Previously I decided not to join the army and then changed my mind again and decided to join after all. Since making that decision, it seems the army has been trying to stop me for some reason.
I knew there would be a waiting period before I could get shipped to basic training, which is usually about 4 to 5 months these days, and it would take 28 weeks to finish my training, which would include both basic and health specialist training. I was told by a few sources that I might be able to influence the people in charge of human resources to make sure I get shipped to Afghanistan as soon as I was done with training. So from the time I sign up to the time I leave for Afghanistan would likely be about a year. Many sources say that the war in Afghanistan will be over by the end of 2014. The plan is to start reducing the number of troops there at the start of 2014 and have them all gone by the end. And since I may not get to go there right after I finish training, the sooner I start training the better my chances of getting to go are. So naturally I wanted to get started as soon as possible.
MEPS is where you take the ASVAB test which determines what jobs you're qualified for and where they do physical examinations and where you sign up and get your ship date. One of the recruiters I had spoken to back in December had me under the impression that I would get to go to MEPS as soon as I wanted. When I finally decided that I wanted to go and talked to a recruiter again back in January, they explained that this wasn't the case. They would need to "project" me to go to MEPS, which means they sign me up to go over there a minimum of 72 hours ahead of time. But before they could project me, I would need all my papers in order and need to meet certain conditions. First, they would have to do a background check using my fingerprints, which again takes three business days for them to complete. So that makes it about a week minimum between the time I say I wanna go to MEPS and the time I actually get to go to MEPS. I figured a week wasn't so bad even though the clock was ticking, so I went through with it.
The papers I needed were: my birth certificate, my social security card, my high school diploma, my college degree (which is optional of course), a signed letter from the doctor who had performed surgery on me recently, signed letters from every chiropractor I had ever seen, and a packet they gave me to fill out. Boy do I wish someone would have told me I'd need these things ahead of time. I could have gotten them together during all that time I spent not sure if I wanted to join or not. I asked the recruiter if there was any way to expedite the process, if I could just go to MEPS and get the stuff in later while I was waiting to ship out. The answer was a definite no. Not only could I not go to MEPS before everything was taken care of, I could not even get projected to go to MEPS until everything was taken care of.
My mother was out of town on a business trip so I had to call her and bother her about where to find my birth certificate and social security card. She asked me to wait until she got home, but I was in a hurry so I looked for them on my own. I found my birth certificate but the card was missing. It was strange that I needed the card because pretty much every place ever just needs the number. But still I managed to get a temporary replacement from the social security office which would apparently work for the army. My diploma and my degree could also have substitutes. I was able to use official transcripts instead. The college transcript was tough to get because I had a $10 parking ticket from years back. The security office was willing to wave the fee because it was from so long ago, but in order to do that I would have had to come back the next day since the cashier closes at four. I didn't want to go all the way to Bremerton again so I just put the money in the drop box with the lady from the transcript desk witnessing.
The packet required all kinds of invasive information that no one is comfortable giving out. It required personal information from every member of my immediate family. I gave them my half-sister's address in Germany. And it's always very difficult giving my employment history because I don't even remember most of my managers' last names. Luckily I was able to get by just putting down what I knew. I didn't wanna leave employment slots blank because it might look like I was lying.
But the first thing I did was call the hospital in Seattle where I got my surgery. This was on a Monday, and I called back every day after that to see if they had faxed the letter I asked for because I was in a hurry. On Tuesday they said they'd get it right to me. On Wednesday they apologized and said they'd definitely get it to me that day. Finally it came in on Thursday morning. The results from my fingerprints had already been completed at that point. All three chiropractors and everyone else I needed things from had gotten them to me speedily, so I ended up just waiting on the hospital which I contacted first.
I called the recruiters' office on Thursday morning thinking I was finally good to go. The recruiter once again explained to me that this was not the case. Before I could be projected, they had to send the letter from the hospital to MEPS so that MEPS could confirm that I was okay. This would take anywhere from three days to two weeks. So that letter, the one thing I ended up waiting on after everything else was done, ended up being the one thing that I would have benefited greatly from getting sooner. All the quick responses from all the other offices I contacted were for nothing. The recruiter sounded impatient with me, insisting that he had explained all this to me already. But he hadn't.
I hated that the army casts so much suspicion on people simply because they've had medical work done. Surgery fixes people. If I hadn't gotten the surgery then I'd presumably be in worse shape but the army would've let me right in with far less trouble. But since I've had surgery and since I've seen chiropractors to help me be in better condition, that's an issue that's potentially disqualifying. I understand why it's a red flag. Obviously they don't want people with bad backs. The thing is that they should just disqualify people based on their problems, not based on their solutions.
And it's amazing to me how such little things on their incredibly long checklist of problems can disqualify someone, even if they astoundingly answer no to every other question. When I wrote that I have herpes, they called me into a private room to confirm that it was just cold sores like most people have. How bizarre. Why would genital herpes disqualify someone from the army? People with genital herpes go through life perfectly fine with only their intimate partners even knowing about it.
Another thing that surprised me is that the recruiters encouraged me to lie about the little things. They told me they had done it themselves, and if they had been truthful then they probably never would've gotten where they are now. Somehow this didn't strike me as very military. What the recruiters said is that it was their job to get me into the army while it was MEPS's job to keep me out.
And keep me out they will. I was of course hoping that it would only take them three days to read my medical documents since everyone else was able to create the documents and send them so quickly. I became very worried and frustrated when it took longer. I was helpless. They were under no obligation to read it at all. They could just throw my stuff in the trash or lose it in some cabinet and no one would be the wiser. There was nothing I could do to make things go faster.
Finally I got a call after two weeks. I thought that I was ready to go at last. But it was not to be. A different recruiter from the friendly one I had been talking to explained to me that MEPS need additional documents. I was instructed to return to the hospital after April 9th, 3 months after my surgery and nearly two months after that phone call, to get another followup appointment and another signed letter assuring the army that I was really really okay this time. I explained that I had already gotten a signed letter promising that I was okay and that they had already read it. I asked if there was anything I could do to help things go faster. I again asked if this could be done after I go to MEPS. I asked to talk to the recruiter who had been helping me before. I pleaded. But it was no good.
The period of time that I can schedule followup appointments with my doctor that are included in the cost of the surgery is 10 weeks, so if I go do this new appointment I may have to pay extra. And the army may invent more excuses. Who knows? Maybe they have some motive to keep me out that has nothing to do with my tonsillectomy. Maybe they're testing me to see how much crap I can take. Maybe they've read my Facebook and don't like my attitude. In any case, it certainly seems like they have no intention of letting me into the army ever. But if it is just the tonsillectomy, I wish someone had told me that getting surgery might prevent you from joining the army. The recruiters could have told me. The army websites I've read could have said something. This information should be out there.
Everyone knows the old picture of Uncle Sam saying he wants you to join the army. I really thought the army would be a job where I was wanted. I'm so sick of the rat race of everyone competing with each other for employment and having employers reject them on a whim for arbitrary reasons. For all it's faults, I thought the military was a decent alternative to this. I thought Uncle Sam really wanted me. But right now, I don't feel wanted at all.
