How is Army Officer life as an OT in the AMEDD? Do you spend a lot of time training and doing career courses?

Sgt James West — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 11:33:40 -0400

I’m prior service enlisted USMC 2004-2008. I’m currently an Occupational Therapist and am thinking of taking a commission with the Army for OT. I’ve already been board selected and approved for O3-E. (Still waiting on MEPS eval before I can swear in.)

When I started my package I wasn’t 100% sure if I would accept if selected, I just wanted to know if it was an option as civilian OT sector is taking huge pay cuts and dwindling job market.

Looking for pros and cons of Army officer life in AMEDD. I have a 3 and 1 year old that I would be uprooting from a lot of close relatives. I’m nervous to pull the trigger and do it, that my kids would hate not living by family as they got a bit older. Doesn’t seem like therapists deploy too much, but all of the career courses seem to add up to a lot of time away from my family. Any feedback from similar fields/disciplines?

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2021 1:40 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 13:40:12 -0400

AD vs Reserves? I have overseen a few in the reserves so I might be able to speak to that but they are full time OTs in the civ world.
I can’t imagine AD would pay more than civ but perhaps an AD OT can chime in.
Life is similar to most other AMEDD folk not on the combat medical occupation list. So expect to deploy to mostly role 3 and above environments which in centcom is basically Kuwait and you can figure out the others in other AOs. So as you figured they don’t deploy as much as trauma docs but the strength numbers and the particular optemp will determine frequency. As far as AD life and the PCS hustle that will be similar to other AD AMEDD folk as well. You can make some requests but “needs of the army” blah blah blah will rule.

Good luck. Hope you get more answers from folk closer to the OT world.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 21 at 2021 3:05 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 15:05:46 -0400

You will be a REMF.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2021 9:12 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 21:12:25 -0400

I was AD for 10 years, long break in service, and now a reservist.

03E is 72K per year, plus BAH and BAS.
From a bit of google, that appears to compare quite well to civilian pay, more so if you are seeing cuts on the civilian side. And predictable raises despite market whims. And Tricare is a hugely underrated benefit. Frustrating at times? Sure. But AD folks with no experience with commercial insurance have no idea just how 'good' Tricare is.

I certainly understand your family concerns. It was one of the reasons I left AD. That said, I also doubled my income leaving AD. You are in a nearly completely different boat.

In a civilian job market with dwindling opportunities as you imply, is it better to be close to family but financially insecure? Or AD and much more stable financially? Tough questions, I know. And no right answer.

I think the AD side is a great place for pretty much everyone clinical in AMEDD (except most physician specialties, unfortunately). It gives you the option to continue on in your medical occupation and the option of command, independent of your MOS.

Semper Fi! (Go Army, Beat Navy) and best of luck whatever you decide.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2021 10:33 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 22:33:43 -0400

I’m a PT, not an OT, but I can provide some perspective. I’m also embedded in a line unit, not working in a MTF. I actually prefer this setting for this most part. Working in a traditional clinic feels constraining to me. I probably spend more time in the field or other training than the AMEDD providers. I don’t think their training requirements are terribly time consuming. I believe you have to complete BOLC and CCC right off the bat. After making Major you may need to attend ILE. There are some optional professional education opportunities. The OTs can attend a DSc program at Ft Sam, which I believe is around 18 months long. Once again, this would be optional.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but it’s only fair to have all available info before making such a big decision. PTs have been serving in BCTs for around a decade but OTs have been mostly in MTFs. This is slated to change with the H2F roll-out. As of now OTs are set to be on the Cognitive Enhancement teams. I believe this is a major driver behind the Army creating their own entry level OT program to use a feeder vs direct accessions. There is a possibility you could end up in one of these positions. You won’t be a door kicker but the optempo in a line unit is definitely different than in the MTF.

Response by LTC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 22 at 2021 9:45 AM

LTC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 09:45:55 -0400

I can't tell you anything about OT, only the perspective of an AMEDD officer. First, the AMEDD is transitioning to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and a lot of things are changing. The official position of the military is that we are transitioning to a force that is more focused on deploying and supporting the wartime effort. Close to 7000 medical positions are targeted to be converted to war-fighter positions over the next several years. The COVID pandemic put this on hold, but I personally believe that it is only a matter of time before these jobs are permanently lost. Unfortunately, I don't get the sense that the decisions of what positions to cut are well thought out, but that is a discussion for another time. My only point in bringing this up is that we are going through a significant transition in military medicine and I am not sure what the future holds (I retire in less than a year so it is not my problem).

You will have to do the standard officer training that we all go through, OBC (called something else now), Captain's Career Course, ILE, etc... CCC used to be 9 weeks and now it is 20. There are also other trainings you will need to complete depending on your MOS. And, there are the wonderful yearly trainings like SHARP, EO, EEO, MRT, etc... The list grows longer every year as the military responds to cultural trends and problems within the ranks.

I've served in combat arms, as an operational doc and am now finishing up in an academic role, so I've seen many sides of the Army. There is good and bad to being in the military, just like anything else. I have enjoyed my time on Active Duty but am getting to the point where I'm just tired of the whole thing. There is a lot of time wasted, a lot of last minute taskers and then just the plain silliness of how we do things, from getting your car inspected to take leave or getting the 0400 phone call to donate urine for Uncle Sam. The moving every few years can be a strain, but I believe my children are more mature and resilient as a result of having moved multiple times and having to start new social networks.

All that being said, I've been able to do a surgical residency and Fellowship and published multiple academic papers and book chapters. I've been able to build partnerships with civilian institutions and do a ton of great surgery. So it has been worth it for me. You will have to do evaluate whether the ups outweigh the downs. I stayed in as long as I did because more opportunities for professional development kept presenting themselves, but my experience is different than many others who had better or worse experiences. I think it is smart to look at the military, warts and all, and come to terms that you will be giving up a lot of autonomy, freedom and will be part of a massive bureaucracy...that is just a fact. If you can put up with the bad, navigate the system successfully and get what you want out of it, it is worth it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 22 at 2021 12:53 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 12:53:31 -0400

About reserves: there are PTs and OTs that report up through an FH (Field Hospital), and they deploy. They do not (typically) qualify for 90 “boggers” (think gen surg or Ortho for FST assignments, which are now called FRSDs). So keep that in mind. My Qualifications: 8 years in USMC reserve, 0311; now: O-4 61J (gen surg), joined 2013, in Army reserve. Please note that about 90% of Army medical is in the reserve.