I thought about going Airborne then Rangers. To get in the Rangers as a medic you also have to take the socom medic course and spend a month at a local trauma center. all this in addition to everything else a Ranger does.
Currently im enlisted in the NG, however from what i have heard, its not too hard to transfer to active.

This post has been edited by Jonathan68W: May 7th 2009 11:38 PM

Congratulations! As has already been mentioned, you will not be attending Ranger School from the get-go. You'll complete AIT and the Basic Airborne Course then endure the fun of RIP. Ranger School will be an "option" down the line. Stick with your contract, I've known too many 11Bs that take Option 40 (Airborne Ranger) then give up in RIP, if they make it that far. More than a few end up in the Old Guard, sporting their shiny Parachutist Badge and a slick story as to why they couldn't hack it in RIP or got talked into volunteering for TOG.

As for EOD, let the PS guys have those slots. It seems all male Prior Service applicants are being offered nowadays are that, 18X (Special Forces Candidate) and 11X (Infantry). Funny thing is that most of them expect preferential treatment, then walk away when they realize they will not only receive no bonus but will have to actually choose a combat arms job.

It's harder than many people think. One of the more frustrating things I have to deal with as a detailed Recruiter are the dedicated kids who want to go active but were enticed by a slick-tongued Guard Recruiter. I've had kids already enlisted in the Guard tell me they were switching to active as soon as their training is completed; others walk into the office almost on a daily basis. Catch-22 states that you only need a release from your unit but that your unit may not release you (especially if already MOS-Q) as doing so will create a manpower loss. Two simple pieces of paper, a DD368 and a DA4187. One big obstacle, a stubborn commander.

thanks, I need to know my options. I may fill out my contract with the guard then reenlist as active, if I cant transfer.

Congrats, I am glad everything worked out for you.

Congrats!!! I have been an Army Medic for 22 years now. You are getting a shot at one of the best jobs in the Army. We have a saying, "Don't piss off the cooks, the supply Sergeant or the Medic". The first thing you have to understand before you get to your first unit is that the other Joes (from the CDR and 1SG on down) are depending on you to be a subject matter expert on all things medical. In other words, study hard and be prepared to execute as soon as you get to your first assignment. 22 years ago I was in your shoes and I wished an old timer would have told me what to expect. I realized pretty fast that the other soldiers in the unit were depending on me to be a competent medic. More importantly if you are a S T U D instead of a DUD, you have an MOS that has several options available for you in the fututre. You can realistically make SFC/E-7 in ten years or enter into a Master's program to become a PA or Physical Therapist and pick up your commission in the process. Airborne and successful completion of Ranger school are both ticket punching jobs that will fast track you to E-7 and E-8. One of the soldiers (PV1), he drove one of my M113 APCs in Germany back in 1998, went Airborne Ranger and I saw him nine years later tabbed out and wearing E-7 rank. Your future is bright if you want to make the Army a career. All you have to do is stay motivated, recognize the difference between an NCO and a sergeant (sergeants are wearing the rank but provide little in the way of leadership), and take college courses. In fact, you need to sign up for eArmyU as soon as you are assigned to your first duty station. Next you need to get into as many Army courses as possible. A good course to ask about when you get to 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Ranger Batt is the Special Operations Combat Medic Course. Medics that complete this course can challenge the flight paramedic exam. These are just some of th eoptions available to you. If you need more info or just have a question look me up in AKO (Siva L. Williams) i'll be glad to give you the 411.

Good Luck in Basic and stay focused.

How is your knee doing? Did you ship on time?

Congratulations!

Congrats Man! Glad to hear the color blindness didn't hold you back. Trust me you'll have a blast as a medic and listen to what DragonDoc says about listening and school and making yourself better at every opportunity you can get. Keep your head down in the books, pay attention to instructors and ESPECIALLY the guys with experience (cause you'll learn more from them than a book anyway). And grab any school you can to better yourself. Had a lot of great friends that were and still are medics both in and out of field units or attached to infantry and a couple docs I know over in the SOCOM world. Got crosstrained myself for additional medical training when I became an instructor for my Battalion and loved every minute of it. Have fun and keep up the good work.

WOW, Man I must have been blind (color? Ouch ) to not see this thread was thriving. You know what I never really had quite an interest in the medical field but you know what I think it'll be something really good in my life (Or at least to get a friend to sign off for correct CV, haha). I didn't know about that extra medic training for rangers, should be interesting. I'm going to take as many classes as time allows and get as much training as I can (What are the extra letters after someones MOS with their extra training?) Like everyone says "The Army is what you make of it". I definitely think its going to be the best experience (and most fun) in my lifetime. Thanks for the posts guys! I love hearing about what other medics have experienced and how much they love their jobs.

Congratulations!

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS, brs2627! I Thank You, Soldier, for your service.


CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS Jonathan68W! I Thank You, Soldier, for your service.



And another CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS to GI JOE! You know who you are.



I am cheering you all on!

DragonDoc,

I would definitely like to hear about your experiences in the army as a medic! Send me a message sometime

And does anyone know someone that did similar to what I'm doing ??

Another good thing about my contract (I feel lucky) they paid of my school loans-$55k (From only two years). At first I signed off the GI bill and I wouldn't get money for school after. Thankfully a new bill passed and I get both. That said I probably won't use any of it, Like cajun said, I plan to take classes whenever I have any free time to get my degree and make the Army my career for the next 20 years or more.

just stick with it and you will be good to go when it matters most

take the GI-Bill anyway even if you don't use it you can sign it over to a spouse or child