Some surprising news.

Asher and I did not think that we would be finding out what base we would be moving to until March, but this morning Asher got a call from Randolph AFB asking if he would accept a residency at Shepherd AFB. He said yes, but he is not sure about his decision. For one, we both wanted to go somewhere a little more exciting and Asher is now not too sure that he wants to put in another year of school. He was more willing to do it until he did his externship with our friend, Dr. Bryan Schaffer, who has a practice out in Yukon. Bryan did the military/dental school plan like Asher but did not enroll in a residency program. Bryan's practice is booming, so Asher is starting to feel like it might be a waste of time and effort.

Residency Pros:
valuable experience with procedures he is not already familiar with
more supervision without the confines present in dental school

Residency Cons:
more time away from family
plan just changed, now adds another year to military service
may not add anything to future success
have to live in Texas

I suggested that Asher call our friend, Will, who has already been through the program, to see if he feels like it was worthwhile. Of course Will is not out in the real world yet and Will enjoys academics whereas Asher enjoys hands-on work. We will just have to wait and see.