As I obliquely referred-to, back in May, I started the process of joining the Army Reserves. I figured, with my professional career in the doldrums, signing-up may just be the right thing to kick me back on track. Sure, the date of completing my 42nd spin around this Sun is fast approaching, but three-plus months till that deadline would surely be more than enough to overcome any hiccups and obstacles that may prop-up along the way. Or so I naively thought.
I quickly completed all my paper-work back in Pennsylvania, and set a date to get my medical exam at Fort Dix's MEPS. (BTW MEPS is The Department of Defense Medical Entrance Processing Center). A clearinghouse that processes all prospective applicants on behalf of all five Military Branches. My recruiter takes me there on June 10th, wherein I get poked and prodded in all shapes an forms (at least I didn't have to undergo the first part of the two part pelvic exam that females have to go through). But most important of all, I came in fasting so as to comply with my blood-work requirements. At three different stations, I was explicit, that I was fasting, and that I have NOT taken any foods nor beverages. Everything went just peachy, or so I thought. I was reassured that the normal turnaround time is usually three days, some times as much as a week, but that would be rare. Three Days they said. After which I was supposed to go back to MEPS to finalize my contract and ship-out to Basic Training at the earliest convenience.
Three Days go by, then four, and on and on. My recruiter and his boss were dumbfounded. They must be taking the full week, they said. A week goes by, and nothing. By then I was in the middle of packing for my move to California. Oh well, things will just have to wait until I get there, until everything gets finalized. Finally, on June 24th, while I was driving on the Interstate, near Lexington Ky, I get a call from my recruiter.
Recruiter: "You were NOT fasting".
Applicant: "WTF, I WAS fasting. I was so hungry all throughout that I could eat a horse".
Recruiter: "Your packet came back stating that you had responded that you were NOT fasting, so they did not process your blood", retorted the Sgt.
Applicant: "Negative - I was VERY explicit in stating the opposite. It must have been a miscommunication".
Recruiter: "Well, I'm sure that everything can be corrected once you get to San Diego".
Flash forward to July 6th, I approach a Recruiting Station here in Calif. and promptly meet Cpl. A. Cpl. A. seems very harried so we make an appointment for the following day. Red Flag comes up, but I'm willing to give him a try. The following day I explain to him my situation, and that I cannot have any further delays due to my 42nd B-Day. He assures me that he can have my packet here in San Diego within three days, when he does an "SSN-Pull" from Ft. Dix to San Diego.
Three days... yeah right. They come and go like the breeze. I go to the Station Commander, followed by the Regional Commander. They in turn get the Recruiting Battalion in the case, and to this day nothing, nada, zip. All of them insist, that since I had first tested at Ft. Dix's MEPS, my record HAS to be received before they can process me. No exceptions. I've gotten a slew of plausible excuses and differing series of possible scenarios on what may be happening, but no straight answer.
A week and a half to go until my calendar turns into a pumpkin, and I'm starting to loose hope. Guess that I shall be destined to stay a Mil Groupie after all.
BOQ
I quickly completed all my paper-work back in Pennsylvania, and set a date to get my medical exam at Fort Dix's MEPS. (BTW MEPS is The Department of Defense Medical Entrance Processing Center). A clearinghouse that processes all prospective applicants on behalf of all five Military Branches. My recruiter takes me there on June 10th, wherein I get poked and prodded in all shapes an forms (at least I didn't have to undergo the first part of the two part pelvic exam that females have to go through). But most important of all, I came in fasting so as to comply with my blood-work requirements. At three different stations, I was explicit, that I was fasting, and that I have NOT taken any foods nor beverages. Everything went just peachy, or so I thought. I was reassured that the normal turnaround time is usually three days, some times as much as a week, but that would be rare. Three Days they said. After which I was supposed to go back to MEPS to finalize my contract and ship-out to Basic Training at the earliest convenience.
Three Days go by, then four, and on and on. My recruiter and his boss were dumbfounded. They must be taking the full week, they said. A week goes by, and nothing. By then I was in the middle of packing for my move to California. Oh well, things will just have to wait until I get there, until everything gets finalized. Finally, on June 24th, while I was driving on the Interstate, near Lexington Ky, I get a call from my recruiter.
Recruiter: "You were NOT fasting".
Applicant: "WTF, I WAS fasting. I was so hungry all throughout that I could eat a horse".
Recruiter: "Your packet came back stating that you had responded that you were NOT fasting, so they did not process your blood", retorted the Sgt.
Applicant: "Negative - I was VERY explicit in stating the opposite. It must have been a miscommunication".
Recruiter: "Well, I'm sure that everything can be corrected once you get to San Diego".
Flash forward to July 6th, I approach a Recruiting Station here in Calif. and promptly meet Cpl. A. Cpl. A. seems very harried so we make an appointment for the following day. Red Flag comes up, but I'm willing to give him a try. The following day I explain to him my situation, and that I cannot have any further delays due to my 42nd B-Day. He assures me that he can have my packet here in San Diego within three days, when he does an "SSN-Pull" from Ft. Dix to San Diego.
Three days... yeah right. They come and go like the breeze. I go to the Station Commander, followed by the Regional Commander. They in turn get the Recruiting Battalion in the case, and to this day nothing, nada, zip. All of them insist, that since I had first tested at Ft. Dix's MEPS, my record HAS to be received before they can process me. No exceptions. I've gotten a slew of plausible excuses and differing series of possible scenarios on what may be happening, but no straight answer.
A week and a half to go until my calendar turns into a pumpkin, and I'm starting to loose hope. Guess that I shall be destined to stay a Mil Groupie after all.
BOQ
Well, I will type this as best as I can, considering my cision is pretty much zapped at the moment.
Were I you, I would, on monday morning, visit the recruiting station and speak to the commander and review the situation with him. Then explain to him that, if nothing is done to expidite this matter and clear it up within the nect 48 hours, that you will be contacting both of your senators and every congress-critter in the state,. as well as every newspaper, television, rafio station and blogger you can, and letting them know just how fouled up his recruiting station is.
Then I would be visiting a JG officer and asking to press charges of dereliction of duty against each and every man-jack in the chain of command that you have dealt with.
Then I'd tell him that that was the nice me... the really angry me hadn;'t even shown up yet.
What you are experiencing is pure BS, and ought not to be tolerated. Any citizen who wants to serve ought to have the right to and be processed with all due form and expediency, especially since there is this war thingee going on, ya lnow?
Heh. best of luvk with all of this, but i would seriously talk lawsuit against somebofy if this gets fubar'd, like it seems to be.
Respects,
Did you enjoy walking like a duck in your undies?
Geez, I want to say "You'll be better off if you don't make it in before the deadline," but I also know that if it's something you really want to do and don't get to do then you'll always look back at it and wonder what could have been.
And hey, if you do make it: during the shit times, just remember why you joined in the first place. Because by God, there are more shit times than not. ;)
For some reason he's having trouble connecting with the comments section, so I asked him if he wanted me to post it:
BOQ, I'm beginning to suspect you need a plane ticket to Fort Dix...
There has been a suggestion about calling your "Congress-Critter". Even doing this, for any of the staff or the "critter" themselves, you need to understand a few things, Because of the Privacy Act, they can not get involved without written permission. Most of these critters have a form you can fill out, but they will want any supporting documents to help them. Leave the politics and attitude out of it, either way.
I agree, it can be a royal clusterf--k! -Grumpy
A registered letter to the CO of the MEPS might do the trick, with a cc at the bottom listing your congresscritter. Then cc your congresscritter.
MEPS also has a cute trick of sending "orphan" records to the last unit that processed through.
But this does NOT mean you are sidelined in the defense of this Nation! You can look at the different options in Homeland Security, on any level, it can be city, county, state or federal. You can look at the whole host of "first responder slots".
NOTE: THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT YOUR PATRIOTISM, GOT IT!
Grumpy
.
Quickly
Boq,
I can't speak to the goat screw you're dealing with right now, but I sure remember 401 N. Broad. 5 Sept 1973, a week day, I was 17.5 had just finished summer school so I wouldn't have to go to 12th grade, and was one of only about 15 guys going through the induction center at that time. The draft had been stopped six months prior, and I was a VOLAR guy, flat feet an' all, and they didn't care about that or that I was overweight or any of it. I was on a bus to Ft. Dix NJ that evening, my mother blew a gasket, she thought I was just getting examined/tested, didn't know the signature allowed me to enlist (HA!, my own great escape!). 12-14 weeks at Ft. Dix (while there, was asked if I wanted to try out for West Point, not a chance in hell; was recycled with about 70% of the battalion because the Reservist DIs had done a crap job of training us, but it was look starting over because the RA DIs came back and 'fixed' us... I was glad to be done with Basic, but the not-best part was that we got to clear the building--we were the last BCT unit to use the 40-man bays in the thee story green buildings, and while on hold-over we stripped the buildings of every last piece of furniture, fixture, etc. From there I was sent to Ft. Huachuca, and the rest is history... And I've been out of the Army now for 7 more years than I was in it, and while I like being 'around' the Army, I have never wanted to be 'in the Army' since I left it in 1987.
P.S.
The Southern California Recruiting Battalion FAQ:
27401 Los Altos Suite 330 Mission Viejo, CA 92691-6316.
Telephone: 949-367-1150/1151, FAX 949-367-1150
The Battalion Headquarters is located just off I-5, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, California.
Contacts URL for the folks you want to talk to is located at URL:
www.usarec.army.mil/6thbde/6kbn/contact/directory.html
P.P.S. Hi everyone. I've been lurking a little, trying to make myself get back into this. Still busy, still lots of other pressures, it's 1:07am here... Time when I can.