First, is 68W really off the BEAR program? I was thinking about reclass. Second, if it's put back on the list before I ETS, who can provide some details about this MOS so I can make a solid decision about this? I'd like to know about AIT location, AIT duration, length of new contract, CONUS duties, combat duties, promotion possibilities, additional identifiers, etc. Lastly, I'd like to know how this BEAR program works. Do I reenlist before or after AIT? When does the bonus get paid? Stuff like that......

I can answer a few questions for you both my wife and I are 68W former(91W) we have been in this MOS sence 2003. The 68W has many variations you can be posted with an infantry unit or anyother combat unit, or in a hospital type setting. Remember this no matter what unit there is they all have medics, so you can go just about anywhere. I personally have worked in a hospital for my first 3 years in the ER and in a clinic. my duties varied from basic vital signs (boring) to limited invasive procedures ( little better) I am now with an Airborne Forward Surgical Team and my duties are a lot more enabeling we can do most if not all invasive procedures as well as assisting in the operations. AIT is about 9 months long in San Antonio Texas, a beautiful place. ASI's are numerous the most popular is the M6 which is for an LPN....hope this helps any other questions re 68w feel free to send an email to me at rosacorsa@yahoo.com

"Next to God, a Soldier's Best Friend" the combat medic. There are many different positions that the medic holds and it depends on the unit that you are assigned. Rosacorsa has the intel on hospital jobs and has what I would think is the hottest job a straight medic can hold, the Forward Surgical Team! I have been in a field unit the whole time starting with a ground ambulance company (more field and motor pool, driving like maniacs through Baghdad and less sick call) and a Forward Support Battalion which still has a lot of field, but more trauma, patient care and sick call. The infantry doc will be on ground with the guys, first to lay hands on and to provide some of the most critical care. The next stop may include working with x-ray, patient hold, laboratory, optomerty, dental, etc (they are different MOS, but working with them is great). From there we also have the Combat Support Hospital with even more capabilities and the medics there get more into the details of medications, wound care, some physical therapy (additional skill identifier for a medic) etc. In hospitals (all hear-say) the medics work in all wards and you may be in the OB-GYN birthing babies, in the ER, critical care, family pratice, same day surgery, and all sorts of areas of care. There are even places medics can work, almost without support (from other medical types I mean)in the Civil Affairs Teams. Lots of great opportunities, and many different levels of care you can work at with a lot of job variety. Not to mention the great instructor opportunities that are available. I hope other medics will write in with their experiences and input on the job. No greater job out there!

Bring it on,

AIT training for 68W is 16 weeks. (4 months, NOT 9 months) ((correction from above))

Here is the link to the 68W home page.

http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/68w/

The location of training is yes, Fort Sam Houston (san antonio, tx) It IS beatifull here.

The promotions are about army average, Id say. Roughly 650pts for SGT, and 760 for SSG.

With the BEAR, I do know you re-up BEFORE AIT, and your bonus is paid after you complete training and sign into your working duty station.

(Army re-up or another retention expert will prolly post for the details on all that, to include the 68W - BEAR program)

ASI's for 68W:

F5 is an Army Flight Medic
M6 is the Army's Licensed Practical Nurse
P6 is an orthopedics specialist (clinical)
Y8 is an immunization-allergy specialist (clinical, lab)
N3 is the Army's Occupational Therapy Assistant (clinical)
N9 is a physical therapy technician (clinical)
W1 is a special operations combat medic (SOCM)

I just reclassed to 68W through the BEAR program, I've been a medic for almost four months now. Before I went to AIT I had to extend my contract 29 months, so that I would have at least 24 months left on my contract after completion of AIT. After completing AIT I had up to 90 days to reenlist in order to get my bonus. When you reenlist your extension is thrown out, and you start a new term of service from the date of your reenlistment. You will get the bonus from the MILPER message you extended under, or the bonus from the MILPER message when you reenlist, whichever is HIGHER. I can't tell you much about the job, because my unit is deployed and I've been doing a lot of detail. After AIT, unfortunately I returned to the 82nd, back to the same company and battalion that I was previously assigned. I can say that I LOVED AIT during duty hours, and what San Antonio had to offer on the weekends. During AIT be prepared for to interact, and maybe even live with some initial entry soldiers. The drill sergeants, yes even prior service have to deal with the drill sergeants, do not play around when it come to mistreating or fraternizing with initial entry soldiers(happens very often). Try to get an ASI guarantied BEFORE you get to Ft. Sam Houston, if that's what you want. Because once you get there, it's not gonna happen if you are not guard or reserve. Be prepared to be on lock-down your first few days while you are at reception, and possibly your first week or so after you're assigned a company, depending on what company you're assigned to. Hopefully that answers some questions you may have.

Wow, this is all great stuff. This makes it so much easier to decide what to do. So how will this work in my case? I have to complete my contract (AIP) which ends DEC07. NOTE: This is also my ETS date. Do I reenlist under my current MOS or do I reenlist to reclass? Or do I just extend under the BEAR program to include the 24 extra months after AIT is complete? If I had to reenlist under my current MOS do I get the bonus currently offered? And if so, will I lose the larger bonus offered for MOS 68W? I plan to ask my retention NCO next week but I thought one of you might have some information. Thanks so much for the real life stories. Sounds like this MOS is perfect for me and my family. And this way the army keeps another soldier who lives by the standard 24/7.

quote:

Originally posted by bring it on:
Wow, this is all great stuff. This makes it so much easier to decide what to do. So how will this work in my case? I have to complete my contract (AIP) which ends DEC07. NOTE: This is also my ETS date. Do I reenlist under my current MOS or do I reenlist to reclass? Or do I just extend under the BEAR program to include the 24 extra months after AIT is complete? If I had to reenlist under my current MOS do I get the bonus currently offered? And if so, will I lose the larger bonus offered for MOS 68W? I plan to ask my retention NCO next week but I thought one of you might have some information. Thanks so much for the real life stories. Sounds like this MOS is perfect for me and my family. And this way the army keeps another soldier who lives by the standard 24/7.

I don't know how anything about AIP, so I'm not sure if it would affect the BEAR program. You will extend before you go to AIT, and your bonus will be guarantied in writing on your extension paperwork, under the condition that you reenlist within 90 days of completing reclassification. Your current MOS is also important, because if yuo are in an MOS that is understrength, you will not be able to do the BEAR program. You can still reenlist to reclass, but I don't know if you will get a bonus. Some infantry and signal soldiers in my platoon during AIT fell into that category. All of the ones I talked to who reenlisted for the MOS, without going the BEAR route, didn't get a bonus. But that was months ago, maybe things have changed now.

I would like to add, even if you don't get a bonus, you'll still get paid in the end. Between my travel voucher and family seperation, I made roughly $4,000.

Does anyone know where I can find out about the ASI for MOS 68W? I'd like to find out about the course length, requirements & school location.

Below is a reply from Malenurse - Male nurse mentioned some ASI's but there are more than those available for this MOS. I'd just like to research them so I can choose one that fits my needs.


Bring it on,

AIT training for 68W is 16 weeks. (4 months, NOT 9 months) ((correction from above))

Here is the link to the 68W home page.

http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/68w/

The location of training is yes, Fort Sam Houston (san antonio, tx) It IS beatifull here.

The promotions are about army average, Id say. Roughly 650pts for SGT, and 760 for SSG.

With the BEAR, I do know you re-up BEFORE AIT, and your bonus is paid after you complete training and sign into your working duty station.

(Army re-up or another retention expert will prolly post for the details on all that, to include the 68W - BEAR program)

ASI's for 68W:

F5 is an Army Flight Medic
M6 is the Army's Licensed Practical Nurse
P6 is an orthopedics specialist (clinical)
Y8 is an immunization-allergy specialist (clinical, lab)
N3 is the Army's Occupational Therapy Assistant (clinical)
N9 is a physical therapy technician (clinical)
W1 is a special operations combat medic (SOCM)

quote:

With the BEAR, I do know you re-up BEFORE AIT, and your bonus is paid after you complete training and sign into your working duty station.

Just to clarify one point here. You do not re-enlist before training. You extend. You must have 24 months after completion of the course. This is to ensure that you don't just take the training and run. You owe the Army at least two years. Also, upon completion of training you must re-enlist within 90 days for the bonus. When you re-enlist under the BEAR, you get a bonus for the whole thing. Not like others were the bonus only applies to what is not covered under your precious contract. That is the difference between the school option and the BEAR. If you are told to re-enlist for the BEAR you are being misled. Tell your Career Counselor to check his stuff again.

21P SSG - You're right. The retention NCO said I had to extend for the course AND include 24 months after AIT was complete. Then, if I wanted that bonus I would have 90 days to reenlist for it. I want an ASI included in my contract before I sign anything and they are working very hard to get that for me. Bad news is that 68W was removed from the BEAR program. I just hope it comes back before I ETS DEC07. Everyone has put so much time into this it would be a shame if it was all for nothing. Thanks for looking out.

No problem, we see a lot of BEAR issues here. It's supprising how many soldiers get bad info. Hope everything works out for you.

Oh, and not to miss an opportunity to plug my school you should check out 21P (BEAR MOS). go to Prime Power School to see if is something you'd be interested in.

quote:

Originally posted by bring it on:
First, is 68W really off the BEAR program? I was thinking about reclass. Second, if it's put back on the list before I ETS, who can provide some details about this MOS so I can make a solid decision about this? I'd like to know about AIT location, AIT duration, length of new contract, CONUS duties, combat duties, promotion possibilities, additional identifiers, etc. Lastly, I'd like to know how this BEAR program works. Do I reenlist before or after AIT? When does the bonus get paid? Stuff like that......

- 68W is still on the BEAR Program for SPC Non(P) and below ONLY.

- With the BEAR Program, you'll extend your current contract for 24-months past your AIT graduation date and you'll reenlist for a minimum of three years with 90-days of graduation to receive a bonus. You're bonus will be paid with 30 days after your reenlistment.

REALLY??? In one of the other current forums I read that 68W was removed from BEAR. My retention NCO was looking into this but she is currently TDY. Hey, thanks for the news! I'm looking forward to the change. I only hope they can get one of those ASI's in my contract. That's what made this option interesting in the first place. I wasn't too focused on a bonus but I won't turn one away hoo'ah. Looks like I'm off to Sam Houston. Bring It On!