Class of 2016 Service Assignment Numbers

[Capt MJ]

What specific area would the 15 that went into Medical do? Medical School?

Each year, USNA allows a handful of highly competitive mids to deviate from the warrior path and go directly to medical school, pending their acceptance at med school. They will either go to Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), on full pay and allowances, joining other service students plus USPHS, or attend civilian medical school in inactive Reserve status with a stipend, with Navy paying the freight. There is a lengthy payback on top of their SA obligation; past threads have greater detail. It's roughly "normal" medical school sequence, internship, residencies, active duty service. They know they are going to be in uniform for a long time. Most military docs do not come from SA or ROTC but are direct commissioned/use a military scholarship for med school.

If they don't get into med school or want to change their mind (and some do), off they go to a warfare community.

 

[Memphis9489]

There is a lengthy payback (re: Med Corps) on top of their SA obligation;

Not really. The Med Corps selectees who go the civilian medical school route (HPSP), only have to serve four additional years on top of their 5-yr USNA commitment (USUHS students get seven years added). Ironically, they owe the Navy more for attending USNA than they do for medical school. In total, that comes to a 9-yr commitment, only one more year than the aviators serve. When the HPSP students graduate from medical school they are immediately brought up to full pay and benefits at the O-3 level. They are on active duty at that point.

However - here's the catch! - Just as the pilots do not begin serving their 8-yr obligation until after they earn their wings (which, for jet training, can be close to 2 years - for 10 years total in the Navy, at a minimum), the doctors do not begin serving their obligation until after they finish residency. Some residencies (especially surgery) can last over five years. Some of these doctors will be close to being O-4s before they begin serving their commitment.

It's not so much that the payback is lengthy as it is that the "clock" doesn't start ticking on their payback until so much later. That might be a difference that makes no difference, however.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[Capt MJ]

Not really. The Med Corps selectees who go the civilian medical school route (HPSP), only have to serve four additional years on top of their 5-yr USNA commitment (USUHS students get seven years added). Ironically, they owe the Navy more for attending USNA than they do for medical school. In total, that comes to a 9-yr commitment, only one more year than the aviators serve. When the HPSP students graduate from medical school they are immediately brought up to full pay and benefits at the O-3 level. They are on active duty at that point.

However - here's the catch! - Just as the pilots do not begin serving their 8-yr obligation until after they earn their wings (which, for jet training, can be close to 2 years - for 10 years total in the Navy, at a minimum), the doctors do not begin serving their obligation until after they finish residency. Some residencies (especially surgery) can last over five years. Some of these doctors will be close to being O-4s before they begin serving their commitment.

It's not so much that the payback is lengthy as it is that the "clock" doesn't start ticking on their payback until so much later. That might be a difference that makes no difference, however.

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]
Much more accurately stated - it's when payback starts that adds length of service. My intent was to give a sense of longer time in uniform than the 5 years. Thanks for chiming in.