No kidding there I was…
But seriously doing anything at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) requires a huge amount of patience, a fair amount of humor and of course calluses on one’s butt. At least here where I live this is how it goes, no matter if you are getting a physical or just waiting to speak to a counselor.
- Arrive at hotel the night before. Yes, you have to stay at a hotel. This ensures that you actually make it to MEPS at the right time.
- Wake up call sometime between 0315 and 0400 or 3:15am and 4 am for civilians. 🙂
- Get in line for breakfast and turn in room key. MMM tasty eggs, biscuits and gravy and GREASY bacon. At this point you must have your roommate with you, or you will be sent back to find him.
- Board bus at 0500 ish.
- Arrive at MEPS 0530.
- Stand in line outside according to what you will be doing that day. Full physicals in this line, shippers in this line, all others in this line. Once everyone is in line we get a briefing that covers anything from the tobacco policy of the building (don’t even try to use it) to the fact that this is a federal building and you can’t bring in any types of weapons, including the scissors that are in your toiletry bag. Oh and if there is a bomb alert, exit these stairs and go over there, form up and we’ll take roll.
- Once past the metal detectors and arriving at the MEPS floor you must then go to the office of the branch of service you are attempting to join and get your nametag. This nametag is basically your pass into this secure area as well as listing what specific items you will have done to you that day. And just in case you don’t know it, the last four digits of you social security number are on there. Go ahead and memorize it as you’ll need it for anything and everything you do in the military.
- If you are shipping out that day or if you are having a full physical you will be called pretty soon to start the process. You’ll make note of the phase “start the process”, the day I took my physical I wasn’t complete with the physical until approximately 1300 (1pm).
- When I checked into the counselor’s office he warned me that it would be a long time before I was called. “Just sit down and relax, it’ll be a long time.” Glad I brought a book.
- And now the waiting begins.
- 0630
- 0730
- 0930
- 0931
- 0932
- 0933
- At some point during this festival of waiting I started talking to a few guys around me. There were a couple that had college and were signing up for OCS to become officers. The guy that was my roommate from the night before was there as well. He was waiting for a Dr. appointment.
- 1030
- 1130 lunch time for the guys and gals that are shipping out today. Everyone else has to wait.
- 1215 now everyone else can get the cold sandwich, chips, water or soda, snack treat and crackers.
- 1300
- 1400
- 1500
- 1510 my name is finally called to go talk to the counselor!!!
At this point I’ll lose the bullets and go back into paragraph mode.
The first thing the counselor tells me is that it doesn’t look good. Me, “What do you mean it doesn’t look good?” Him, “Well, we’ve had two other prior service people in today and there were no jobs for them. The Army doesn’t need prior service people right now.” Now I’ve got to admit that I am a ball of mixed up feelings at this point. 1) I’m pissed off cause I’ve waited ALL day to find out the Army doesn’t want me. 2) I know I’ve heard from God on this and He said that I’m supposed to join the Army again. 3) I’m just plain confused. Fortunately he says, “Let me call DA” (Department of the Army). So he calls and happens to get a hold of a guy that knew me back in Italy. The guy says, “He was squared away, let me see what I can find.” Out pops 74D, Chemical Operations Specialist. Well alrighty, ain’t this just dandy. Did I mention that I was infantry before? I wanted to go back into the infantry. How can the Army not need infantrymen, we’re in a WAR?!?!?!
Again more mixed up emotions. This must be God saying “Never mind, this isn’t the job you wanted so I’m not calling you to do this.” Now keep in mind that the whole time Bride and I have been praying for Him to make this obvious, don’t let them give me five different choices and I have to pick one. Well DAH!!! He didn’t. He made this so exceptionally clear that even I, through my pity party haze could see that this was God working and directing this. Throughout this Bride and I are talking on the phone a couple of different times, praying and asking for clarity.
And so, there it was, the only job in the Army for a prior service guy, when two others had been turned away earlier than me. God was working and so we listened and signed the dotted line.
I head to WTC at Ft Sill around the end of Aug and from there to Ft Lostinthewoods (FT Leonardwood) for AIT. I should be through with training around this time next year and then we’ll find out where our duty station will be. We definitely have our list of places where we want to go and our list of places where we don’t want to go. For now though we’re just hanging on for the ride.