STRAP, Drill Pay, and Loan Repayment

[aequanimitas11]

I'm a PGY-1 thinking pretty seriously about going into the STRAP program. I just got off the phone with a recruiter and I had a few questions.

1. He says that I will get the STRAP stipend of $2060 monthly, plus monthly drill pay (~$480/mth). I would get this drill pay even though I am not going to be drilling as a resident.

2. If I took STRAP for 4-5 years, I would owe 8-10 years back. He says that I would be eligible for loan repayment at the end of my 2nd year. He also says that this would NOT tack on time to my commitment. My understanding was that it was a 1:1 for the HLRP program on top of my STRAP, but he says that it would actually run concurrent if I was already going to be serving at least 8 years after residency.

3. I would know before committing if I would be attached to APMC (preferable to me) or a TPU.

4. Apparently the 90 days BOG would be the limit for me, with a deployment tempo of around 18-24 months. What is pay like during this time? He says you take drill pay and multiply it by the number of days you are deployed. Are there any added bonuses, and is it tax free?

I appreciate you answers and opinions as to whether this information sounds accurate.

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[notdeadyet]

1. He says that I will get the STRAP stipend of $2060 monthly, plus monthly drill pay (~$480/mth). I would get this drill pay even though I am not going to be drilling as a resident.

You can get this drill pay as long as you have an approved Equivalent Training every month. Under Flexi-Training, you are only obligated to drill once each quarter, but then you'd only get drill pay once each quarter. If you arrange Equivalent Training every month, you also would be qualifying for a "good year" for retirement. The policy document concerning Flexi-Training (which you recruiter should be able to provide you) has listings of what qualifies as "equivalent training."

2. If I took STRAP for 4-5 years, I would owe 8-10 years back. He says that I would be eligible for loan repayment at the end of my 2nd year. He also says that this would NOT tack on time to my commitment. My understanding was that it was a 1:1 for the HLRP program on top of my STRAP, but he says that it would actually run concurrent if I was already going to be serving at least 8 years after residency.

You can take HPLRP during residency for PGY-3 and beyond as long as you are taking STRAP and as long as you are in a critical warfare specialty (your recruiter should also be able to provide you this list).

During residency, HPLRP does not add or detract from your commitment (meaning, if you're taking STRAP and qualify, you should definitely do it during residency). To qualify for HPLRP, you must make sure you drill (or have equivalent training) enough for a "good year" or you will not get HPLRP.

After residency, HPLRP is a concurrent 1:1 obligation. In other words, if you qualify for HPLRP on July 1, 2015 after you finish residency, one year later, on July 1, 2016, you will have $40K taken off of your student loans.

But you can not take HPLRP during your payback phase for STRAP without pushing out STRAP payback. In other words, if you take HPLRP for 3 years as an attending immediately after residency, those three years do not count as payback towards your STRAP commitment.

I'm not sure where your recruiter is getting info on taking HPLRP post-residency and still having those years qualify as paying back STRAP. The policy is pretty clear on this. Ask for him to show you this in writing and post what you read.

3. I would know before committing if I would be attached to APMC (preferable to me) or a TPU.

You'll be assigned to APMC if you are on the critical warfare shortage list and your home-of-record is more than 50 miles from the nearest TPU slot.

4. Apparently the 90 days BOG would be the limit for me, with a deployment tempo of around 18-24 months.

Do keep in mind that although the BOG is 90 days, the total time away from home can be up to 120 days. Also, while the Boots-on-Ground is covered by written policy, the deployment tempo of every 18-24 months is not. Probably not a deal-killer, since who knows what things will look like in 5 years in terms of deployments anyway.

 

[aequanimitas11]

I'm waiting to hear back from the recruiter about some additional details. I am on the critical specialty list, and I will be eligible for up to $250k HPLRP at 40k per year. Will have 5 years residency + 1 year fellowship.

I'm not thinking of doing this only for the money, although I wouldn't be going this specific route if that kind of money were not involved. In trying to calculate the financial aspect of the deal, I have the following:

- $2500/mth (stipend + drill pay) in residency x 5 years = $150k
- HPLRP, including what my loan would have cost in interest otherwise = $300k
- 24 days per month/annual training x 10 years (repayment phase) = $11k

Total equals about $460k.
Divided by 340 working days over 10 years, this is about $1300 per day.
You could argue that one could make $2-3k/day in the civilian world, so that is going to be a small loss on your drill days. However, this is not calculating the opportunity benefits of having much of that money upfront (available for investing, etc).

Obviously, I left out a couple of things. One is retirement, if I made it 20 years. The other thing is bonuses, special pay, increases in stipends/pay for inflation, military discounts, etc.

The big thing I left out is deployment. There is a large sacrifice with this, financial and otherwise.

Negatives:
- Unknown deployment schedule.
- Salary loss (especially during deployment).
- Owing some kind of obligation for at least 10 years.
- Possibly causing concerns with potential employers.
- Deployments disrupting civilian work schedules, etc.

Positives:
- Nice income during residency. This would relieve some financial pressure on the family and allow us to save and invest more during residency.
- Ability to finish residency debt-free, including student loans.
- Opportunity to serve your country during a time of need.
- Opportunity to set a culture of military service in my family (wife served as well).
- Deployments and military training could help to keep things mixed up some during practice and alleviate potential burnout of civilian job.
- Most of the earning potential of a civilian job will be retained, along with the freedom of career choices and practice locations.
- For some administrative jobs or political positions, military service would be a plus.
- I know some doctors that work with the local and state SWAT teams on the side, and military experience would be a benefit in securing these jobs on the side.

What am I missing? Where are my calculations wrong? I appreciate any input you guys may have.

 

[notdeadyet]

A few thoughts:

Will have 5 years residency + 1 year fellowship.

Keep in mind you are nondeployable during residency. This does not include fellowship.

- $2500/mth (stipend + drill pay) in residency x 5 years = $150k

Your calculation assumes that you'll be drilling every month. I doubt this is realistic for most residency programs.

- Owing some kind of obligation for at least 10 years.

Best think of it as owing some kind of obligation for 15 years, including residency. There are times that having to drill is a PITA, given civilian commitments.

- Possibly causing concerns with potential employers.

You might be de-emphasizing this. Being in the Guard or Reserve will pretty much rule out many jobs for you. No one in a small practice is going to want to hire you, and with very good reason. You professional options while in the Guard or Reserve can probably most realistically be viewed as limited to large practice employers.

- Deployments disrupting civilian work schedules, etc.

See above. Deployment schedules can wreak havoc with small practices and sink others. Make sure you're fine with working with larger groups.

- Ability to finish residency debt-free, including student loans.

Very nice, though you must have had very small loans to do this. You'll only be taking HPLRP for three years ($120K) during residency. After you finish residency, you'll need to pay back 10 years of drilling status owed by STRAP before taking the other two years of HPLRP, no?

 

[aequanimitas11]

A few thoughts:

Keep in mind you are nondeployable during residency. This does not include fellowship.

I know full well that my recruiter may be wrong, but he indicated that I would not be deployable during fellowship, and would be allowed to complete my fellowship immediately after my residency.

Your calculation assumes that you'll be drilling every month. I doubt this is realistic for most residency programs.

I may have misunderstood but I was thinking that Flexi-Training would allow me to do enough online continuing education, etc, to get the monthly pay.

You might be de-emphasizing this. Being in the Guard or Reserve will pretty much rule out many jobs for you. No one in a small practice is going to want to hire you, and with very good reason. You professional options while in the Guard or Reserve can probably most realistically be viewed as limited to large practice employers.

See above. Deployment schedules can wreak havoc with small practices and sink others. Make sure you're fine with working with larger groups.

I'm in a specialty that will preclude me from working in a small group for the most part (ortho).

Very nice, though you must have had very small loans to do this. You'll only be taking HPLRP for three years ($120K) during residency. After you finish residency, you'll need to pay back 10 years of drilling status owed by STRAP before taking the other two years of HPLRP, no?

3 years would get me close, 4 years would have my loans paid for. The recruiter mentioned HPLRP starting as a PGY-2, although I've read that it starts as a PGY-3 everywhere else. I'm also wondering if STRAP/HPLRP would be an option during fellowship.

A few more questions:

• Can I get a contract stating that I will be attached to an APMC as opposed to a TPU?
  
• Do deployments ever include humanitarian missions as opposed to combat zone work? Are they always going to be the maximum BOG time?
  
• What additional training will be available to me once commissioned? Will I be eligible for SERE, Combat Casualty, etc? Flight School?
  
• How long does it take to advance to Major, LTC, etc? What kinds of things must one do to advance?

 

[notdeadyet]

I know full well that my recruiter may be wrong, but he indicated that I would not be deployable during fellowship, and would be allowed to complete my fellowship immediately after my residency.

Ask for backing documentation via a policy memo or something for your contract. Current policy memo's state that non-deployability ends with the end of residency. Deployability during fellowship depends on the "needs of the Army." If not being deployed during fellowship is important to you, I'd get this in writing.

• Can I get a contract stating that I will be attached to an APMC as opposed to a TPU?

• 
  Everyone wants APMC. To get it, you need to be further than 60 miles from the nearest TPU and in a critical warfare shortage specialty.
  

  [*]What additional training will be available to me once commissioned? Will I be eligible for SERE, Combat Casualty, etc? Flight School?

  You'll be eligible for any training available to your MOS to which there is funding. SERE isn't going to be much use to you, so I doubt they'd be willing to let you take the slot of someone who may actually need it some day. Combat Casualty Care Course is a two weeker that's not that hard to get (though I've heard pretty mixed things about the usefulness of it for docs. By "flight school," if you mean "flight surgery" then yes, it's DEFINITELY do-able as there's a shortage. If you mean train you to fly a helicopter, I can't imagine much reason for them to want to do that.
  

  [*]How long does it take to advance to Major, LTC, etc? What kinds of things must one do to advance?

I'd google this. Promotion to Major is pretty much boilerplate and I haven't looked beyond it. Good luck with your decision.

 

[aequanimitas11]

Thanks for all the great information. I'll try to keep the thread updated with any additional news in case someone else might have the same questions at some point.

 

[nash1991]

Thanks for all the great information. I'll try to keep the thread updated with any additional news in case someone else might have the same questions at some point.

Old thread but any updates? Did you end up going through STRAP?