hi everyone..

i'm a Registered Medical Technologist, 31 y/o and have been approached by a couple of people in the lab about joining either a medical unit in the ONG or the medical unit local naval reserve.

i have no prior military background..
i do realize that it is a tremendous responsibility to deal with especially with employers and family matters. my grandfather was a CSM in the 95th for a long time and remember how much time it took. but in the 70's and 80's it was uncommon for units to be called up for long term deployments..

anyone here have any suggestions or questions i should ask?? before i even go any further in talking to medical recruiters.


thanks a bunch...

Firstly, you have to ask this of yourself. If you get called up, can your family deal with the disparity of pay from civilian to military. Serving your country is great, however, lets face it. We all have bills. I had an Employer, AXA Financial, that paid for the difference between my mil salary and my co salary, when if and when I got called up and also on my 2wks drill. Ask your employer their policy.

Secondly, are you prepared to get called up. Being in the medical field you will be one of the first to be called. Can your family handle the deployment?

Now for the recruiters. Get everything in writing. Specially when it come to the schools they promise to send you. Best question to ask is; "what do you have to offer?" Then shut up and let the recruiter talk. If you do not like what he/she says, then walk. Go to the next service.

I was in an NG medical unit---a MASH unit of all things---but it was 30 years ago. The thing about being in a medical unit is that you will probably find that your living conditions are one heck of a lot better than in other Army units----when on active duty you'll typically be clean and dry and warm----you'll have good food, a good place to sleep, etc.  My experience, too, was that there was quite a bit less of the "spit and polish" and "gung-ho attitude" in a medical unit, as compared with other Army units.  That said, my experiences were, as indicated, 30 years ago----my impression is that quite a bit more is expected of members of the ER/NG today, as compared to when I was in. Heck, when I was in, they were just happy if we showed up on time, stayed somewhat sober and didn't get into too much trouble.

Muddydog,
If you go Navy reserve you can go NPSAC. That menas you can go in as an E-3 thru E-5 and only have to go to 2 weeks abbreviated basic training. The navy is also very flexible with drill weekends, allowing you to make up drills thru the week.

Yup ain't that the truth. Hell, I haven't drilled in a year. Since I served active already, I'm non-obligor. Of course I have not earned any points towards retirement for last year either. All I had to do was take the PFT and my annual medical exam.