Air Force Financial Assistance Program

[DrWahoo]

Can anyone fill me in on what it is like to be in this program.
Why did you choose this program ?
Do they station you according to the list that they make you fill out or they just place you where ever they want ?
Financially was it worth it ?

[DCJenn]

I think I can answer for Matt, at least for them it's been a pretty negative experience.

You have no control over where you go, that's one thing that is guaranteed with any branch of the military. The lists are for laughs at the placement offices, at least from my AF friends experiences. (Sally and her family included)

I have a friend who is a JAG lawyer (reserves now) and his wife is an AF ped. They listed 10 places on the West Coast from WA, ID, CA, OR, AZ, etc. He took the bar in EVERY ONE of those places so that he could practice. Nope- they were initially assigned to Oklahoma- at a base that didn't even have a reserve unit he could be assigned to. Ultimately they ended up in San Angelo, TX- and any thought they had of her staying in has long since left.

Jenn

[DrWahoo]

So there are no good expeirences with this program

[DCJenn]

It depends entirely on what you want out of it. As a means to pay off debt, yeah it can work. That said, there are a whole lot of miserable people who did it for the money without understanding that the US military is a giant soul-sucking machine that has little regard for the individual.

Personally, I have no problem with the military lifestyle. I grew up w/ family members in the military and I knew what I was getting into, having been married previously to a military person.

But, any illusion of control is a fantasy, any thought that the system will work for you is a myth. Do they want to keep their doctors happy? Yes. However, now is a dicey time in military medicine because of the BRACs (the base closures) and because they're combining services. (Army/Navy or Army/AF and occasionally AF/Navy) They're moving a lot of non-combat related health care to the community, particularly at smaller bases. My husband owes seven more years to the Army. Will they want a Child Neurologist in three more years? Who knows. There are certainly enough children to see. BUT...if the Pentagon decides to outsource all pediatric care including specialty med- then I guess he'll redeploy as an infantry officer or redeploy as administrative staff or something. The Army certainly isn't going to kiss him on the cheek and send him on his way. (nor do we want him to- we want him to retire at 20+ years and that won'thappen for another 6)

So, food for thought. If your spouse really wants to support our soldiers and airmen, is willing to do it for any and every reason BUT the money, then I say go for it. If money is the sole movtivation, misery will ensue, trust me.

Jenn

[houseelf]

This may be completely unhelpful at all, but in my experience with another MOS, what Jenn said was 100% true. The people who "owed" the Army got horrible choices. One guy listed out twenty different bases that he would live at so that his wife could potentially work in her field of marketing. No go, he ended up at Fort Lost in The Woods (er... Leonard Woods) with an unemployed wife. If I were you, I would proceed VERY cautiously with this decision.

Kelly

[DrWahoo]

Thanks alot to think about ladies.

[mommax3]

Sorry I am late to chime in, but I would have to agree with what has already been said. Don't do it *just* for the money, don't do it primarily for the money, even if you have other reasons you are considering it. In fact, don't do it AT ALL unless you would consider the military even if finances weren't a factor.

Sally

[DrWahoo]

I believe we would owe 4 years. How often do they move Docs ?

[mommax3]

You would probably be sent one place for the entire payback time, which can be a blessing or a curse, depending on where you are assigned. The Air Force moves officers (which your husband would be) usually about every three years, but when only four years are owed, they try to keep them at one place since it costs them money to move their personnel. There is a good possibility that your husband would be deployed once or twice during that four year period.

Sally

[DrWahoo]

I hate life. We are so in debt, and surviving on a Resident salary alone is going to be scary. If something happens to our car or something breaks we are screwed. We need a plan B. Right now my son is about 1 and my daughter is 5 so getting a job and paying for childcare would leave us with us with almost no money. Plus I am bipolar and need money for treatment. Again did I say I hate life

[DCJenn]

The military can be a fantastic lifestyle, provided you know what you're getting into.

Research it and talk to people (not recruiters, they have NO idea about military medicine!) and see. What does he want to do? that will also give you some indication of the liklihood of deployments, etc. The AF deployments are much shorter but more can happen more often.

On the upside- all of your medical treatments are free for the most part.

Just think it through. and be prepared for the worst possible case scenarios.

Jenn

[DrWahoo]

Thanks Jenn you have been a real help

Sorry it has been WAY to long since I have been here...I will try my best to let you know why we did what we did and the ramifications of it..

Why did you choose this program ?

My wife grew up a military brat...that being said, she HATED moving around every 3-4 years. Why we decided to sign up, well, it was a combination of things, the extra money, what it would mean for her career to have that on her CV, the possibility of more (yes, it is still there!) training, and a little bit of the unknown (you know, exotic locations...like Minot, ND!). It was also, and seems to still be the case, known that the Air Force is an "easier" place for most Docs. There is lots of smack talk that goes on when you get some of the "lifers" together from different military services. They tend to always dog the AF.

Do they station you according to the list that they make you fill out or they just place you where ever they want ?

Not really. Having absolutely NO military experience prior to this, it was a shocking awakening to having no control over much of anything. We were placed in Florida. We didn't have it listed at all, but they also didn't want to just throw DW into a clinic alone somewhere....also, we have a child with medical needs, so we were placed near (used to be Keesler) base with a child neurologist.

Financially was it worth it ?

That all depends on what day it is...We had to move to an area where housing was outrageous. We literally were outbid on homes in minutes- five times. The home we are in, is very nice, it was at the very top of what we wanted to pay, it now needs a new roof (thanks, hurricanes Charlie/Frances/Ivan/Dennis/Katrina/Rita/Wilma), the washing machine needs replaced, my car is actually moaning in the driveway because it needs to be put to sleep. So, have we been able to use the money from the FAP on us the way we intended? Not really. But it does help get you through the years of residency with a little more than the resideny-mates...if you can handle the unknowns at the other end of the line.

So there are no good expeirences with this program

I wouldn't say that, I am sure that there are many good stories. Ours is one that has always been an exception. Seems to just be our lot in life. Given the choice again, we would have chosen a different route, contracting for rural work somewhere or something different. That doesn't mean that things would have been different for us by any means, but we wouldn't make the same choice twice.

I believe we would owe 4 years. How often do they move Docs ?

That is the normal amount with the FAP. The moving of Docs is undergoing a little change. They are trying to figure out how to keep them in and not move them as much. That doesn't mean that you won't get moved. There are some that get moved every 3 years, there are others that haven't been moved for about 5years. But, officers get moved much more often than enlisted, and for Dr's they are moved pretty frequent.

Research it and talk to people (not recruiters...

Amen to that. If you need more information, PM me, I would be happy to do whatever I can.

[DCJenn]

Dr. Wahoo-

I would suggest three things:

1) Let him read ALL of the posts in the military med section

2) Go to SDN and read the bitter, nasty posts from bitter burned out military docs. (seriously, these are the people he will be working with) but remember happy people don't post...

3) Have him call the clinic at Ft. Meade. Tell him to speak to the clinic chief and see if the chief will meet with him for 20 minutes or to talk about military medicine. 301-677-8800. or even better, call the Malcom Grow Medical Center at Andrews AFB at (301) 857-5911. It may take him a while to find the right person but I think direct contact with someone who is doing it would help.

Jenn

[DrWahoo]

Here's a helpful link in case someone needs more info about FAP

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=189443