Merry Christmas, Sign Here

December 2019

My recruiter finally called me to tell me that my scroll had come through and we could officially sign the contract. This is huge! He/she should go over the entire contract with you ahead of time, or just before signing. They will double check every detail with you (or at least should) to ensure accuracy. This includes any sign-on bonus or loan repayment, length of service, rank, dependent information, your personal information, and MOS (job type). All of these things are included along with many other things such as sexual harassment policies, commitment responsibilities, and I swear to do this and that as I am told. HUGE document, but don’t skip through it, as your loan repayment may get screwed if you miss something. 

Most people show up at the recruiter’s office, sign it, and stand in front of their flag with arm raised. They repeat an oath after the recruiter, sign the dotted line (67 times), and BOOM you’re an officer! However, you can elect to have another military member or veteran to swear you in if you wish. My father retired as a Captain after 20 years of enlisted service, and he was tickled to be there for me. This may be a silly moment for some, and a huge moment for others. We chose a spot at my hometown courthouse (where my parents were actually married) and I raised my right hand in front of the same statue that they posed in front of after their wedding. The oath was read to me and I repeated the words in the cool December air, took some pictures, and we went out to breakfast to celebrate. 

Wear something that you’ll like to look back at in 10 years! 

Of Note: I signed my contract a grand total of 4 times. Once, the date was incorrect. Then, my length of service had an extra day in there, and we had to modify it. Then, somehow, I was listed to accept an accession bonus PLUS loan repayment, which is not possible. We had to correct it to only list the loan repayment. BE THOROUGH, otherwise, it just pushes back your process the longer it takes to get it correct. 

NEXT: You’re officially an Army Officer! Finally! This feels really special and exciting for a few days. After you go out to celebrate and tell your family and friends, you have to wait some more for your official orders. Someone somewhere is in charge of filing through all of the ICU nurses (in my case) and finding spots for them according to experience and training. They will email you and ask you to rank a handful of permanent locations in order of preference, so they can try to find the right spot for you. For me, I was given a list including North Carolina, Washington state, Germany, and two Texas bases. Once you send back your preferences, your orders come some months later. This takes a lot of time, as each nurse type has anywhere from 8-14 new recruits all jockeying for position at the “hotspot” bases, and the person in charge has to sift through each one separately. They also have to be assigned a spot in the correct training programs and have them scheduled in order without overlapping. I was given Fort Bragg, North Carolina! Once your orders come, things pick up quickly because you finally have some concrete information about when and where you will be serving, and you can look at housing/child care/ travel information and start making plans!! 

More on that later, as selling the house will be a WHOLE different thing.