# I have made no progress



## Patella_96 (Oct 10, 2018)

Hello all,

An update on my situation. I am currently attending university while waiting for my new recruiter to give me a date to go to MEPs. It feels as if I haven't moved an inch in this process. I had a certain date set up at the beginning of summer/late spring, however, an immediate family member unfortunately passed away the same week so I made the choice to attend to his funeral arrangements instead of going up to MEPs. I did my part in informing my recruitment station of the situation prior to the date as earliest as I could given the situation. What followed afterwards would be month after month of my recruiter telling me my date to leave for MEPs would come soon but when these dates came for reasons related to MEPs not accepting their projected date, I was unable to actually go. It has been around 4 months of this. Granted the date I was projected to go to MEPs most recently was cancelled because of the hurricane but regardless I am skeptical of the idea that it actually takes this long just to get someone to start the process. I am at a loss as to what I should do. I haven't even submitted my waiver yet.


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## BloodStripe (Oct 12, 2018)

Have you tried to call a different recruiter?


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## Gunz (Oct 14, 2018)

So you missed the first assigned date due to a death in the family. Okay. And after a long delay they gave you a second date for MEPS and you couldn't make that one either? Then you got a third date but it was cancelled because of the hurricane? Is that right?

And what is your waiver for?


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## Ooh-Rah (Oct 14, 2018)

@Patella_96 -

I’ve read thru all your posts on the board.

You’ve been dicking around with this for nearly 2 years and have not even had your MEPS physical yet?

- how many recruiters have you cycled thru?
Recruiter let me go

- have you even taken the ASVAB yet?
Recruiter let me go

- What did you decide about an MOS?
Recruiter

- what is your school situation?  You referenced community college, then your “university”. 

You have been late to meetings with your recruiters.

In post #3 of the linked thread I questioned your desire and commitment to joining the military. Today II am doubling down on that belief. You have shown no understanding of the sacrifice it takes to be in the service, much less my beloved Marine Corps.

Recruiter let me go

Likely your recruiters are bored with your schtick and are sinply keeping you in the system as an emergency backup In case  there is a month they may not make mission.


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## MikeDelta (Oct 14, 2018)

Ooh-Rah said:


> @Patella_96 -
> 
> I’ve read thru all your posts on the board.
> 
> ...



Spot on! I was wondering when this was going to the quarterdeck


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## Patella_96 (Oct 14, 2018)

@Ooh-Rah Perhaps I Deserved this reaction with my lack of response and periodic posts. I apologize for that. However, with all due respect I thought it was obvious that I was being deliberately vague online regarding certain aspects of my life out of  caution and safety. I take deep offense to your claim that I have been "dicking around" with this aspect of my life. I left my sick (apparently dying) grandfather so that I could have the CHANCE to become a Marine when my recruiter told me a date in early Summer. He died in another state while I was chasing an aspiration that isn't and wasn't concrete. I could have had two more days with the person I respected and loved the most. It ended up being my youngest brother who watched him die. You know nothing about my character or my conviction. l can assure you sir the guilt and grief I feel as a consequence of my choice is real regardless of  whether you in your opinion think I am genuine or not. He wanted me to be a doctor. Even while he was in pain and suffering he still told me that he wanted that life for me. I WAS at a community college and then transferred to my state university afterwards to pursue an undergrad Premed related degree. Following my grandfather's death, I took an entire summer semester off and worked a job at Dunkin Donuts on the off chance my recruiter would actually follow through and get me a solid date to leave for MEPS and I didn't want what happened last time to happen again. I dropped a whole semester so that I could be free to go to MEPs. My recruiter is well aware of this fact. This is still the second recruiter after the incident with the first recruiter that I am referring to and it has been approximately 4 months of projections being pushed back. My waiver is a moral waiver. I made mistakes in my life that I deeply regret. I posted my original post 2 years ago while I was still on PTI and still had months left to go before I was finished and it took a while to have finalized paperwork that I was finished with PTI. And no I have not even taken the ASVAB yet. THAT is the problem. This is because I haven't been getting solid dates from my recruiter and it is my recruiter that ends up bumping it back for a bunch of different reasons. I talked to the Gunnery Sergeant and he told me he would have a date for me by this coming Friday. Part of the reason I haven't gone to another recruiter is I don't want to feel those days I spent away from my grandfather were for nothing. I still want to be an Infantryman. I only say all of this to maintain my professional relationship with all of you and not to tell you a sob story about my life.


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## MikeDelta (Oct 14, 2018)

@Patella_96 I have read your posts and have a good read on your situation. I have also dealt with adversity in my youth as well. Homeless in my late teens and from a broken home. It was difficult making any kind of meeting, let alone making it to school. Part of my senior year I even lived in my friends uncle’s barn, not nice. However, I did complete my ASVAB, basic training & AIT (graduated as Distinguised Honor Graduate, the Marine Corp. refers to this as Honor Man), and then completed other courses/schools. This ultimately prepared me for a combat deployment shortly after my nineteenth birthday. So, why am I sharing this with you? Well, you came seeking advice and my gut tells me you need a little push, so this is YOUR shot, your call to action and your first mission...Successfully complete your ASVAB, that’s it, simple.

I’m certain that you’ll be tempted to reply, but that will accomplish nothing and you will have failed this task. So, don’t come back here till you’ve successfully completed your ASVAB; once you have, then and only then we can move on to other things. Now get it done.


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## RoosterJ (Oct 15, 2018)

Patella_96 said:


> @Ooh-Rah Perhaps I Deserved this reaction with my lack of response and periodic posts. I apologize for that. However, with all due respect I thought it was obvious that I was being deliberately vague online regarding certain aspects of my life out of  caution and safety. I take deep offense to your claim that I have been "dicking around" with this aspect of my life. I left my sick (apparently dying) grandfather so that I could have the CHANCE to become a Marine when my recruiter told me a date in early Summer. He died in another state while I was chasing an aspiration that isn't and wasn't concrete. I could have had two more days with the person I respected and loved the most. It ended up being my youngest brother who watched him die. You know nothing about my character or my conviction. l can assure you sir the guilt and grief I feel as a consequence of my choice is real regardless of  whether you in your opinion think I am genuine or not. He wanted me to be a doctor. Even while he was in pain and suffering he still told me that he wanted that life for me. I WAS at a community college and then transferred to my state university afterwards to pursue an undergrad Premed related degree. Following my grandfather's death, I took an entire summer semester off and worked a job at Dunkin Donuts on the off chance my recruiter would actually follow through and get me a solid date to leave for MEPS and I didn't want what happened last time to happen again. I dropped a whole semester so that I could be free to go to MEPs. My recruiter is well aware of this fact. This is still the second recruiter after the incident with the first recruiter that I am referring to and it has been approximately 4 months of projections being pushed back. My waiver is a moral waiver. I made mistakes in my life that I deeply regret. I posted my original post 2 years ago while I was still on PTI and still had months left to go before I was finished and it took a while to have finalized paperwork that I was finished with PTI. And no I have not even taken the ASVAB yet. THAT is the problem. This is because I haven't been getting solid dates from my recruiter and it is my recruiter that ends up bumping it back for a bunch of different reasons. I talked to the Gunnery Sergeant and he told me he would have a date for me by this coming Friday. Part of the reason I haven't gone to another recruiter is I don't want to feel those days I spent away from my grandfather were for nothing. I still want to be an Infantryman. I only say all of this to maintain my professional relationship with all of you and not to tell you a sob story about my life.




You just have to get it done man. There is no substitute for action. There is no reason the recruiter will dick you around if you are doing everything in your power to meet them halfway. They have quotas to fill.

Also, your story about your grandpa dying is something that everyone here has experienced multiple times over. Once you are in, you are going to miss a lot of things. Don't parade it around like it is some badge of honor that you missed his funeral. You aren't impressing anyone here or showing us whose boss by saying that.

If you are serious about joining, control the factors you can control and stop blaming the recruiters.


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## DC (Oct 15, 2018)

Can you explain a “moral” waiver?


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## Gunz (Oct 15, 2018)

You're whining. Man up. I think there's more to this story than you're letting on. Based only on what I've read I don't think you pack the gear to be a Marine.


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## Hacksaw0621 (Oct 19, 2018)

Alright so first you’ve already failed the ASVAB once and you require a moral waiver adding on that with being late to your meetings with the recruiters and what not .I’ll  be honest with you the operations officer is probably telling that gunny WHY should I waste resources dealing with this guy.


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## amlove21 (Oct 19, 2018)

Good inputs here. I believe the OP has plenty to read through and a good way ahead. 

@Patella_96 , I don't have much to say other than read the words posted, and take action, whatever that looks like. The words here may seem "harsh", but you just got a dose of some grown up advice from a collection of subject matter experts. 

What you do with that information is solely on you. 

Locked.


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