u/AllenPGreenMD

TLDR - where will my family be while I go through the UMO pipeline and a potentially several month long holdover between ODS and phase I. Is it possible we’re apart for a year during this training?

I’m looking into direct accession into the Navy as a UMO. I’ve been told I’m among the first to do so (as in the first or second person ever). As such, my path is probably going to be different than many folks and the Navy is still figuring out how it’s going to work.

I’ll need to go to ODS, probably have some holdover time, and then start the 3 phase pipeline.

I’m married with kids so Im trying to figure out how these steps might happen. At first, my recruiter thought I’d get my final duty station upon commissioning before the pipeline. My family would PCS there and I would go to each school while they settle in.

That has changed and he was told the billet selection will happen the typical way where they’re assigned near the end of phase 2 or phase 3.

Is my family going to stay at our current home while I got to ODS then a holdover that could be as long as 5 months and then the 6 month pipeline? Will we PCS to Groton , I’ll do ODS and then do the holdover time and phase 1 and 3 there? Something else?

Are there corollaries? Maybe someone who graduated intern year and had holdover until the January UMO start?

Looking for some insight to help push me in one direction or another.

I’m a board certified doc in a non patient facing specialty. I entered my current field as a bet on a very specific and extremely niche field. My bet hasn’t worked out. My options are to go to a fellowship that I like well enough or retrain to a patient facing specialty. My preference is patient facing as it would open many more possibilities than the fellowship.

The problem is that I have six figure private loans and nearly 300k in student loans. I also have a wife and 4 kids. Going back to retrain will be very difficult financially.

I’m considering joining the Navy for an operational billet with the goal of entering a residency after the initial tour. The sign on bonus would knock out all of my private loans and my time in service would get me to PSLF. I realize that over a 6 to 10 year horizon the military is probably the loser financially speaking, but it gets me over the initial financial hurdles and into the career I actually want.

I do have previous active duty time from many years ago when I was an enlisted kid. I’d be retiring next year if I stayed enlisted instead of just starting my medical career now. :/

All things considered, would you argue in favor or against this plan? I think either of the operational options sound pretty fun and for a guy facing a mid life crisis and the beginning of a career, maybe I need that.