I am already in the Army Reserves, I have been in for two years. I am a 92G and would like to reclass to 68W. I do not want to commission because I have been told that officers do not go on missions with their soldiers, and I do not want to lead a team from my office. I would much rather lead from the front. I plan to be in the army for 10-20 years.

SPC (Join to see) being a Combat Medic on the line is an extremely rewarding experience, but it's only one job you'll hold and for a short time. You're going to promote out of that position in a short amount of time, or even be moved to a different section or unit. Once you make SSG there is no more going on missions, your position is in the clinic managing other personnel. The only real exception to this as a 68W is if you become a flight paramedic, and you can usually fly up until you're a SSG.

Whether it's better for you to finish school now or later is up to you. Either way, you'll be out of date and need recertifications when you leave the Army. If you finish school now your nurse certification will be out of date. If you don't finish now, your science and math will be out of date for nursing school. Plus you'll have to get reaccepted or find a new nursing program.

One possible alternative you might want to consider is that you can be a flight nurse. It's a graduate degree program and very competitive to get into. You wouldn't be eligible to apply until around the time you're a Major.

Thank you! I actually would like to be a 68W in order to become a Flight Medic. I have looked into school for that and it seems as if I can do so with the Army through their ~36 week flight medic school where you receive paramedic training. In order to set myself apart and stand out, I believe going to RASP and Airborne school (both things I would very much like to do) along with my degree will help me set myself apart from other applicants.
As for my certifications, as long as I stay up to date on my "continued education" I will hold my nursing certification for as long as I pass my mandatory courses. However, I am sure I may need some refresher courses after not working as a nurse for 10-20ish years.

SPC (Join to see) no, you're overthinking this. RASP is not a school you go to, it doesn't make you stand out. It's a selection you have to pass to join a specific unit. You go to RASP and you become a Ranger in the 75th, not a flight paramedic. You go to Airborne school and you become a medic in an Airborne unit, not a flight medic. There's no competition to become a flight medic. You just gather the documents when you're eligible to apply and submit them and you go.

As a medic you'll need to maintain your CEUs, but it would be difficult or impossible to maintain your CEUs for your nursing license over a long period of time. There are refresher courses you could take to renew your license. Whether you graduate with your BSN or later, you'll need to take some refresher courses was my point

Respect goes two ways, sir. I am already in the Army and I have been for two years. You should never tell a soldier you do not respect them or that they will "never be a part of the Army team". I believe respect is earned, not given. Yes, I did PARTLY join the Army to help pay for college much like many other people, especially officers. As for commitment? I am highly committed and plan to serve 10-20 years just like my brother, my father, and my grandfather. Additionally, no one has spoke to me about the pay. The army does not pay exceptionally well and I am sure I could make more in the civilian side , but I value the Army and my mission to serve more than I value a high paying job. However, it is good to know that I have not earned your respect and that I will never be a part of the Army team even after swearing in for 6 years. Thank you for your input, sir.

I was planning on being a nurse after the Army. Essentially setting myself up for success after my time in service. I do not want to be an officer as of right now, although that may change. In my experience, officers do not do much with their soldiers. I would much rather become an NCO and lead my team from the front. I hope I am wrong and that someday I will meet an officer who is more involved with their team. I do not know if they are even allowed to work along side low ranking enlisted soldiers or go to combat with them, or if they must stay behind the wire during missions/ oversee field trainings, PT, etc.

I am not sure where you are getting this officers don’t do much with their soldiers idea from. In AMEDD it’s just not true. We work as a team. Look at any role 1 or role 2 facility and we are all working as a well oiled team or people die. The officers who are nurses are working directly with the enlisted whether it be PAD, triage, hospital medics or field medics. Everyone regardless of education can and is expected to triage wounded, treat wounded, carry stretchers, etc..

Even take my job. Yes I am an officer with a doctoral clinical degree. I am a subject matter expert in audiology and hearing conservation, but I am working very closely with my audiology techs and my occupational hearing conservation techs who are helping me with running all the soldiers through hearing testing, hearing protection fitting and education, and follow up testing.

So yes for line officers there might be some disconnect between officers and the lower enlisted, but in AMEDD it’s just not that way.

Get your nursing degree now. Commission into the nurse corps. You will be elbow deep in the mud and blood with your lower enlisted whether you want to be or not.
Skill atrophy in the medical field is a real thing. You don’t use all that clinical nursing knowledge until 4-6 years after being enlisted and you will suffer for it both professionally because you will forget a lot of the knowledge you learned, but you also are doing a disservice to your patients. Also many employers are going to see you completed your nursing degree and then spent several years not being a nurse so you have no nursing experience so you just put yourself at a disadvantage to getting a job.


You decide what kind of officer you want to be. You want to be hands on and get dirty with the lower enlisted then awesome most of them will love you for it and that’s how I try and lead. I won’t ask anyone to do anything I won’t do. Leaders lead. They walk the walk as well as talk the talk. SPC (Join to see)