Air Force ROTC vs Army ROTC. Which is better for a medical-based career?

2016-10-15T11:49:37-04:00

Response by SSG Karl Fowler made Oct 15 at 2016 11:59 AM

2016-10-15T11:59:35-04:00

Airforce

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 12:07 PM

2016-10-15T12:07:39-04:00

Probably Airforce. Either way you would be working the clinic. Really it seems the decision you're making is what branch, not really a specific field in medical.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 12:21 PM

2016-10-15T12:21:58-04:00

What kind of career are you looking at? If it's for something that requires graduate level education you may need an educational delay after you finish undergrad. It's my understanding that ed delays are becoming more rare on the Army side. I'm not sure if that's the case on the Air Force side or not. I would imagine that it depends on how bad the respective service needs that particular job. If they are super short on optometrists then the likelihood of getting a delay may be high. If they have a surplus on PTs getting a delay is unlikely.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 12:25 PM

2016-10-15T12:25:29-04:00

I know a Nurse Major in the USAR in who went to John Hopkins University for a Masters. She is also Psychological Operations too which is Special Operations. I would not rule out the Army Reserve.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 12:27 PM

2016-10-15T12:27:35-04:00

My last post p.s. the Army paid for her one year fellowship at John Hopkins University.

Response by SFC George Smith made Oct 15 at 2016 12:33 PM

2016-10-15T12:33:53-04:00

they are about the same as far as the medical Field... years ago when the First PA were Commissioned and the Military Medical school were graduating the first classed they were assigning the Graduated to the Service that needed the specialties the most...

Response by Cadet PVT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 12:52 PM

2016-10-15T12:52:12-04:00

both are great u don't really get to pick your career its based off a lot of factors

Response by Cadet PVT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 12:54 PM

2016-10-15T12:54:30-04:00

the openings are different for every service and vary year by year contact your local Army/Air Force Detachment Commander for info on that however make sure your grades are a1 and pt score

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2016 2:17 PM

2016-10-15T14:17:44-04:00

Navy. ;)
Plain and simple.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Oct 16 at 2016 7:34 AM

2016-10-16T07:34:35-04:00

You didn't give enough information for us to provide specific advice. All services have specialized medical recruiting. Suggest you talk to medical recruiters for their advice. Other than that, it's all about your goals. All services have medical corps.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2016 9:18 AM

2016-10-18T09:18:25-04:00

It really depends on what you mean by "medical-based career." I have been in both ROTC programs and have 7 years as a 68W and seen a lot.

If you mean working as a nurse or medical provider and you plan on getting that degree now then any service is fine. The programs will always find a place for medical students and nursing students and they can provide a lot more support for those professions that will give them the guaranteed time back in those highly needed positions.

For medical based careers that aren't medical providers (nurses, PAs, doctors, etc..) then the commissioned path is a little less controlled. While services still try to match you up with the best branch; sometimes the correct pick for them doesn't have anything to do with your education. I personally only had one medical officer as a PL that had a medical degree out of the five that I have had.

Also be sure to consider that if you are NG then the Army ROTC has the SMP program.

If you are looking for an enlisted development route that will set you up for a medical based career later in life then that is a whole different question.

Response by 1st Lt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2016 11:33 AM

2016-10-26T11:33:53-04:00

For medical officers the Air Force will start out PA's and Medical Administration (if MA's have masters) at 1st Lt. Nurses may start out as 1st Lt's if they have a masters, but I'm not sure. A doctor will start out as a captain if they have no prior medical experience. This could be DoD wide or an Air Force-specific policy. You'd have to check with a recruiter.

As far as Air Force ROTC goes, it's competitive to go past your sophomore year and go to Field Training. Also, if the Air Force Personnel Center decides they have too many officers they start restricting the number enrollment allocations to Field Training, and sometimes RIF'ing cadets who've made it past Field Training. It seems like they've gone way overboard in the past 5 years with this because we're now short on officers, so you're probably safe from big cuts to ROTC cadets.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Mar 11 at 2017 5:15 PM

2017-03-11T17:15:24-05:00

The Army is the biggest branch and thus, will have more opportunities to serve. If you do Army ROTC and are looking to become an Army doctor and are competitive to get into Medical School, you stand a high chance of getting the education delay for that.

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 23 at 2017 2:41 PM

2017-03-23T14:41:13-04:00

I mean if you are really motivated you could just out the Airforce PJ

Response by LTC John Griscom made Jan 28 at 2018 12:19 PM

2018-01-28T12:19:37-05:00

Is there a particular medical area you wish to go into? Army has the following Corps: Medical (doctors), Nurse, Dental, Veterinary, Specialist, Medical Service (administration, logistics).
I went Medical Service Corps; several of my classmates went to medical school.

Response by LTC John Griscom made May 4 at 2018 8:36 AM

2018-05-04T08:36:21-04:00

Depends on what medical area you are thinking about. The Army Medical Department has six branches; Medical Corps (doctors), Army Nurse Corps, Medical Specialist Corps, Medical Service Corps, Veterinary Corps, and Dental Corps.

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made May 4 at 2018 1:25 PM

2018-05-04T13:25:27-04:00

It would depend on what you want to do medically? If you don't want to get dirty, don't like to get messed up, and never want to be too far away from Starbucks or a hotel room, then Go AF. If you like a challenge, may do something different then you may wish to look taste Army. keep in mind I have yet to see a tactical Starbucks in the Army.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made May 4 at 2018 10:23 PM

2018-05-04T22:23:29-04:00

Since both have medical MOS's shouldn't be any difference, except you will probably work more in the Army.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 11 at 2020 6:25 AM

2020-11-11T06:25:09-05:00

I can't compare them, but I was an Air Force ROTC instructor for four years. And I saw one of my best cadets (also a nursing student) could not handle both challenges. Nursing and military obligations take a considerable amount of time and dedication. I was very sad to see her go; but she IS a very outstanding nurse today, thankfully! Research which medical career you want. And be prepared for a lot of work. Good luck!