(repost) - Corpsman and ROTC / Service Academies

Hey,

I have had a long history of taking medical classes, and with the influence of my parents, I have decided that I want to do something both medical and army/navy/air force. Please do not think that I am here just asking for help blindly, but I have done lots of research on this and it is a little confusing - if anyone has any information please help me.

I know that there is an army medic and a navy hospital corpsman. I did the side by side comparison between the 2 and I decided that corpsman was better. I looked up how I become a Navy corpsman and I saw that there was a boot camp for like 9 weeks and then some classes on human anatomy and stuff. And thats it. You're a corpsman. This is great and all, but this really only qualifies as an "assistant" to the more certified medical personnel. I would prefer to have a college degree at least and then do something army/navy/airforce medical related. I know that I want to have an amazing experience, and that corpsman are able to be deployed with seals (correct if wrong). I just want to have that same experience, but maybe at a little higher level with more college training if you understand what im saying. My parents would look down upon me if I didnt even go to college and took up this job, although admirable, with the short education and low status type thing.

This is where my ROTC questions come into place. I am also trying out for ROTC, so can this help with my desires? I also am applying to USNA and USAFA as well as USMA. Can I do anything in the service academies which would allow me to follow through with my desires?

Simple: Go to the Academy, become a SEAL officer, then go to medical school and get that medical license.

This is a repost from USAFA forum for those who only visit this forum:

Harqur, I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman for 10 years a very long time ago. The path for me was 10 weeks of boot camp in Florida where you transitioned from civilian to military life. You got in shape, learned to march and learned the ways of the Navy. After that, I transferred to Great Lakes Hospital Corps School for another 10 or so weeks (can't remember) where we learned how to be a Corpsman. We learned patient care, emergency care, basic things you need to function as a Corpsman. After that, I was transferred to the Naval Hospital Long Beach to begin my career. There are, or at least there were, two types of schools: "A" school and "C" school. "A" school trained you as a basic Hopsital Corpsman and "C" school allowed you to specialize in more advanced training such as cardiology, radiology, urology, respiratory therapy etc. I am not sure what or if "C" schools are offered now, but any recruiter can tell you, or perhaps you can go onto the Navy webpage and find out. They also used to have a program for Independent Duty Corpsman that was even more training and you were allowed to run your own types of clinics. I am not sure if they still offer that.

I enlisted first in the Navy as a Corpsman and loved my job for the most part, but there were some I had that had nothing really to do with medical. I did my best and gave 110% at those jobs because I had a plan and I wanted more. I went to school at night whenever I could and then applied for the MECP (Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program). I did not get selected until the third year I applied. At my 10 year mark I went to nursing school on the Navy's dime and was commissioned in the Nurse Corps with a 4 year payback. I later earned a Masters as an FNP via DUINS (Duty Under Instruction) where the Navy paid my salary and tuition in exchange for a 2 year obligation and retired after 20 years. It was not a direct route, but it got me to my goal. The Navy was very good to me and it was an honor to serve.

If you go ROTC you will be competing for something other than Corpsman, i.e. nurse, doctor, dentist. You do not need a degree to become a Corpsman, but it certainly will help you with advancement. Although you can do some much needed, very exciting and challenging things as a Corpsman, you are limited in your scope of practice, that is why I became a nurse. And, as you make rank your duties will steer away from patient care and more toward management and leadership of lower enlisted ranks. You have that at the officer level as well, but IMO you can work with patients much longer depending on which professional degree you pursue. With that considered, you have to ask yourself how much you want to do, how much school do you want to put under your belt and what responsibilities would like to have.

I have done both, enlisted and officer. Each has their own pros and cons and I certainly enjoyed each one. If I were to do it all over again, I would have pursued a nursing degree right out of high school and then joined the military as an officer. At the time, I really needed a job and could not afford the college, so I enlisted. It took me longer to get a degree, but in the end, it worked for me. Hope this helps.

BTW, being a Corpsman is not "low status", just a different way of doing something you love. They are an absolute necessary job in the Navy and many times are the first life saving defense in a time of war. They are highly respected.

Harqur,

I believe in the ROTC program you will know for sure which program your going for (dentist ,pa, etc). However, if you go to the academy it is not certain you will get picked up for a medical or a SEAL position . Out of entire classes there are usually only 10 slots combined for both of these positions . By all means chase your goals and dream but consider the chances as well. If you go the corpsman route the pipeline can be fun , you will go through FMF school most likely . But understand ALOT of them aren't attached to marine units or special warfare units and do not deploy AT ALL. Majority of them work in clinics and don't leave the clinics till there tours are over . Secondly, the corpsman advancement rates are TERRIBLE it is not unusual to see corpsman that have been in 4+ years and still E3. I have seen however a handful of corpsman go from enlisted to officer with STA21 commissioning program with a guaranteed medical slot . Just a heads up! Decide your dream and chase it message me if you have any more questions.

SEALs have around 20-25 billets a year at USNA. Medical Corps allows up to 2% of the graduating class to go Doctor. Usually it ends up being around 15ish spots a year. ROTC has similar numbers as USNA in regards to spots.

Nurse Option scholarships are different than regular scholarships, so you will know if you are going nurse or not. These are limited and competitive. This option is not available at USNA. There are no PA kind of spots with a direct ROTC or USNA commission. You would have to go to school and then apply for OCS with those designated contracts to get these kind of unique spots.

NavyHoops said:

SEALs have around 20-25 billets a year at USNA. Medical Corps allows up to 2% of the graduating class to go Doctor. Usually it ends up being around 15ish spots a year. ROTC has similar numbers as USNA in regards to spots.

Nurse Option scholarships are different than regular scholarships, so you will know if you are going nurse or not. These are limited and competitive. This option is not available at USNA. There are no PA kind of spots with a direct ROTC or USNA commission. You would have to go to school and then apply for OCS with those designated contracts to get these kind of unique spots.

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Navy hoops as always thanks for the information! Much appreciated .