Members of the military, just like anyone else, need access to healthcare. That means that the military employs a huge variety of medical workers, including doctors. If you’re a physician—or hope to become one—and have a desire to serve your country, you may wonder if the Army National Guard may be a good fit for you.

We’ll break down the pros and cons you need to know.

What Is the Army National Guard?

The National Guard is the organized militia of the United States. It is not the nation’s primary military force, but it serves as a reserve component of the military. The Army National Guard, specifically, is part of the Army’s reserve forces, and it has units based in each state, the District of Columbia, and multiple US territories.

Members of the National Guard undergo mandatory military training and receive some military benefits, and they may be called up to active duty. But otherwise, they live much like a civilian.

Eligibility Requirements

If you have not already served in the military, you must meet a few requirements to join the Army National Guard:

  • Be between 17 and 42 years of age
  • Be at least a junior in high school or have a diploma or GED
  • Achieve a minimum score on the ASVAB test
  • Meet medical and physical requirements

Some additional requirements to sign on as a doctor include:

  • Have or be pursuing an accredited medical, dental, or health professional degree
  • Have or be in the process of obtaining a license to practice
  • Be a US citizen
  • Be at least 21 years old
  • Meet medical and moral standards for appointment as a commissioned officer
  • Be eligible to obtain a secret security clearance
  • Complete initial military officer training
  • Attend a 26-day to seven-week orientation course

Does the Army National Guard Train You to Be a Doctor?

In general, the Army National Guard will not provide medical training so you can become a doctor. You need to already be a doctor or be on the path to becoming a doctor to join the National Guard as a physician.

However, the Army National Guard offers many benefits to students on the path toward becoming doctors, including student loan repayment, monthly stipends, yearly bonuses, reimbursement for exams, and more.

More information here:

Joining the Army National Guard as a Doctor

The Army National Guard has six corps that focus on medicine. Each has a different mission and focus:

  • Medical Corps
  • Dental Corps
  • Nurse Corps
  • Medical Specialist Corps
  • Medical Service Corps
  • Behavioral Health Corps

You can select which corps to apply to based on your experience, training, and goals.

For example, medical students can join the Medical Corps as a Medical Student Officer and work in non-deployable positions while completing their degree. Social workers or clinical psychologists could join the Behavioral Health Corps and assist soldiers and their families with psychological disorders or counseling.

Typically, when you join the Army National Guard, you’ll have to sign an initial commitment. This commitment lasts eight years with a combination of time spent in active status and the remainder in Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Those on IRR do not actively train, but they may be called up in an emergency. Active status typically lasts from 3-6 years.

During your time in active status, you’ll train with your unit at the local base one weekend per month and one two-week period per year. This can be a significant time investment, though some states offer flexible training options that may let physicians attend training less often than that.

Benefits of Joining the Army National Guard as a Doctor

For some, serving their country is a major draw of joining the Army National Guard, but there are also significant financial incentives for doing so.

Some benefits include:

  1. Student loan repayment of up to $250,000 (Only pays for medical school loans)
  2. Monthly stipends while in medical school and residency
  3. Yearly bonuses of up to $25,000 for board-eligible and board-certified physicians
  4. Montgomery GI Bill: Up to $508 per month tax-free for 36 months during school or training
  5. Monthly drill check of at least $400 as a medical student, $600 as a resident, and $800 as an attending—increases with promotions and additional time in service
  6. Reimbursement for medical licensing exams
  7. Paid externships at military facilities
  8. Up to five days of paid CME (up to $2,500 reimbursement plus pay and benefits)
  9. Access to Tri-Care Reserve Select Health Insurance: $57.88 per month for you, $286.66 per month for the whole family.
  10. State incentives vary but can include automatic state residency at your medical school or state tuition assistance, which may cover up to your entire tuition
  11. Other benefits include an opportunity to travel abroad and do relief work, additional military-specific training, mentorship opportunities, leadership opportunities, and optional but exclusive military opportunities such as military teams, combative training, and flight surgeon training

Downsides of Joining the Army National Guard as a Doctor

Keep in mind that joining the Army National Guard means you’re joining the military. You’ll be at the whim of Uncle Sam for the length of your contract, and you may find yourself called away from civilian life to work in difficult or dangerous situations.

Some of the downsides of joining the Army National Guard include:

  1. You’re a military doctor. That means you do what you’re ordered to do and have less control over your practice, staff, schedule, and hours than you might like. Your pay and benefits are determined by the military.
  2. Incentives are subject to change. Sometimes they go away, like when medical school was deemed no longer eligible for the $4,500 in the Federal Tuition Assistance. Sometimes they get better, like when the student loan repayment was increased from $50,000 to $250,000. Bottom line: understand that the incentives will change after you sign your contract. You must be satisfied with your choice and realize that the incentive landscape will shift, depending on supply and demand.
  3. If you’re a medical student, the specialty you choose may not have a slot in the Army National Guard. If so, you will have to transfer to another Reserve component. These components function a little differently than the Army National Guard, and they can add additional headaches when it comes time for residency.
  4. The National Guard requires commitment. You will have to work on weekends when you would rather be with friends or family. You’ll have to spend three weeks at Phase 2 of the Officer Basic Leadership Course (OBLC), i.e., basic training, and have other strains on your time.
More information here:

Maximizing Guard Benefits at Each Stage of Medical Training

If you want to make the most of signing up for the Army National Guard as a physician, here are the steps you should take based on where you are in your journey as a physician.

The Pre-Med

Apply to medical schools eligible for State Tuition Assistance programs. Pay less attention to in-state vs. out-of-state tuition for public schools if the state will grant you automatic residency for joining the National Guard.

Sign on the dotted line when you are accepted into medical school. Do all your paperwork and processing prior to acceptance so that, upon acceptance, you can turn around and tell the medical school that you now are officially eligible for in-state tuition and state tuition assistance.

The Medical Student

  • Join the National Guard without taking Specialized Training Assistance Program (STRAP), drill regularly (using the Flexible Training Policy whenever possible), and collect a monthly paycheck.
  • Utilize state tuition assistance.
  • Utilize the Montgomery GI Bill-Select Reserve (Chapter 1606) for $508+ per month tax-free for 36 months while enrolled as a full-time student.
  • Utilize Tri-Care Reserve Select for insurance instead of an expensive medical school plan.
  • Have the National Guard cover USMLE exam expenses (only test fees, not travel, some board preparation expenses).
  • Go on an externship to a military program as an MS-3 or MS-4, collecting active duty pay and receiving reimbursement for all expenses.
  • Incorporate a two-week annual training experience into medical school curriculum.
  • Learn as much as you can from drill and tout your service and newfound skill set to residency programs.
  • Avoid federal incentives (MDSSP, STRAP, and MPLRP) until PGY-3, unless you are ready for a longer commitment.
  • If you find that you don’t enjoy the National Guard while in medical school or in the first two years of residency, you can pass on the federal incentives and go into the Individual Ready Reserve for the last two years of your original eight-year contract, without further commitment.

The Medical Resident

  • If you haven’t already joined, don’t do so until the start of your third year of residency. The first two years of residency are busy enough; no need to make life more difficult than it already is. The STRAP program isn’t worth it without the HPLRP.
  • Throughout PGY-2, work on your National Guard paperwork because it takes time, and sign up for the STRAP program and Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP) on Day 1 of PGY-3.
  • If you had $80,000 in loans and followed this plan, taking these two incentives would pay off all your loans by the completion of a four-year residency while also providing an additional $35,000 in annual income (STRAP plus drill pay) and access to the Roth TSP while in residency. Electing to take these two incentives would not extend the original eight-year contractual agreement, and you could still enter the IRR in the last two years of your contract.
  • If, after six years of service, you really liked the Guard, you could sign up for bonuses and possibly even remain until you secure a pension at 20 years.
  • This situation becomes more complex with additional indebtedness. If you had $240,000 in loans, you should do as above. But the HPLRP obligation would be paid in the last two years of residency and the first four years of practice, and the STRAP payback would occur in the fifth through eighth years of practice. This would extend your original contract by two years and would require four additional years of active drill.
  • Don’t forget that you will also receive your monthly drill check, CME funding, and access to Tri-Care Reserve Select and the Thrift Savings Program (TSP). Plus, you could utilize the flexible training schedule, and you could potentially incorporate your two-week annual training into your residency curriculum.

The Attending Physician

  • Take a combination of the HPLRP and bonus. Again, your goal is to meet the six-year active drilling component of the “original” eight-year contract and then decide if you want to continue to draw incentives.
  • With $240,000 in loans, only sign up for HPLRP and allow the National Guard to pay your loans in full over the six-year active drilling component of the “original” eight-year contract.
  • If you have anything less than $200,000, take a bonus for the remaining years of the six-year active drilling component (i.e., $200,000 plus one year of a $15,000 bonus, $160,000 plus two years of a $20,000 bonus, $120,000 plus three years of a $25,000 bonus). Remember, you can contract for these incentives at the same time (when you sign your original eight-year contract), but they are paid consecutively: HPLRP then Bonus.
  • Don’t forget that you will also receive your monthly drill check, CME funding, and access to Tri-Care Reserve Select and the TSP. Plus, you can utilize the flexible training schedule.

The Prior Service Professional

Prior service professionals do not need to sign an eight-year contract, and they can elect to take incentives in a way that will commit them to less than six years of active drilling status.

Medical students and residents may contract a year at a time and still benefit from state tuition assistance, state residency, Tri-Care, a monthly drill check, retirement points, the flexible training schedule, CME money (after graduating from medical school), and experience. Avoid taking federal incentives with prior service unless done using the suggestions laid out above.

Board-eligible and board-certified (BEBC) physicians will have similar benefits to the benefits listed in the prior paragraph, and they can contract for the HPLRP and bonus yearly. Remember, incentives are subject to change. If you take an incentive yearly, it could go away before you are able to maximize the benefit.

Additionally, don’t forget about retirement. If you have prior service in the military and you didn’t put in enough time to reach the 20-year retirement mark, you can finish out your 20 years of service with the National Guard. The military retirement system is a points system. The amount of pay you receive depends on your time in service and the number of points you have accrued over that period. Since active duty service members acquire more points, they have larger pensions relative to their peers with equal rank and time of service in the National Guard. Active duty members can also start taking their pension immediately after retirement, unlike National Guard members who must wait until they reach age 60. Still, if you are 8-10 years away from a military pension and you find you enjoy your time in the National Guard, you might as well finish out your 20 years and become vested in a solid pension plan.

If, after reading this post, the Army National Guard entices you, then great, go for it! If not, that’s OK; keep looking. Other opportunities like this exist, and you just have to find the one that meets MOST of your needs and suits your character. The National Guard is not the only available option for physicians.

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[This updated post was originally published in 2013.]

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