TACP vs Healthcare Specialist

[AWP]

Is there anything I can do-- other than keeping my head down and working really hard at independent training, letting my hard work speak for me-- to improve my chances of being assigned to a combat unit?

In the Guard you can, or will, enlist directly into a unit and will know this unit before you ship for Basic. You can, let's say a combat arms unit is 100 miles away, sign a waiver to make that drive for every drill, but that carries the additional time commitment of being there on time and no one cares about the distance because you signed a waiver. Something else to consider is a slot may or may not exist. You could have an infantry company 10 miles from your house (yay), the nearest AVAILABLE 68W slot in the infantry is 150 miles away (b00), but there's a 68W slot at a hospital unit 20 miles away. Decisions, decisions. The Air Guard and Reserves have great units that do aoermedical evacuation: basically transporting patients from large forward deployed hospitals back to places like Germany or the States.

At the risk of patronizing, I would encourage the latter option if available to you. The life won't be as harsh but you'll pick up some great knowledge and have a MUCH, MUCH better quality of life. Maybe you're thinking "screw that" and I respect the view, but understand there are other options out there. You could even find a Navy Reserve unit with Corpsman slots...you need to do this on your own. Hit up Google and search for army national guard units (your state goes here) or aeromedical evacuation units (your state goes here). Actually, I'll give you a free one, found using the methods above:
Aeromedical evacuation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now start stringing together those key words and build a list of units, jobs, and locations. Narrow your focus and pull the trigger.

 

[Fraserm2016]

Awesome, thank you so much

 

[AWP]

Moved since this is no longer an AFSOC issue.

 

[DocIllinois]

At the risk of patronizing, I would encourage the latter option if available to you. The life won't be as harsh but you'll pick up some great knowledge and have a MUCH, MUCH better quality of life. Maybe you're thinking "screw that" and I respect the view, but understand there are other options out there.

WTF, why the Air guys gotta be hatin' on us Neanderthal Army bastards?

Sleeping on the ground, digging ticks out of your groin, standing in an Abrams' exhaust in the morning to avoid hypothermia, unbelievably depraved interpersonal banter - you're discouraging this wannabe from all that sexiness!

Go Army, F2016. You'll never know what hit you.

 

[Jael]

If you are interested in going the officer route why don't you just apply for the AFA, West Point or ROTC and use the resources there to talk to people who have been in those career fields?

 

[AWP]

WTF, why the Air guys gotta be hatin' on us Neanderthal Army bastards?

Sleeping on the ground, digging ticks out of your groin, standing in an Abrams' exhaust in the morning to avoid hypothermia, unbelievably depraved interpersonal banter - you're discouraging this wannabe from all that sexiness!

Go Army, F2016. You'll never know what hit you.

I was Army, now I work around the AF. I try to be realistic with each branch's pros and cons.

If you are interested in going the officer route why don't you just apply for the AFA, West Point or ROTC and use the resources there to talk to people who have been in those career fields?

To echo this, every year the academies set aside 85 slots for the Guard and the same number for the Reserves. While I wouldn't join either with the intent of gaming the system, I think it is a good Plan B (along with OCS/ OTS and ROTC) for those who qualify. I work with a Captain who spent a year at Ohio State as an E-3 in the Guard before going to the AFA.

 

[Johca]

Moved since this is no longer an AFSOC issue.

It never was an AFSOC issue, but an entry/initial enlisted classification issue (entry job placement) combined with getting into a basic officer training commissioning program and subsequently once obtaining initial military commission appointment getting accepted into and through the CRO two tier screening and selection process just to get put into the required two years of training to become an entry level CRO.

Most curious is no query was made to the OP concerning the enlisted healthcare enlisted job choice and whether that connected to the anticipated degree program being pursued and any assumptions/presumptions on how this degree connects to performing CRO duties. If the degree choice is Nursing, physician assistant, or any other medical degree connected to a professional commission vs line officer commission there will be much shattering and destructions of utilization presumptions and assumptions concerning the performance of CRO duties and responsibilities.

 

[DA SWO]

I'd suggest Air Guard as an Aeromedical Technician.
WV,MS, and NY have the heaviest tasking right now, 120 day tours are routinely offered.

ETA, just found out they are 180 day tours.

 

[Muppet]

All I will say that @policemedic has not covered is that I made no mistake choosing to be a U.S. Paratrooper and medic for Infantry. You will learn alot and I actually earned my civilian paramedic cert while @ Ft. Bragg. I am now a civilian paramedic for the last 16 years (@policemedic and I went to to paramedic school together) and everything I learned years ago @ Bragg, I still use today.....

M.

 

[pardus]

Is there anything I can do-- other than keeping my head down and working really hard at independent training, letting my hard work speak for me-- to improve my chances of being assigned to a combat unit?

None of the bolded will make any difference unfortunately.
You will be assigned a unit by your recruiter, they will just be looking at a computer screen, finding an open medic slot and clicking your name as assigned to that unit.
So, what you can do, is tell the/a recruiter "I want to be assigned to a combat unit", and if a slot is available, the recruiter is amenable, the stars are in alignment, and the wind is blowing in the right direction, you might just pull it off, might...
Of course you need to remember that females in combats units are a new thing and as such, there will be challenges to face. But with the right attitude, there is no reason that you can't make a great success of it.

 

[pardus]

I'd suggest Air Guard as an Aeromedical Technician.
WV,MS, and NY have the heaviest tasking right now, 120 day tours are routinely offered.

Interesting...

 

[AWP]

Interesting...

A few years ago the cutoff age for Air Guard/ Reserves was 39, with or without prior service. I don't know if that's changed though.