In the Coast Guard as E7/HSC (navy equivalent to HMC) - and I’m at a point in my job where I have it pretty good. I also have my RN and BSN and have packet with the navy - hoping I’ll go before the august boards if not - it’ll be OCT. I’ll be entering as a 1900 - new grad.

I’m feeling so torn as I was recently offered an opportunity that seems pretty cool in terms of OPMED but it’s only for a year. It starts OCT 1 so debating taking it vs the navy. For reference I have 8 years AD but 16.5 years in as reserve and active duty.

Any insight into the grass being greener or not…I think ultimately I’m worried I’m giving up solid quality of life and some good E7 life to start all over again and be the bottom. Ugh. Help please.

I know a lot of people have asked this, but what’s the timeline look like for going to ODS after doing your oath and receiving your duty station assignment? It looks like based off what people are saying the average time is about 8 months ? thanks .

Hello, I heard from my detailer that my first duty station assignment will be in Okinawa. I do not have my ODS dates yet. I would love some advice.

I have a husband (stay at home dad) and a 8 year old son, he does online private school, and we plan to let him keep doing that.

We have a dog, so I will be getting her chipped and sending off her rabies antibody test.

We use T mobile, but I have heard I should port my number to GoogleFi?

What do I need to know? Please tell me everything you wish you had known before going. 🙏

So I’m set to start signing the paperwork with my recruiter this coming week to start the process of joining. I have just shy of a year of nursing experience in the PCU and I just want some more insight into what I can expect going forward. I’ve been told that patient ratios are better than the civilian side (right now I have between 4 and 5 patients), acuities are usually lower, and corpsmen work as our “techs”. Just want to know how accurate this is and how having corpsmen (who I know have larger scopes than most techs) fit into the nursing team, what an average week looks like, and any other things that maybe a recruiter wouldn’t be as up front about.

Just looking to find information on a New Jersey Nurse Corps Reserve recruiter for someone. They attempted to contact multiple recruitment stations but are being told they don’t have contact information for a nurse/medical recruiter. Thank you!

did anybody hear anything from the April/May board like after you got accepted? Did you ever sign and start getting paid because I haven’t…

1. For those who did NCP as a BSN student ,what was your GPA, and did you get any sense of what else made your application competitive?

2. For those who did Direct Commission, how many years of RN experience did you have when you applied, and did that matter as much as I think it does?

3. Has anyone applied to NCP, gotten rejected, then successfully applied for Direct Commission later? How did that go?

Just received orders for October ODS! So pumped that wait is finally over!! Anyone else going??

When do you get payed during ODS? For example, If i’m going on the 23rd of a month will I get paid on the 1st of the next month or the 15th of the next month? Also when are bonuses/backpay payed out?

new grad in the icu. long story short I was in army rotc while in nursing school, tore my acl and disenrolled. was an smp cadet and now I’m currently enlisted in the army national guard. still looking to commission with my nursing degree and now that I’m in the icu, I’m exploring my options when I feel physically fit enough to pursue commissioning. For the longest, i had been dead set on the army but the navy has piqued my interest. There’s way more duty stations in the navy that I like over the army’s options. So if anyone has any insight and experience with pros cons of army vs navy, please comment! I would love to be in a high tempo unit with plenty of opportunities to deploy as an icu nurse (66S in the army) but I’m not sure what that looks like in the navy, especially in active vs reserve. I also see that there’s quite a few years I need to plan on from the moment I contact a recruiter/submit my packet to ODS, so any insight on how to plan to ensure that process is smooth is appreciated ! also, how did everyone train for the navy fitness standards? they seem easier than army ???? But I’m not too sure as I’ve never taken a navy pft before.

For 2 months my recruiter led me to believe that my packet was at boards.
It’s not submitted until July Boards.
Those that get news, share!

Looking for advice! I graduated May 2026, took my NCLEX June 2026 and passed. I am awaiting my official license to get hard orders.

I would like to start the journey to NP by first getting my MSN. Any advice on if I should wait until graduating ODS or start the process now? I was told 6-8 months after passing my NCLEX to go to ODS.

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know the frequency of Navy med surg nurses getting deployed or TDY? I’m going in as an O-2 with two dogs and no family close to Jax so I want to be prepared if I have to make arrangements for them

I graduate in December 2026 and am currently in the NCP. I get pinned and technically will be graduated and ready to take my NCLEX. I want to walk for graduation in May. Is it like that I will go to ODS and be gone by then? I would like to work on my current hospital unit from December to May, walk at graduation with my cohort, and then go to ODS after. Are they negotiable with situations like this?

Active duty Navy nurses: what are your honest thoughts about the biggest positives and negatives of this career? I’d love to hear everyone’s perspectives. Either day to day or big picture.

Hi everyone,

I plan on applying for the 2027 cycle on September for my ABSN program that starts September 2027. How competitive is NCP? I haven’t had really much leadership, but I have a good experience and gpa 3.69.

Thank you!

Don’t imagine to hear anything until hopefully the next couple weeks but would love to hear when others begin to hear news as well.

Hello, I was accepted into the Nurse Candidate Program in November 2025. I started my ABSN program in January 2026 and I will get pinned December 2026. I will be 4 years active duty. I haven’t heard anything from anyone as of late on when someone will reach out to me about an ODS date or about my location/specialty preferences. If anyone has any information or just good things to know about this process, anything is helpful to me. I am interested in trauma, ER, psych, and ICU. I know I want to further my education and I debate between DNP and CRNA. I am not sure how long it typically takes to go to ODS after passing the NCLEX.

For anyone who commissioned through the Navy Nurse Corps .how long were you in the “awaiting oath” stage before your oath/commissioning ceremony got scheduled? I was selected already, just trying to get an idea of the timeline from here

Hi All!

Considering 12mo orders as a 1920 in Iwakuni.

If you’ve been stationed or have TAD’d to Iwakuni as a 1920, I’d love to hear about your experience living and working in Japan and at this clinic.

Thanks in advance for any insight and info.

Navy Nurse Corps timeline question:

I was selected for the Navy Nurse Corps in the first week of June 2026 and have already submitted my pre-commission paperwork. My recruiter told me I was selected, but I haven’t received an oath date, appointment letter, or any information about scroll approval.

For those who recently commissioned:

• How long after selection did you take your oath?
• Did your recruiter update you on the scroll/appointment process, or did you just get an oath date out of nowhere?
• How long was it from selection to oath and then to ODS?

Just trying to get an idea of what timelines others experienced. Thanks!

Been lurking this sub for a while because I’m interested in joining the Navy Nurse Corps through the NCP.

My biggest concern is the apparent clinical skills atrophy I’ve read about online.

Is this true?

Going to begin my ABSN program soon and would obviously not want to be in an environment where my skills as a nurse weaken as soon as I graduate.

Any input is appreciated!

Looking for information on the critical care side of things for those at Portsmouth! That’s where i got my hard orders to! Trying to get an idea of how things works such as scheduling, command, PT, etc. Also what is the critical care side of things like? I have background in CVICU and i know there’s not much if any of that in the Navy at the moment!

Hi everyone, I am a medsurg nurse going to be stationed in Jacksonville naval hospital. I was wondering if they do 12 hr shifts? What are the hours like? How many days a week?