I am about a year out of dental school and in the Air Force. I was able to get my loans deferred, but it was tricky. The exact wording on the deferment form says that you need to be active duty military "during a war." I had my commander write a letter saying that I am serving on active duty "during a war," which technically I am. Direct Loans explains it that you need to be deployed, but that is not how the requirements for the deferment are written. It took a lot of going back and forth, but I finally got my loans deferred. I still pay quite a bit on them each month, but there is no interest accruing on the Subsidized loans.