-Caveat Lector-
No, the Flight Surgeon was military, but he was recruited out of medical
school for the Flight Surgeon Program.
That's just how the military gets doctors. Most of them get picked up
coming out of medical school, because the military doesn't seem to attract
many people who are willing to serve in return for getting their medical
school paid for. In fact, they don't get many doctors, period.
Every so often, they go on one of these drives to get more doctors, because
so many of the military's doctors leave to find better paying jobs on the
outside. Most doctors can command roughly $130,000 a year in private
practice. A new doctor in the military is commissioned as a captain (paygrade
O-3) and has a gross income of roughly $31,000 a year. That's one reason
doctors get into special programs, because they can pick up special pay for
having specific skills, and they have an opportunity to do things that they
wouldn't have in private practice (like diving/nuclear personnel medicine).
A few years ago, (I believe it was in 1993) the Navy had a shortage of
Flight Surgeons, so they ran a similar program for them. In that case, the
doctors got to go to flight school in return for a commitment of 8 years
following flight training. Currently the military is doing the same thing to
get dentists (although they don't have any special duty assignments for them).
Mostly what this shows is that the military can't get people with advanced
skills to stay in. I've been following the trend through reports in the Army
Times and the Navy Times, and this is a serious problem throughout the
military. I saw it personally when I was in.
Mostly, this just reflects how hollow the US Military is now. They're so
desperate to get skilled people, they'll take anyone. I recently got an offer
from the Marines to attend OCS with no follow-on commitment unless I decided
to accept a commission, (suprising, since I have had no military service
commitment for over a year!) due to my veteran status and current major in
college (computer science). Ten years ago, when I enlisted in the Navy, OCS
was for current enlisted members seeking a commission. People with the right
degree *might* have been able to get in, but the military preferred to give
seats at OCS to currently enlisted sailors. Now, if sailors are any good or
have marketable skills, they tend to get out. I certainly did!
I see this announcement as sign that once again, Uncle Sam isn't able to
find qualified people to do the job. Sad, but not a conspiracy.
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