Does anybody here know of, or are themselves, AMEDD officers that work at any Army research centers like USAMRIID?

Christopher P.H. - Alright so it looks like me already having spent my 2 years and 50 grand on an MS might work in my favor in terms of "DC is really meant for those civs who already footed the bill/time, and carry a unique technical skill." and may help with promotions. Great! Hope I can commission as an O-2 instead of O-1 then, be great if that happens.

Secondly, looks like Army may like my preferred PhD choices as they fall under "Allied Health (public health/epi)". So that's good to know.

And makes sense that they wouldn't want to pay for PhD for an enlisted on b/c he/she might not even end up getting picked for DC.

Haha yes I have noticed y'all PhDs are experts are gathering and stashing knowledge, valuable skill. Are you going for DC also? My MS is from Johns Hopkins, GPA 3.97 but by rule, E-4 was the highest Army would let me enlist as a non-citizen. Could have only enlisted as an E-3 if I went any other branch. EDIT - and yes it does feel like a low ball and frustrating that I cannot use my qualifications to their full potential and go as an officer b/c I am not a citizen. C'est la vie.

Christopher P.H. - Ah yes the board, they will make or break my packet. I know I need to write my motivation statement like my life depends on it along with some bad-a$$ letters of recommendation haha. And thank you for explaining how the DC rank filling system works. I was just telling someone that I wish there was a beacon of information I could ask each and every question I had about the Army instead of information hunting-and-gathering from every source I can get my hands on.
As to why officer... I should be able to answer that question by now as I am shipping out in 6 days and sealing my fate for the next decade or so if I do. But... I am going to put that question in the pile of questions from the last paragraph of your previousX3 comment and hopefully I will have an answer for myself before Feb 11.

SPC (Join to see) - You seem fine and as soldiers say "squared away". There is a cultural element to all this too...it isn't a civ job. Officer-ship is a privilege and responsibility...they are role models and exemplars for those ranking under. Above all, Officers must do right by the Constitution. Experience is key here...not just academics. You could say O-1 are academics, and as you rank up it is experience and logistics. Thoughts to keep in mind for the packet.

Me...I've gotten a bit side-tracked with my fancies of a DC. For my intended career path there are only so many direct routes to achieve it. One of these routes includes a DC 71B. For me, however, who doesn't need any educational debt taken care of, a DC would simply be another line of experience on the CV. When you get to a doctoral level, it is hard to put the foot down and stop "gaining training experiences". As of now, I'm going all-in on another Civ Federal route to reach this goal. If this doesn't pan out, I will re-address the DC route. It is a bit of a cultural and lifestyle change. Nothing I haven't had some familiarity with growing up, but the older one gets the more difficult these scales of change are.

Christopher P.H. - Got it, thank you so much for that I will make sure my packet reflects such notions.
And I am sorry about that but I can definitely understand why at a doctoral level you wouldn't want to add just another line of experience on your CV but something with substance in it. I hope the federal route works out for you, best of luck with everything!

As for me if I go in now, here's what I am looking at;
at 26 y/o - enlist as 68W
between 27-28 - hopefully be able to put in my DC packet
by 30 - hopefully an officer
between 31-32 - hopefully be working on a PhD
by 37 or 38 - hopefully be done with PhD at which point I would be in the Army for more than 10 years so might as well stay in and retire
by 46 - retire from Army as an officer at some rank and look for a federal position to start off at GS-12 or GS-13 while drawing retirement from Army, alternatively work some high paying civ job
by 66 - retire from federal position, at which point I am drawing two retirements; Army and fed

Don't go in now;
26 - find another contract based job in the biodefense world or go back to old biodefense job and apply for citizenship right away
by 28 - hopefully be a citizen, may consider joining army again as an officer at this point
by 29 - officer in army/GS-8 or GS-9 in a fed job/dragging on through a mediocre paying civ federal contract job/entertaining the idea of getting a PhD
between 30-35 - living poor on a low PhD stipend if not in Army
by 36 - if in Army rank up using the PhD/if not in Army then try to go the federal route this time with a PhD
36-64 - depends on where I end up
65 - retire with only one retirement

Going one route grants a financially secure future and great retirement options but don't know when in the process will I get to work in my field again. Perhaps after my PhD?
Going another route I will likely get to keep working in my field pre- and post-PhD but at the cost of living poor for 5 years during my PhD and possibly a mediocre retirement later.

Life. Choices. Consequences.
(hardly squared away haha)

Thank you!

Thank you for your comment LTC Mackay. I have consulted with an AMEDD recruiter, they were great and provided me with all the necessary details on commissioning as an AMEDD officer. Unfortunately, they could not provide details regarding the question posted above because I wanted to know about my chances in the specific field of Biodefense, so I thought I'd try asking around here on RallyPoint. AOC wise, I'm specifically eyeing 71E which the AMEDD recruiter said I qualified for based on degrees and experience. My others choices are 71A, 71B, or 74A (took a semester in CBRN, really enjoyed learning and wouldn't mind working in this field).