As a prior service AF who is switching to become an Army 68W, will I have to go through Army BCT? Will my rank drop?

SGT Ken Lawson-Williams — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 12:22:46 -0400

Prior Service question. Does a 7 year prior service Air Force (National Guard) SSGT and civilian Paramedic go through the whole Army "Basic" when switching to 68W with a National Guard Medevac unit or is there an abbreviated combat skills upgrade course (I heard that that WCT is no more). Does the rank drop from E5 to E1 or ??

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 23 at 2019 1:55 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 13:55:31 -0400

SGT Ken Lawson-Williams I don't think you'll have to go through BMT - in fact, I'm about 99.999% sure on that. You will, however, most likely have to go through Tech School as prior service to learn the Air Force way. Some AFSCs are waiving tech school for life experience or prior service training. You should be able to keep your rank. I know several people at my guard unit who still maintain their rank from Marines/Army.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Oct 23 at 2019 1:59 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 13:59:33 -0400

Yes, you have to re attend Basic. The Army only recognizes IET schools from the Marines and prior Soldiers. As for the rank, you'll have to negotiate that with the recruiter.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 24 at 2019 11:04 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 11:04:33 -0400

How long have you been out? If you only have a short break in service you may be able retain your grade, but its tricky with guard and reserve due to TIS/TIG calculations. The recruiter will request a grade determination when they build your packet, so they will need whatever training records you have.

Full disclosure, prior service do not get the same MOS choices that first term applicants get if you plan on going active duty. There is no guarantee you can reenlist as a 68W regardless of your experience. However, you can enlist to get your foot in the door then reenlist for 68W- if there are training seats available. Or, you can enlist as a 68W in the reserves, you just have to find a unit with a 68W slot available.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 24 at 2019 3:46 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:46:10 -0400

Is your Paramedic an NREMT-P that is the only thing that the Army will recognize? But as for a straight 68W I can't remember you may still be required to have the NREMT as that is the current requirement, I can't recall exactly. As for flight medic if that is your goal it will be a lot easier to obtain if you are NREMT-P as it is of no cost to the Army. As for rank and Basic You mostly likely will end up going back through basic again since The Army only recognizes IET from the Marines and prior service like SFC Hasbun previously said or if you attended ROTC. Rank is negotiable with recruiters.

Response by SSG Dave Johnston made Oct 25 at 2019 9:58 AM

SSG Dave Johnston — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 09:58:30 -0400

As to rank; you may loose one or two grades, depends if your switch to active duty Army is in lieu of reenlisting in the Air Guard. During the "Cold War" a number of prior service returned, or service transferred and the went through a BCT refresher; weapons qual, PT, familiarization with the services' 'Stripes and Bars', Drill & Ceremony, etc.; than off to MOS refresher for verification. And that usually took about a month, six weeks max. … and this is the way it was done "Back in the Day". Don't sweat the loss of rank too much, your unit could have you in front of a promotion board in as little as 9 months to a year.
Without knowing if your AFSI as it relates to your civilian paramed; the MOS question may be simple, what was/is your AFSI: 4A0X1, 4E0X1, 4J0X2, 4M0X1, see where I'm going? So yeah, a USAF AFSI in the medical field shouldn't be a problem converting to the Army's 68W MOS identifier.

… and welcome to the big leagues... Good luck.

Response by SSG Kasius McCall made Oct 31 at 2019 3:08 PM

SSG Kasius McCall — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:08:18 -0400

You could possibly keep your rank in the Army but you will have to attend basic just like everyone else.

Response by SGT David Reed made Jan 23 at 2020 10:30 AM

SGT David Reed — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 10:30:19 -0500

No,just 68W school.