Marine Aviation --> Navy medical?

If a Marine pilot gets accepted to medical school, and wants to go and
come back into the NAVY as a doctor, how does he go about doing that?
Can you just transfer from the Marines to the Navy? And will they let
you leave for Med School, or do you have to serve your 8 year aviation
commitment as a pilot?

Thanks in advance! (I'm trying to figure my options out.)

wrote in message

If a Marine pilot gets accepted to medical school, and wants to go and
come back into the NAVY as a doctor, how does he go about doing that?
Can you just transfer from the Marines to the Navy?

Unlikely. A guess (and it is a guess, but a SWAG not a WAG) is that you
would resign one commission as a Maraine O-XX and immediately sign a new
commission as a Navy O-01. Then you would do whatever you do as an Enswine
MedStu.

And will they let
you leave for Med School, or do you have to serve your 8 year aviation
commitment as a pilot?

That would be up to the Marines. If you applied and got accepted then maybe
it could happen if your community were not too lean on aviators.

Thanks in advance! (I'm trying to figure my options out.)

Most advice you get here will be dated. But you sound like you are talking
significantly into the future. If that is true then any answer you get from
anybody will, of necessity, carry a bunch of "weasel words." Long term in
government service is one year (the length of an appropriation). Everything
else is short term.

At the end of the day, "Needs of the Service" will control all decisions.

Good luck in your figuring!g

Bill Kambic

If, by any act, error, or omission, I have, intentionally or
unintentionally, displayed any breedist, disciplinist, sexist, racist,
culturalist, nationalist, regionalist, localist, ageist, lookist, ableist,
sizeist, speciesist, intellectualist, socioeconomicist, ethnocentrist,
phallocentrist, heteropatriarchalist, or other violation of the rules of
political correctness, known or unknown, I am not sorry and I encourage you
to get over it.

wrote:

If a Marine pilot gets accepted to medical school, and wants to go and
come back into the NAVY as a doctor, how does he go about doing that?

Talk to your recruiter - or career planner if you are a currently
serving Marine aviator.

Can you just transfer from the Marines to the Navy?

With the agreement of both services, yes; but it is pretty much a
case-by-case basis, and remaining post-commissioning/post
flight-school service obligations will probably have to be satisfied
before such a transfer would be approved.

And will they let you leave for Med School

Once your post-commissioning/post flight-school service obligations
are satisfied. Although it is possible that the Armed Forces Medical
University/School/whatever may be a special case. But your recruiter
- or career planner if you are a currently serving Marine, can
probably put you onto the straight dope on this.

or do you have to serve your 8 year aviation
commitment as a pilot?

Generally, if a military service has trained you to fly, your
post-flight school service obligation to that service must be
satisfied before you are free to move on to other things, whatever
they might be.

Thanks in advance! (I'm trying to figure my options out.)

If the Marines send you to flight school and you get your wings, there
is pretty much only one way to get out of serving whatever the service
obligation is at the time you are winged. Screw up badly enough to
not only loose your wings, but to get kicked out of the service or be
"encouraged" to ask to resign your commission. That would probably
put the kibosh on any transfer/move into the Navy as a Doctor, or
anything else for that matter.

OJ III

dgray- If a Marine pilot gets accepted to medical school, and wants to go and
come back into the NAVY as a doctor, how does he go about doing that?
Can you just transfer from the Marines to the Navy? And will they let
you leave for Med School, or do you have to serve your 8 year aviation
commitment as a pilot? BRBR

Sounds like you need to talk to your detailer(monitor?)-

There are waivers for everything but if you are talking about a civilian med
school, not on a military ride..then ya got to get outta the USMC commitment
first.
P. C. Chisholm
CDR, USN(ret.)
Old Phart Phormer Phantom, Turkey, Viper, Scooter and Combat Buckeye Phlyer

I tried as a dentist (Periodontist), but the Navy said either / or.........
not both. That was in 1978, but maybe things are different now. Also, as
an MD, flight surgeon status might let you do both. I hope you'll post the
results of your efforts. Best JD

"JD" wrote in message
news:Bvx4b.238160$cF.77457@rwcrnsc53...
I tried as a dentist (Periodontist), but the Navy said either /
or.........
not both. That was in 1978, but maybe things are different now. Also,
as
an MD, flight surgeon status might let you do both. I hope you'll post
the
results of your efforts. Best JD

Yes that sounds about right.

There was "Dogface" McCoy, (RF-8) that I knew in '62 that had a MD from
Tulane, but he wanted to fly. I think after his 8 year commitment ended in
'63-'64 or thereabouts, he qualified as a flight surgeon. Even then he
couldn't do both. He was trying to get into the Astronaut Program. He made
it a good way, but didn't make the final cut, or something. Last I heard he
had a pratice in LA (Lower Alabama).

The funny thing is, we used to harass him so much about being a MD, I don't
remember what his area of expertise was. He was either a Gynecologist and we
accused him of being a Proctoligist, or vice-versa.

We used to go to Key West and stand alert in the early '60's. We tried to
get him to set up a pratice for the ladies down there. I offered to be an
unpaid office help for his pratice.

Also there were two or three MD's in the early 70's that were Naval
Aviators. One was an eye doctor, don't know about the rest. But these guys
were also flight surgeons. I seem to recall they were commisioned as MD's
and thern went to flight school. I think it part of a program BuMed was
trying for some reason. They remained flight surgeons as primary.

Red

It seems like a waste to spend 8 years in the USMC accumulating rank
and grade, and then go all the way back to O-1, 0 years in the Navy.
Even if you serve your 8 years as a Marine aviator, is it possible to
preserve your rank and grade when you go into the Navy as an MD?

Thanks

wrote in message . com...
If a Marine pilot gets accepted to medical school, and wants to go and
come back into the NAVY as a doctor, how does he go about doing that?
Can you just transfer from the Marines to the Navy? And will they let
you leave for Med School, or do you have to serve your 8 year aviation
commitment as a pilot?

Thanks in advance! (I'm trying to figure my options out.)

On 9/1/03 9:23 AM, in article ,
"Elmshoot" wrote:

I may have the details wrong but here goes. In Whidbey in the early 80's we
had
a guy named Dick Sowel He was a flight surgon and a Rag instructor in VA-128.
I
had him as an instructor. I think he was a Marine A-6 pilot first. Got out and
went to Med school then came back in the Navy as a Flt Sturgon.

Sparky

I also remember a Pilot/Flight Surgeon from the Lake.

There were a total of about 6 by 1995 (and I think that was a decrease). I
knew 1 from the test community at the Lake (Doc Schindler). He flew Hornets
at VX-9 to evaluate Navy Combat Edge. As I recall (from reputation only...
never flew with the guy), it was one of those "jack of all trades master of
none" scenarios.

Not a bad guy though.

--Woody

wrote:

It seems like a waste to spend 8 years in the USMC accumulating rank
and grade, and then go all the way back to O-1, 0 years in the Navy.
Even if you serve your 8 years as a Marine aviator, is it possible to
preserve your rank and grade when you go into the Navy as an MD?

Your active service time accumulates regardless of service.

Going into the Navy [or Army, or USAF, or Coast Guard] as an MD
currently carries a minimum rank, I believe, of O-3 [Navy/USCG LT,
Army/USAF Captain], possibly higher depending on
specialties/certifications/etc.

Inter-service transfers, outside of your desired scenario, typically
are the subject of how your qualifications match the new service's
requirements, and some resulting negotiation; but for officers usually
results in a rank for rank crossover at the levels you're talking.
Enlisted can be somewhat more difficult, and are beyond your query, so
I'm not gonna venture into that morass of possibilities and
qualifications.

OJ III

Dano- The flight surgeon for VX-4 Point Mugu NAS from very late 60s to
mid-80s/early-90s (?) was a pilot as well as the doctor for the
squadron. He's now in private practice doing aviation med only at CMA
(Camarillo). He went straight from doctor school into the Navy though,
with no stops in the Marines. BRBR

Yep, Can't remember his name and can't read it on my going away
picture..surprise, surprise. He flew the F-18 and C-210 when I was XO...Don't
think he was there in the late 60s tho, not old enough. Good enough pilot,
great Doc.

P. C. Chisholm
CDR, USN(ret.)
Old Phart Phormer Phantom, Turkey, Viper, Scooter and Combat Buckeye Phlyer