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Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Global Health Specialist Program Information Package
We have put out a lot of Global Health Engagement (GHE) opportunities. You can see all of them past and present at this link. Many officers are wondering how they can get the GHE additional qualification designator (AQD).
Here is a information package that explains the entire program, including how to get the AQD:
Medical Corps Career Development Board Assistant Program Manager – Application Deadline Extended!
Application deadline extended until 5 FEB 2021!
The Corps Chiefs office is soliciting applications for the CDB Assistant Program Manager, working closely with the CDB Program Manager and Medical Corps Career Planner to coordinate and compile CDB data and best practices from the enterprise. The successful candidate will be LCDR or above with excellent organizational abilities and significant enterprise experience in both hospital and operational settings. Interested candidates should submit a letter of intent, CV, BIO, Officer Summary Record (OSR), Performance Summary Record (PSR) and command endorsement to CAPT Miguel Gutierrez (contact in the global). Applications are due NLT 5 FEB 2021. The current program policy is here:
Rich Grandpa, Poor Grandpa
Unlike Robert Kiyosaki, I only have one Dad. I did have two grandfather’s though. One was rich and one was poor (or at least poorer that the rich one). What did they teach me?
My Poor(er) Grandpa
My poor(er) grandpa worked odd jobs his whole life. He never owned a business that I was aware of. I don’t think investing was his thing because he never had all that much money, but he did have Social Security.
Frankly, all he wanted to do was bowl, and he had a 300 game at least once, which I think was his crowning achievement in life.
Despite his lack of financial acumen or success, he never really wanted for anything. After his wife (my grandmother) developed dementia and moved into a nursing home, he lived independently right up until the end of his life in a small apartment that was near his children and the bowling alley.
He drove a perfectly fine car.
He went out for meals when he wanted, his favorite meal being well done steak at any local diner.
He had Medicare for his health insurance.
What’s the lesson here?
Poor Grandpa Lesson #1 – A modest lifestyle and low spending will make up for a less than impressive nest egg.
He lived into his nineties despite having severe heart and vascular disease, prostate cancer, and smoking nearly his whole life. He stayed mentally intact the entire time, and was bowling right up until the end. What was his secret? As he told me many times…
Poor Grandpa Lesson #2 – “Never drink anything but beer or coffee. Water will rust your insides.”
My Rich Grandpa
There are many things you can learn from his financial life.
He lived in a small town in Pennsylvania that had a population of 2,069 in the 2010 census. In that town, he ran a small business selling furniture and running a funeral parlor. As he once told me, the furniture makers made the coffins, so the businesses were linked in the old days. He and his brother worked for his father, who ran the business before them.
Running this small business allowed him to build a significant net worth by anyone’s definition.
Rich Grandpa Lesson #1 – The easiest way to become wealthy is to own a successful business.
He never owned more than one car while I knew him, although his business owned delivery trucks he could use.
He lived in the same house the entire time, which was a modest brick house on main street of his town. It was 2300 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and sold for $185,000 in 2015 when he moved into a nursing home. According to Zillow it is now worth $228,044.
He had the same spouse, my grandmother, and never divorced.
Rich Grandpa Lesson #2 – The path to wealth = one spouse, one house.
During his life, he made periodic investments by purchasing stock in a local bank. Over the years and after twenty or so bank mergers, that local bank was now a subsidiary of a large international bank. Along came the 2008-2009 financial crisis…and that investment was worth only a small fraction of what it once was. A very small fraction.
Rich Grandpa Lesson #3 – Diversify to reduce your risk. Don’t put all your financial eggs in one basket.
There is one final lesson that I learned from my rich grandfather that I’ll never forget.
Rich Grandpa Lesson #4 – If you are a young boy and you want to see nudity for the first time, go on a furniture delivery with your grandpa who owns a furniture store. There just might be a Playboy calendar hanging above the kitchen table.
Health Security Cooperation Officer at NAVSOUTH (Mayport, FL)
The Global Health Engagement Office (GHEO) is looking for a motivated Medical Department Officer to fill the Health Security Cooperation Officer (HSCO) billet at US Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSOUTH) located in Mayport, FL. The billet is an O5 Medical Corps billet, but all Corps and ranks can apply. The current PD is here:
Please submit questions and applications to CAPT Melanie Merrick, Director of GHEO, BUMED M52 (contact is in the global). There was no specific due date provided, so I’d inquire immediately/ASAP.
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Day 1 Messages from the New SG, RADM Gillingham
Esteemed Shipmates,
I am honored and privileged to serve as your 39th Surgeon General of the Navy. Attached you will see an outline of my priorities, and the course that we will sail together. Take a moment to review and discuss this information with your Shipmates, reflecting on how YOUR actions contribute to maritime superiority. As a high reliability organization, your active engagement and feedback will be critically important to our continued success. More detailed guidance will be forthcoming. As always, thank you for everything you do for our warfighters and their families.
I look forward to seeing you in the fleet!
SG Sends
Here also is a video from the SG:
Military Times – DoD SkillBridge: The best military transition program you didn’t know existed
I know physicians who have used this program:
Medical Corps Career Development Board Assistant Program Manager
The Corps Chiefs office is soliciting applications for the CDB Assistant Program Manager, working closely with the CDB Program Manager and Medical Corps Career Planner to coordinate and compile CDB data and best practices from the enterprise. The successful candidate will be LCDR or above with excellent organizational abilities and significant enterprise experience in both hospital and operational settings. Interested candidates should submit a letter of intent, CV, BIO, Officer Summary Record (OSR), Performance Summary Record (PSR) and command endorsement to CAPT Miguel Gutierrez (contact in the global). Applications are due NLT 29 January 2021. The current program policy is here:
State of the Blog in 2021
Here is the annual blog post detailing the state of the blog in 2021.
Financial Report
Blog Profit = $135 loss!
As you probably realize, I pay for this and make no money from it.
Blog Traffic
As of 1/1/21, we have just over 740,000 page views. Here is the blog traffic as measured by page views since I started it in 2015. See a pattern? In 2020, we topped out at over 275,000 views.
I get most referred traffic from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the StudentDoctor.net forum, in that order. The distant 5th is a link to my bog from PhysicianOnFire.com.
Top Posts of 2020
Here are the top 5 posts/pages of 2020, excluding promotion board results or anything which is clearly old news:
- Special Pays Update – Senate Proposal to Increase Pays and BUMED Pays Update
- The New Medical Corps Career Progression Slide – What Does It Mean to You?
- NAVNORTH FRAGO Summary Graphics
- FY22 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready? (actually, it was the FY21 version, but since I’ve updated it for FY22 it makes no sense to link to the old one)
- New Navy HPSP FAQ and Information Booklet
Top 10 Posts/Pages of All Time
Here are the top 5 since 2015:
- Joel Schofer’s Promo Prep
- Useful Documents
- LCDR Fitreps – Language for Writing Your Block 41
- Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep
- Useful Links
- CV, Military Bio, and Letter of Intent Templates
- POM20 Navy Medicine Billet Reduction
- Personal Finance
- About Me (who knew I was so popular?)
- What are AQDs and How Do You Get Them?
Most Common Misspellings of My Last Name
I can actually see the things people search for that lead them to the blog, so what are the most common misspellings of my last name, which is “Schofer”:
- Shofer
- Schoeffer
- Schoefer
That’s it! Thanks for reading in 2020 and for all the things you’ll probably read in 2021.
Another Simple Way to Get Rich in the Military – Become a Super Saver
In the military, there are a few advantages you’ve got that can allow you to sock away more of your income than the average Joe. They include:
- Government housing or a tax-free housing allowance
- Government provided or subsidized meals (Basic Allowance for Subsistence)
- Free medical and dental care
- On base services (exchanges, commissaries, gyms, auto shops, child care, etc.)
- Uniforms to wear instead of expensive business clothes (although uniforms can certainly be expensive sometimes)
- Military discounts
- Cheaper insurance (USAA, GEICO Military, etc.)
- No income lapse when you change jobs
If you can put these advantages to work, allowing you to save more than the average American, invest appropriately, and combine these savings with just plain staying in the military for 20 years, you can be rich.
How Much Should I Save?
One of the most important moments of my early financial career that had a major impact on my ultimate net worth was the day I decided to reach David Bach’s The Automatic Millionaire. In the book (based on my memory of it), it said that your savings rate was a major determining factor of whether or not you became rich. If you wanted to work your whole life and have a comfortable retirement at the age of 65, you needed to save 15% of your income for retirement. It said that if you saved 20-30%, you’d get rich. Period.
What did I do? I saved 20-30%, and it worked.
What If You Saved 20-30 Percent?
I would argue that you should save 20-30% of your total compensation, and not just your basic pay. In other words, include all of your allowances and extra pays (if you have any) in addition to your basic pay. Include literally every dollar that enters your household. Add them all together, and that is your total compensation. Multiply that by your savings rate, and that is how much you should invest every year. Combine this super saving with just plain staying in for 20 years and the value of the pension, and you’re rich.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 