MEPS

[jak77]

Got done around 1230 today, Im glad its finally over.

[Zorrm]

That's not bad... 1230 is super early. Congrats!

[Anchors]

What are the watching you pee and duck walk/leg kicks about?
Just curious.

As for the butthole thing,
I read that hemorrhoids aren't a DQ unless they are painful/cause bleeding.
But I am pretty sure checking out all your various junk is part of any physical.

[kwest10]

What are the watching you pee and duck walk/leg kicks about?
Just curious.

As for the butthole thing,
I read that hemorrhoids aren't a DQ unless they are painful/cause bleeding.
But I am pretty sure checking out all your various junk is part of any physical.

watching you pee is to make sure it's YOUR pee.
Supposedly you can put some chemical on your finger (ie bleach) and have the pee run off your finger and into the cup. It makes you clean. Or there is an actual device that is a fake johnson with a bladder that you can fill with clean pee.
Duck walk is supposed to catch some sort of major foot disorder.

[Anchors]

Ohh. Yeah I know all about that.
I had to do it when I was younger (which is ironically also the reason I can't get into the Active Duty Army. MJ possession.)

I had to have a guy watch me pee every Monday for six months when I was 15. haha. He was a creepy dude with a really long goatee beard thing too. It always bummed me out because I wasn't sure exactly why he would want that job. But yeah I was joking around with him about it once and he said it was because people use a fake weiner and a pump with someone else's pee in it.
There were kids in my diversion class that did cocaine and stuff on the days after their tests so they could pee it out before the next one.
Even I was like "WOW these kids have a problem" haha.

The National Guard is trying to enlist me right now. My recruiter said he can probably get me the waiver.

It is kind of funny since I am a straight edge kid and haven't even drank alcohol or smoked ciggerattes since that day when I got in trouble.
Lol the FBI and Phoenix PD both said my juvenile history wasn't a problem too.

Oh well though. You pay for your mistakes in life. That is part of being a man.

[tacticalcity]

It is a less than pleasant experience, but get used to it because there will be a lot more like that one if you get accepted into the armed forces. That is not to say the military sucks, in general it is a great life, but it does come with several fairly unpleasant requirements, and MEPS is one of them.

I'm just a tad flat footed. Most people are to some degree. So when I jumped off that really high table barefoot onto the hard slab floor I had to make an effort not to wince. Apparently I winced just a little because the older than dirt Doc looked at me sideways, but he passed me when I flashed my best "cut me a break" smile. This is the same Doc that has you bend over and touch your toes and inspects the exit only hole.

The only other issue I had was that their eye testing equipment was so old that the lenses were almost completely fogged over. So the test showed people's vision as worse of than it really was. Hopefully they fixed that. For those of us hoping to become "Airborne Qualified" it was a *****.

Two things really stuck with me after that day at the MEPS and often get retold in my "war stories".

1) The poor Navy Corpsman who has to stare at your johnson while you pee has the worst job in the world. The guy we got stuck with had a great sense of humor. The Army slogan at the time was "Be all you can be". He had a homemade sign that read, "Pee all you pee." It brought a much needed sense of humor to an otherwise miserable experience.

2) The military has zero tact. While waiting in one of the many lines at the end of the process, they told a guy two or three places ahead of me in line that he tested positive for aids. They said it loud enough for all of us to hear. They made zero effort to respect his privacy or feelings. He broke down into tears right there. I learned right there that the military was not going to baby you like civilian life tries to. They give it to cold and straight. You have no choice but to cowboy up and take it.

Thankfully, most of the experiences you have in the military will be MUCH better than MEPS. In the grand scheme of things it is not a big deal at all, provided you pass. It's one really long, boring, uncomfortable day but it beats the heck out of your best day at basic training. And in the grand scheme of things even Basic isn't all that bad. It just seems like it at the time. I got some of my funiest "war stories" from basic.

[Mr.Caketown]

What are the watching you pee and duck walk/leg kicks about?
Just curious.

Standing on one leg and kicking demonstrates balance and range of motion through the leg as well as when you rotate your ankle. The duck walks demonstrate range of motion from the feet to the hips as well as your upper core. It also shows that you have normal equilibrium

watching you pee is to make sure it's YOUR pee.
.

The hard part is being shoulder to shoulder with 3 other guys

Ohh. Yeah I know all about that.
I had to do it when I was younger (which is ironically also the reason I can't get into the Active Duty Army. MJ possession.)


The National Guard is trying to enlist me right now. My recruiter said he can probably get me the waiver.
.

Can you go from NG to Active?

2) The military has zero tact. While waiting in one of the many lines at the end of the process, they told a guy two or three places ahead of me in line that he tested positive for aids. They said it loud enough for all of us to hear. They made zero effort to respect his privacy or feelings. He broke down into tears right there. I learned right there that the military was not going to baby you like civilian life tries to. They give it to cold and straight. You have no choice but to cowboy up and take it.

oh ****

[Anchors]

It is a less than pleasant experience, but get used to it because there will be a lot more like that one if you get accepted into the armed forces. That is not to say the military sucks, in general it is a great life, but it does come with several fairly unpleasant requirements, and MEPS is one of them.

I'm just a tad flat footed. Most people are to some degree. So when I jumped off that really high table barefoot onto the hard slab floor I had to make an effort not to wince. Apparently I winced just a little because the older than dirt Doc looked at me sideways, but he passed me when I flashed my best "cut me a break" smile. This is the same Doc that has you bend over and touch your toes and inspects the exit only hole.

The only other issue I had was that their eye testing equipment was so old that the lenses were almost completely fogged over. So the test showed people's vision as worse of than it really was. Hopefully they fixed that. For those of us hoping to become "Airborne Qualified" it was a *****.

Two things really stuck with me after that day at the MEPS and often get retold in my "war stories".

1) The poor Navy Corpsman who has to stare at your johnson while you pee has the worst job in the world. The guy we got stuck with had a great sense of humor. The Army slogan at the time was "Be all you can be". He had a homemade sign that read, "Pee all you pee." It brought a much needed sense of humor to an otherwise miserable experience.

2) The military has zero tact. While waiting in one of the many lines at the end of the process, they told a guy two or three places ahead of me in line that he tested positive for aids. They said it loud enough for all of us to hear. They made zero effort to respect his privacy or feelings. He broke down into tears right there. I learned right there that the military was not going to baby you like civilian life tries to. They give it to cold and straight. You have no choice but to cowboy up and take it.

Thankfully, most of the experiences you have in the military will be MUCH better than MEPS. In the grand scheme of things it is not a big deal at all, provided you pass. It's one really long, boring, uncomfortable day but it beats the heck out of your best day at basic training. And in the grand scheme of things even Basic isn't all that bad. It just seems like it at the time. I got some of my funiest "war stories" from basic.

LOL I laughed out loud.
I looked into Navy Corpsman because they said they might do a waiver for me, but I was interested in going "Green" side.
That sucks about the guy with AIDS :/

Standing on one leg and kicking demonstrates balance and range of motion through the leg as well as when you rotate your ankle. The duck walks demonstrate range of motion from the feet to the hips as well as your upper core. It also shows that you have normal equilibrium



The hard part is being shoulder to shoulder with 3 other guys



Can you go from NG to Active?



oh ****

I see.
Not likely anytime soon.
The Army doesn't need anyone. People are beating down the doors to get in haha.

[Zorrm]

Can you go from NG to Active?

Yes you can, but it is very hard. With the ARNG, you need to get released by the first general officer in your chain of command, as well as we need to find a slot for you... it's no easy task but it is possible.

[Mr.Caketown]

Yes you can, but it is very hard. With the ARNG, you need to get released by the first general officer in your chain of command, as well as we need to find a slot for you... it's no easy task but it is possible.

Sounds like a lot of fun. One of the guys i went to MEPS with was Reserves trying to active. THis was his 9th visit to MEPS and he got lucky with something in Signal

[Zorrm]

Yeah guys with prior service get to run through a lot more tape than those who haven't served yet... go figure.

[Mr.Caketown]

i got there about 0400, didnt leave until like 1700... it was a pretty whack day to say the least, lol but eh if you're enlisting in the military I guess ya just gotta get used to that haha. Docs were dicks, everyone else was pretty pleasant. The Commander who swore me in... I swear it was Major Pain's brother, sounded just like him haha. And the pecker checker dude who watches you piss, looked like Bill Cosby. I dunno where they get all these celebrity look alikes to work at MEPs. Alot of immature douches running around, so pretty entertaining to watch them.

Which MEPS did you go to? Sounds like the San Diego one

[jak77]

That's not bad... 1230 is super early. Congrats!

I got out earlier than most because I wasnt swearing in. Had the Togo's they provided for lunch and left. It felt like it took forever though. Now I really know the meaning of hurry up and wait.

If the place was better staffed and the process streamlined, I dont see why it shouldnt take more than 2-4 hours. But I guess thats the military and I better get used to it.

Running the PFT for my OSO Thurs morning and my packet gets submitted that afternoon. Hopefully Ill get accepted to OCC 207 this summer!

[Anchors]

Yes you can, but it is very hard. With the ARNG, you need to get released by the first general officer in your chain of command, as well as we need to find a slot for you... it's no easy task but it is possible.

Yeah. Of course the NG recruiter made it sound like it happens all the time.
But the AD recruiters have told me it is pretty damn hard.

Yeah guys with prior service get to run through a lot more tape than those who haven't served yet... go figure.

Why is that? No one has ever been able to tell me why definitively.
It seems to me if you take a guy who has been an 0311 in the Marine Corps for 12 years and he wants to bring what he has learned there and apply it to the Army 11B's mission that it would be beneficial to everyone? Or maybe he wants to go SF/Rangers and because he has peaked in his career where he is and is ready for the next thing?
Or even a guy who was in the Navy, but wants to join the Army after he gets out.
At least he is familiar with chain of command, drill, military life, etc.

Why is it so hard for you guys that are already in service to move around?

[Zorrm]

The military is cutting down its budget and it's size, and the way the Army is doing that is by making it harder to get in and easier to get out... and the first thing to go is retraining prior service guys. The reasoning behind this is beyond me.

HOWEVER - If you are prior service and want in the --> Reserves <-- it is wide open for you guys.

Why is it so hard for you guys that are already in service to move around?

This is beyond me... my personal train of thought on this isn't exactly in line with what we actually can and can't do with prior service guys.