How can I have the Army pay for nursing school and then commission as an active duty nurse, and then do Drill SGT school?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 15:32:08 -0500

Any information or experience with such please guide me to the correct answers.

I am in the reserves, I currently am obtaining my associates degree. I want to continue my education to become a nurse. I also want to commission as a nurse and have the big army pay or assist in doing so. Nursing school is very expensive and I am aware of my gi bill but I only have 60% use of it. My second issue is that I want to commission but I also want to become a drill sgt. My plan is using my gi bill paying for my nursing, direct commission in my unit while it’s being processed or after nursing school. I want to become a full time drill sgt. Any thoughts comments concerns or ideas. Please share.

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Nov 9 at 2020 3:35 PM

LTC Kevin B. — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 15:35:04 -0500

Nurses are commissioned officers, and drill sergeants are non-commissioned officers. You can't do both in the order you articulate (commission, then become a drill sergeant). You can do the opposite though (become a drill sergeant, and then commission), but that brings up different issues.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2020 4:50 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 16:50:56 -0500

You are talking about two separate career paths.
You cannot go from commissioned officer to drill sergeant. But you can become a drill sergeant before commissioning.
As LTC Broom mentioned, drill sergeant has time and training requirements.
Commissioning also has requirements that very by source of commotion: ROTC, OCS, direct....
You need to narrow down your path for us to better assist you in planning.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 10 at 2020 2:03 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:03:19 -0500

Are you talking about being a Nurse on the civilian side and a Drill Sergeant on the Reserve side?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 10 at 2020 5:39 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 05:39:09 -0500

You absolutely cannot do that. Once you're selected for commissioning programs you will not be selected for NCO programs. What you can do is become a DS first and then go to Nursing school. In fact, if you're using your GI Bill and TA you can continue to use them and become a DS while you attend school. Obviously, you cannot become a FULL TIME DS because you can't have a full time military job and attend college full time. But you can certainly be a Reservist and attend school full time.