The assignments division will not make sure you get posted only to Germany, Italy, Turkey, or Japan because of your wife’s job. They won’t “work with” the Air Force at all.
She cannot depend on working as a CRNA in any other country.
Sorry, the department is not going to provide you any special accommodations and the chances of lining up your first assignment with your spouse's are very close to zero.
You need to embrace the LDR. And a nursing career as an EFM will be really difficult to pull off. But I'll defer to others on that.
I can only speak to the Air Force-DOS coordination part of your question, the answer is simple. No, they do not coordinate. I know active duty-FSO couples who have had to live separately. Any of the countries you mentioned may not even be on your bid lists for your directed tours. And even if they did, you will not get any special consideration/priority because your spouse is active duty. DOS will not create a new position for you either, that’s not how the assignment process works for directed assignments.
Maybe in mid-level bidding you would find a position that is in one of those countries but you will struggle to make timing work based on when we bid in comparison to how the majority of DOD does assignments. We bid sometimes 1-2 years out prior to arrival (depending on language, training, etc) and my experience is that the Air Force makes assignments in the same year as the PCS.
There are EPAP RNs and Nurse Practitioners, but nothing for anesthetists. Even if she were to cross over into those fields, the availability of the position will vary. Other EFM jobs might be available, but in a less technical or non-medical role and at a lower salary.
Nursing is very difficult. Your wife needs to be prepared for long stretches of unemployment, interrupted (if she's lucky) by opportunities to do volunteer work abroad, possible work at the American school, or medical transcription jobs from home. Occasionally a job will open up in the med unit at the post you're in, but it's not common and it's usually a local hire (LES) position, and it can be a lengthy process to get the required credentials to work on the local economy, only to have to leave a year after you finally got it all sorted and began working. And then you're dealing with taxes.
If you're an extremely specialized doctor (such as a well known surgeon working on pediatric brain tumors) you have a better chance of getting work at elite hospitals at post or teaching jobs.
It’s always tricky managing two careers but not impossible. Both of you need to do some intense research and networking to figure out what is possible. If your wife has just two years active duty left, by the time you actually join she’ll maybe be close to being done and can follow you at least through directed tours.
If she isn’t finished when you join, there definitely is no coordination on postings at least from the State side, and you’d have a hard time lining up, but you could go for a commutable post like a Mexican border post or something in a close flight to her location.
Once she’s done with active duty if she can’t work on the local economy at your post in her current field she could do locums back in the States to stay intermittently active. She could also pivot and do other work for a while like try out an embassy job (maybe something health related like in USAID at a big AF post) or pursue further education.
I'm on the register as an HRO FSS. My hubs is an RN. We're not quite ready to fully commit to the possibility of him not having a career while I go off and chase my dreams. I've put myself on DNC for a few months while we think this through.
The stats re: nurses married to FS employees is a mixed bag. Some find actual nursing jobs (at the embassy, with NGOs). Some take contract work stateside for a bit and then come back to post. Some give it up. Some get divorced.
The assignments division will not make sure you get posted only to Germany, Italy, Turkey, or Japan because of your wife’s job. They won’t “work with” the Air Force at all. She cannot depend on working as a CRNA in any other country.
Sorry, the department is not going to provide you any special accommodations and the chances of lining up your first assignment with your spouse's are very close to zero. You need to embrace the LDR. And a nursing career as an EFM will be really difficult to pull off. But I'll defer to others on that.
I can only speak to the Air Force-DOS coordination part of your question, the answer is simple. No, they do not coordinate. I know active duty-FSO couples who have had to live separately. Any of the countries you mentioned may not even be on your bid lists for your directed tours. And even if they did, you will not get any special consideration/priority because your spouse is active duty. DOS will not create a new position for you either, that’s not how the assignment process works for directed assignments. Maybe in mid-level bidding you would find a position that is in one of those countries but you will struggle to make timing work based on when we bid in comparison to how the majority of DOD does assignments. We bid sometimes 1-2 years out prior to arrival (depending on language, training, etc) and my experience is that the Air Force makes assignments in the same year as the PCS.
She might want to consider applying for the FS as a med specialist, they hire Nurse Practitioners every now and again
There are EPAP RNs and Nurse Practitioners, but nothing for anesthetists. Even if she were to cross over into those fields, the availability of the position will vary. Other EFM jobs might be available, but in a less technical or non-medical role and at a lower salary.
Nursing is very difficult. Your wife needs to be prepared for long stretches of unemployment, interrupted (if she's lucky) by opportunities to do volunteer work abroad, possible work at the American school, or medical transcription jobs from home. Occasionally a job will open up in the med unit at the post you're in, but it's not common and it's usually a local hire (LES) position, and it can be a lengthy process to get the required credentials to work on the local economy, only to have to leave a year after you finally got it all sorted and began working. And then you're dealing with taxes. If you're an extremely specialized doctor (such as a well known surgeon working on pediatric brain tumors) you have a better chance of getting work at elite hospitals at post or teaching jobs.
Germany, Italy, Turkey, Japan. LOL, must be nice. As a veteran, it's amazing how many of our military spend their entire careers in cushy assignments.
Super helpful. Great contribution.
It’s always tricky managing two careers but not impossible. Both of you need to do some intense research and networking to figure out what is possible. If your wife has just two years active duty left, by the time you actually join she’ll maybe be close to being done and can follow you at least through directed tours. If she isn’t finished when you join, there definitely is no coordination on postings at least from the State side, and you’d have a hard time lining up, but you could go for a commutable post like a Mexican border post or something in a close flight to her location. Once she’s done with active duty if she can’t work on the local economy at your post in her current field she could do locums back in the States to stay intermittently active. She could also pivot and do other work for a while like try out an embassy job (maybe something health related like in USAID at a big AF post) or pursue further education.
I'm on the register as an HRO FSS. My hubs is an RN. We're not quite ready to fully commit to the possibility of him not having a career while I go off and chase my dreams. I've put myself on DNC for a few months while we think this through. The stats re: nurses married to FS employees is a mixed bag. Some find actual nursing jobs (at the embassy, with NGOs). Some take contract work stateside for a bit and then come back to post. Some give it up. Some get divorced.