Military Nurse Career Overview
What Is a Military Nurse?
A military nurse works as a healthcare professional within the United States Armed Forces. In “Military Nursing: A Primer for New Recruits,” the authors say the military “trains and maintains a nurse workforce that is prepared to deliver care, lead teams, and deploy at any time,” also noting that there are different expectations for military nurses than there are for civilian nurses, since military nurses are both registered nurses (RNs) and officers.
Additionally, military nurses “often deploy into volatile global environments and lead interprofessional teams of care providers, so they must be able to transition into both roles rapidly and competently.”
Among the branches of the U.S. military, the Air Force, Army, and Navy have their own Nurse Corps. The Marines receive healthcare services from the Navy, and the nurses in the Coast Guard are civilians.
What Does a Military Nurse Do?
A military nurse must be a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Some military nurses are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs)—such as nurse practitioners, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), and Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs).
A military nurse’s role and credentials determine the scope of practice permitted and the types of responsibilities a military nurse may have. The setting in which care is provided also influences a military nurse’s duties. The following descriptions provided by the three branches of the military which have Nurse Corps provide a snapshot of some of the roles and responsibilities of military nurses.
Military Nurses Within the U.S. Air Force
The Air Force says that “Nurses are integral to the top-rate healthcare we provide to our Airmen and their families, and in the Air Force, they’re treated as essential members to the healthcare team. Our Nurses are respected Officers in the Air Force and provide their personal care in state-of-the-art medical facilities or aeromedical evacuation units around the world.”
The Air Force cites some of the following benefits of being a military nurse within the Air Force:
- “Becoming a Nurse in the U.S. Air Force not only allows you to focus on unique patient care, but provides you with the tools you need to develop your career and continue training and growing as you become a respected leader in your field.”
- “As a Nurse in the Air Force, your job will still be to treat your patients and provide them with the best care possible, but your experience will be uniquely different from working in a practice or hospital in the civilian world. You’ll not only get to utilize your nursing skills, but as an Air Force Officer, you’ll receive advantages that allow you to advance your nursing career as far as you’d like it to go.”
- “Air Force Nurses are able to continually provide superior care to their patients by staying on top of the latest medical innovations and technology. In order for you to keep growing as a professional and advancing as a leader, we provide you with a wide range of funded educational and career enhancing opportunities.”
The Air Force says it has positions “for just about any nursing specialty,” including critical care, emergency/trauma, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), mental health, and more.
Military Nurses Within the U.S. Army
The Army Nurse Corps is part of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD). It represents “more than 11,000 Soldiers dedicated to providing high-tech, quality health care for military personnel, their families, and military retirees all over the world. They support humanitarian missions and respond to natural disasters, experiences unmatched as a civilian nurse.”
Army nurses choose one of five specialties:
- Critical Care
- Mental Health
- Perioperative
- Emergency Trauma
- Gynecology/Obstetrics
Military Nurses Within the U.S. Navy
The Navy Nurse Corps provides a snapshot of what it’s like to be a Navy nurse: “The greatest reward for nearly every nurse is the joy of serving others. But in the Navy Nurse Corps, when you work to improve the lives of others, you can vastly improve your own – both professionally and personally. As a Navy Nurse, you will serve your country by helping not only those in the military who defend it but also their families and people in need around the globe. Excellent scholarship opportunities mean you may graduate from nursing school potentially debt-free, and specialty training opportunities can give you a competitive edge in your field.”
Opportunities for Navy Nurse Corps Officers in various specialty fields include:
- Nurse Anesthetists
- Primary Care Nurse Practitioners
- Medical-Surgical Nurses
- Perioperative Nurses
- Critical Care Nurses
- Mental Health Nurses and Nurse Practitioners
- Military-specific Specializations
Responsibilities
“As an Officer in the Nurse Corps, you’ll provide high-quality nursing care wherever there’s a need, from Navy medical facilities and ships to humanitarian aid missions across the globe. You’ll work closely with other health providers to carry out job responsibilities such as:
- Provide general nursing care for Sailors, Marines, other service members and their families at the best military nursing facilities on shore, at sea and in the field
- Collaborate with Physicians, Surgeons, Cardiologists and other specialists to create and administer treatment plans
- Direct and instruct Hospital Corpsmen on how to provide quality patient care
- Apply leading-edge medical advances at world-class hospitals
- Utilize some of the most advanced technology on the planet, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which can lead to less paperwork and more meaningful patient care
- Assist with global relief efforts such as distributing vaccines or providing emergency care to victims of natural disasters”
Additionally, the Navy says that Nurse Corps Officers “may serve at any one of more than 250 Navy and medical facilities around the globe, from Hawaii to Japan, Germany to Guam, and Washington, D.C., to Washington state. As a Navy Nurse, you could work at one of the highly acclaimed National Naval Medical Centers in Bethesda, MD, Portsmouth, VA, or San Diego, CA. Or you could provide medical support aboard one of two dedicated hospital ships—the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy. Additional opportunities are available on surface ships, with aircraft squadrons, or even with the Fleet Marine Force.”
How Much Does a Military Nurse Make Per Year?
According to salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for registered nurses was $77,600 in May 2021—with half of nurses earning more than that amount and half earning less. Wages of nurses in the lowest 10 percent were less than $59,450. Wages of nurses in the highest 10 percent were over $120,250.
However, the salary for a military nurse is determined differently. According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Military Compensation website, Basic Pay is “the fundamental component of military pay. All members receive it and typically it is the largest component of a member’s pay. A member’s grade (usually the same as rank) and years of service determine the amount of basic pay received.”
Nurses enter the military as commissioned officers—which is why a bachelor’s degree is required. According to the monthly Basic Pay table for January 2023, a commissioned officer at the 0-1 pay grade with less than two years of service will make $3637.20 a month. As military nurses move up in rank and add years of service, pay increases.
In addition to Basic Pay, military members are provided with additional benefits related to compensation, including:
- Special and Incentive (S&I) Pays—which can be used “to improve recruiting and retention by increasing compensation in key occupation specialties or critical skill areas. These pays are also used to compensate for onerous or hazardous duty assignments or conditions. In addition, S&I pays can be used to provide incentives for service members to develop certain skills that are important to national security objectives.” Of the more than 60 S&I pays authorized by law, four of the most popular are Hardship Duty Pay (HDP), Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay (HFP/IDP), Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP), and Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay (HDIP).
- Allowances—which are described as “the second most important element of military pay.” These funds are provided for “specific needs, such as food or housing. Monetary allowances are provided when the government does not provide for that specific need. …The most common allowances are Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) and Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). A majority of the force receives both of these allowances and, in many cases, these allowances comprise a significant portion of the member’s total pay.”
- Tax Exemptions—“A substantial, but often unseen and overlooked, aspect of military pay is certain built-in tax advantages. Most allowances are tax-exempt. Additionally, certain hardship circumstances will change normally taxable pay into tax-exempt.”
How Do I Become a Military Nurse?
The path to becoming a military nurse depends upon the credentials involved. Military nurses are registered nurses and must attend an accredited civilian nursing program that leads to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
Military nurses must also be licensed by passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) and meeting any additional requirements of the state’s board of nursing. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) offers a resource to determine state-based nursing licensure requirements.
Military nurses who are advanced practice nurses are licensed registered nurses who obtain at least a master’s degree in their specialty role, pass a national certification exam, and hold an APRN license in their state.
According to the authors of “Military Nursing: A Primer for New Recruits,” the three Nurse Corps all have various age, physical, education, experience, and citizenship requirements—and in addition to possessing BSN credentials, “nurses who join the Nurse Corps via Direct Commission in any of the three branches” must have at least one year of experience as an RN.
The authors also note that there are various scholarship and recruitment programs available—such as Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarships. Citing the assignment officers of the three Nurse Corps within the military, they say that “about 500 nurses who join each year are prelicensure graduates and another 300 are postlicensure RNs who join the military after working as civilians. Most of the prelicensure recruits come from ROTC programs, which are offered at over 1,700 colleges and universities in the US.”
What Are the Benefits and Challenges of Being a Military Nurse?
The authors of “Military Nursing: A Primer for New Recruits” also describe the various benefits and challenges of being a military nurse.
Benefits include:
- “Being commissioned as an officer”
- “Practicing in collaborative environments”
- “Honing leadership skills via hands-on and professional development opportunities”
- “Learning cutting-edge technology”
- “Traveling within the US and/or abroad”
- “Generous compensation and benefits”
Challenges include:
- “The prospect of deployment, possibly to austere environments, as well as separation from families and friends.”
- “The possibility of working long hours without overtime pay.”
- “Biannual physical fitness tests.”
- “The insecurity of not knowing where the next assignment will be until having ‘orders in hand.’”
- “Risking the loss of life in service to one’s country.”
In “The Navy Nurse Corps: Needed Now More than Ever,” Rear Admiral Cynthia Kuehner, U.S. Navy, describes the impact military nurses make.
“As part of the One Navy Medicine team, Navy nurses represent an essential component of advanced and complex medical weapons systems. Just as tactical weapons, cyber threats, warfare strategy, and the pacing capabilities of U.S. enemies have evolved, matured, and become ever more complex, so too has the complexity of lifesaving casualty care, sophisticated medical technology, specialized training, and advanced medical logistics, enabled by those dedicated medical professionals who deploy with and support the warfighter,” Kuehner writes.
She also describes Navy nursing today: “Navy nurses have now commanded hospitals and operations, led convoy missions in war zones, served as sole medical assets in remote and isolated settings, saved lives around the globe, returned wounded back to the fight or to higher echelons of care, cultivated international partnerships, served as diplomatic intermediaries, worked with government and non-government agencies, projected the power of Navy Medicine into every theater, against all threats, prevented and treated injury, promoted health, bolstered human performance, protected and strengthened the quality and resilience of naval forces, and led with caring and compassion for the past 113 years. Modern Navy nurses are ready to be counted and want to do more.”
Additional Resources About Becoming a Military Nurse
To learn more about becoming a Military nurse, these additional resources may help:
