDidIDoMDPhD]

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Hello there! Prior service 68W here. I begin medical school in July at UAB after doing ROTC (Non scholarship cadet) in undergrad. I'm looking into MDSSP to help me out while I'm in medical school, but I have a 8 year SO from my ROTC contract (the basal officer contractual obligation) and I'm trying to figure out what whether I can serve my MDSSP obligation concurrently with my ROTC obligation. ROTC has been great for developing me as a leader, but I didn't get a scholarship from them as I already had an academic scholarship. Hence, the fact that I have an 8 year obligation is crazy. Until about a year ago thought I'd go on til I got my retirement, but ROTC has put a pretty rancid taste in my mouth and I want to do research, which the military isn't very conducive to at all. That said, I'd like to keep my obligation as short as possible. I'd love to do MDSSP and wouldn't mind serving out that obligation, but I'm not looking to owe MORE time for less incentive than I've already received.

 

[Helpful Troll]

I searched on the key word 'concurrent' and there are no references I could find in the applicable MDSSP section of the USAREC Regulation. Hopefully one of the recent MDSSP recipients will know some better resources.

USAREC Regulation 601-37 (MDSSP starting on page 75) and AR 135-91 (there are two versions as one expired April 2016)

http://www.usarec.army.mil/im/formpub/REC_PUBS/R601_37.pdf

 

[notdeadyet]

I don't know anything about ROTC specifically, but in general, the Army does not allow the following:

- Receiving new obligation-incurring benefits while paying back obligation from old obligation-incurring benefits
- Paying back two separate obligations concurrently

If you go to medical school in drilling status from your ROTC obligation, you would be free and clear by the end of a four year residency.

If you go to medical school in drilling status and take MDSSP, your time in medical school would likely not pay back your ROTC obligation due to taking MDSSP. Your time in drill status during residency would likely count toward your ROTC obligation. After a four year residency, you would owe 12 more years drilling (remaining 4 years ROTC plus 8 years MDSSP).

You need to check with a reserve corps recruiter. Guard and Army Reserve should be the same. I would call 800-Go-Guard and ask to speak to your state's AMEDD Officer Recruiter (must be AMEDD, must be officer). They should be able to clarify.

Editorializing: I'm a big proponent of the Army Reserve Corps and am happily serving, but I think MDSSP is a horrible program. You are committing to 8 years of obligation with the Army after residency, so you're looking at a minimum 15 YEAR commitment from the time you sign up.

 

[deleted480308]

I don't know anything about ROTC specifically, but in general, the Army does not allow the following:

- Receiving new obligation-incurring benefits while paying back obligation from old obligation-incurring benefits
- Paying back two separate obligations concurrently

If you go to medical school in drilling status from your ROTC obligation, you would be free and clear by the end of a four year residency.

If you go to medical school in drilling status and take MDSSP, your time in medical school would likely not pay back your ROTC obligation due to taking MDSSP. Your time in drill status during residency would likely count toward your ROTC obligation. After a four year residency, you would owe 12 more years drilling (remaining 4 years ROTC plus 8 years MDSSP).

You need to check with a reserve corps recruiter. Guard and Army Reserve should be the same. I would call 800-Go-Guard and ask to speak to your state's AMEDD Officer Recruiter (must be AMEDD, must be officer). They should be able to clarify.

Editorializing: I'm a big proponent of the Army Reserve Corps and am happily serving, but I think MDSSP is a horrible program. You are committing to 8 years of obligation with the Army after residency, so you're looking at a minimum 15 YEAR commitment from the time you sign up.

I concur on the horrible ROI of mdssp. If my wife had been willing I would have absolutely done HPSP instead.

 

[WhyDidIDoMDPhD]

Many thanks, everyone. I think had I known I'd be going down this road a few years ago, I would have stayed away from ROTC.. I've developed as a leader from it and I'm grateful for that, but it's definitely not the most conducive path to becoming a physician, and it's done wonders in establishing a general distaste for the Army.
Long gone are the days that I wanted to do 20 years and draw a retirement. Good information, all. I think I'll stay drilling while a med student and try to get my time behind me by the time I'm an attending doc.
All this said, what would my options be as a drilling lieutenant? Would I still be able to get into a slot as a medical student, or are those reserved for the MDSSP guys? Will the Flexi-training policy still be something I could take advantage of, pending permission from my CO?

 

[DMBandFan86]

Any of the flexibility is going to be command dependent. No matter what, I don't believe there will be any way of getting a medical student training status without joining some sort of program like MDSSP. So that means you'll have to go through school and residency as an active reservist, and they will most likely treat you just like everyone else. If you don't have a unit yet, make sure you get assigned into a medical unit. You will have a much better chance of the command understanding what medical school is vs. being in an engineering unit.

I was enlisted (68W) in the reserves when I got accepted into medical school. I chose MDSSP because I didn't want to get pulled out of school and I took it for 3 years (6 year repayment). My unit had plans to send me to multiple 1-3 week trainings during my first year of school - so MDSSP saved me from having to miss school, and likely having to repeat years of school. It's not like undergrad, you can't easily miss 1-2 weeks of medical school and try to make it up. They will just tell you to repeat the class next year, and then you'll be out a lot of tuition money. The monthly weekend 2-3 day drills aren't bad as long as you don't have exams the next Monday. Its the longer training that will interfere with school (captains course, ECT, etc.) or deployments. I can just imagine them sending you out on ECT every summer when you are trying to study for medical boards. However, if you get lucky and play your cards rights, you can get through medical school as an active reservist and be that much closer to getting out. You can also fill out a 'request for excused absence' each year to try to miss drills, but that is command dependent. Another thing to do is to RST for as many drills as your command will allow before school starts, and then you will at least be covered for a few months...

Also, I think MDSSP has changed since I joined 4 years ago. My contract states that my payback begins after graduation from medical school and not after residency. Which I think the army corrected that about 3 years ago or something. Makes the program a lot less desirable especially in your shoes with prior contractual obligation.

 

[notdeadyet]

I've developed as a leader from it and I'm grateful for that, but it's definitely not the most conducive path to becoming a physician, and it's done wonders in establishing a general distaste for the Army.

Then you should most definitely RUN from an obligation-incurring program like MDSSP or STRAP.

All this said, what would my options be as a drilling lieutenant? Would I still be able to get into a slot as a medical student, or are those reserved for the MDSSP guys? Will the Flexi-training policy still be something I could take advantage of, pending permission from my CO?

Do you have an AOC? If not, getting slotted as a medical student is easy.

If you do have an AOC (artillery, armor, etc.) then you will need to approach your officer accessions person and see about the process for getting re-branched. You would be re-branched to Medical Services Corps and occupy a medical student slot. Your duties as a drilling LT in this role are limited and how you will be utilized varies widely by location and command. In the more laid back ones, LTs bring in books and study. In more hooah locales, you will basically be tasked with stuff to keep you busy. You will not do anything medical no matter where you are at in medical school, because you lack qualifications.

If you are unable to get re-branched and given a medical student AOC, you will likely be assigned to whatever spot the Army finds for you. And the more combat the unit, the less sympathetic they tend to be for medical student schedules. In general, the further you get from AMEDD, the more likely your command (and CO) will see you as a "college student."

 

[notdeadyet]

No matter what, I don't believe there will be any way of getting a medical student training status without joining some sort of program like MDSSP.

This is incorrect. We have folks come in as medical students all the time without joining an obligation-incurring program. They are obligated to the standard 6 years drilling + 2 years IRR like anybody else.