Soldiers can now apply for a physician assistant program that allows them to earn a master's degree in medical care.
Enlisted soldiers and warrants who complete the three-year program earn commissions in the Army Medical Specialist Corps.
Applications are being accepted from Regular Army and Army Reserve officers, warrant officers and enlisted soldiers who want to compete to be selected for the Interservice Physician Assistant Program.
Soldiers who are selected by a Recruiting Command board that meets next spring will be slated for training classes that begin in January, April and August 2016 at the Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
The training regimen for this program is one of the longest and most demanding available in the Army. Graduates of the two-phase, 116-week course earn a master's degree in medical care from the University of Nebraska.
Phase I of the program consists of 64 weeks of didactic instruction at the AMEDD Center and School, while the 52-week clinical phase is conducted at various Army medical treatment facilities.
Regular Army students will incur a 54-month service obligation, and Army Reservists an eight-year obligation, with six of those years required for service in the Selected Reserve, and two in the Individual Ready Reserve.
Here are some policies that apply to the fiscal 2015 program:
■ Enlisted soldiers will attend training in an officer candidate status, and will be accessed into the Medical Specialist Corps upon graduation. Enlisted applicants must be graduates of the Warrior Leader Course by the time they begin PA training.
■ Warrant officers will attend training in their current grade and will be commissioned in the Medical Specialist Corps upon completion of training.
Who's not eligible
■ Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets are not eligible to apply for this program while they are in cadet status. Also ineligible are civilians and members of a sister U.S. military service. Service members should apply for training through their branch's own PA program.
■ Soldiers who will have more than 13 years of federal active service as of Jan. 1, 2016, are not eligible to apply, nor are commissioned officers with more than seven years of active federal commissioned service on that date. Commissioned officers with more than five, but fewer than seven years of AFCS must request a waiver to apply for this program.
Deadline to apply
Because of legal requirements related to officer appointments, enlisted soldiers seeking PA appointments in the Regular Army must complete their training before reaching age 42. Enlisted applicants for service in the reserves must be able to complete training before reaching age 47.
Applications for the upcoming PA selection board must be received at Recruiting Command headquarters no later than March 1.
For more information on eligibility requirements and how to apply, see www.usarec.army.mil/armypa and MilPer Message 14-269, dated Sept. 11.
