# Questions about Option 40, I'm in a rather unique situation.



## Rahmik (Feb 28, 2019)

I apologize in advance for the length, below is some information on the rather unique situation I am currently in. If you are unable to read it all due to its length I've put my questions at the end to try ease the burden. Thank you in advance.

I’m an Army prior-service E-4 (11B) with 3 years 4 months of AFS and a 1 1/2 break in service. I went to MEPS yesterday and passed my physical/Airborne physical. I was hoping to get an 11x Option 40 contract. However, due to me being MOS qualified it wasn’t available to me. According to the career counselor I spoke to, people who are MOS qual’d need to be sent straight to operational units and cannot receive any option. Usually I’d take a career counselors word for it but he’s an older retiree and he seems to have some confusion on RASP vs. Ranger School.“You don’t need to be a Ranger, people get Option 40s all the time only to go to Ranger School and get sent back their original unit. A tab isn’t going to guarantee placement in a Ranger unit.” Which to my understanding isn't technically wrong information, but it pertains to Ranger School as opposed to Ranger Selection.

I was then offered 13F option 40 as a replacement which would have been incredible news but, unfortunately the ship date came much sooner than expected. I had a letter of enrollment from my college with an estimated completion date in December of 2019 in the system that was sent it a month prior to my MEPS visit, but I was told it wasn't possible for me to ship in 2020 at all. I spent the next couple hours trying to inform my fiance that this may be my only shot and that I would have to cut school short and leave much earlier than we had initially prepared.

At this point my recruiters were called to drive to MEPS at the behest of the MEPS Sergeant Major who was wondering why I was taking so long to sign. Finally, I was able to get in contact with my fiance and explain the situation, she was supportive and everything seemed like it would work out well. I was ready to sign when the counselor stopped and saw my MEPS Physical(DD form 2808). He, saw "FAIL" in one of the vision boxes and immediately DQ'd me for Airborne for Red/Green colorblindness. During my vision portion I failed the PIP test (the dots that make up numbers) but, passed the FALANT test (red,white, and green lights), the red and green vivids test and got signed off by the MEPS physician as being qualified to attend airborne.

I was very confused because the physician cleared me. Everyone in the building was losing their patience because they were getting pressure from higher. I was afraid that I may not be able to come back to this MEPS location if I had walked away, *so I signed a reservation for 11x *with an assignment of choice with literal minutes before the control desk closed and my process was stopped due to COB for finger prints. The only other MEPS nearby required a memorandum for Prior Service and I couldn't afford to go out of state if my recruiters "blacklisted" me.

On my way home I read the a MEPS publication stating that only one of the 3 tests needs to be passed in order to prove that you can distinguish red and green. I pointed out the mistake to my recruiter and told him that I believed I was falsely DQ'd. Now I’m in the process of trying to renegotiate the reservation and I'm hoping to see that 13F option again.

*Questions*: Is the 13F Option 40 my best option to become a Ranger (its a great MOS, but if possible I would like to keep my MOS)?

Or is it a mistake on that MOS qual’d 11B cannot get an Option 40?

I called 75th Ranger Recruiting and the Sergeant I spoke to told me it was an option available to PS, but when I mentioned it to the career counselor he said that it essentially didn't matter what the 75th Ranger Recruiter said and that the option isn't available if you hold the MOS already.

According to the HRC business rules anyone E1-E4 with less than 48 months of service can enlist "Training of Choice."

Apologies again if its too long or hard to follow, writing isn't exactly. Any information at all is appreciated, thank you in advance.

 - mod edit to make the post more readable and give the OP a better chance to have his question answered -


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## Ooh-Rah (Feb 28, 2019)

@Rahmik et'al,

Guys, please help the readers help you.  Paragraphs are your friend; give the person who might be able to help you a fighting chance by writing your post in a way that is easy to read.

If it's a super long post, highlight the questions in some way.

Happens all the time, I just decided to help the OP out by tweaking his.


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## Rahmik (Feb 28, 2019)

Ooh-Rah said:


> @Rahmik et'al,
> 
> Guys, please help the readers help you.  Paragraphs are your friend; give the person who might be able to help you a fighting chance by writing your post in a way that is easy to read.
> 
> ...



Thank you very much Sir, It's greatly appreciated!


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## x SF med (Feb 28, 2019)

@Ooh-Rah …  now you know how James Joyce's editors felt...


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## AKguy (May 26, 2019)

Any updates on this? I happen to be in the same situation.


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## Ranger Psych (May 26, 2019)

13F with an option 40 will give you as much time in the dirt as the rest of the guys, with a very fun skillset otherwise. Your ruck's always going to be heavy, but you bring the entire military's munition arsenal to the battlefield with that little rucksack, unlike a 11B who only brings that which they can carry.

It's a good gig, but then again anything in Regiment is a good gig compared to it's conventional counterpart. Provided you have what it takes, you will stand and fight alongside people who want to and volunteered to be there, have been tested and found capable, and are provided some of the best equipment and training environments that our military has to offer to prepare you for the battlefield.

As far as colorblindness, it's sorta important to be able to tell colors. Helps prevent fratricide among other things.


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## AKguy (May 26, 2019)

I'm also an 11b currently in the Guard. My contract is almost up and I'm really hoping to stay 11b and get into regiment, but it sounds like option 40 is a no go if you're mosq. Maybe 13f would be a good alternative.


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## Rahmik (Jun 6, 2019)

AKguy said:


> I'm also an 11b currently in the Guard. My contract is almost up and I'm really hoping to stay 11b and get into regiment, but it sounds like option 40 is a no go if you're mosq. Maybe 13f would be a good alternative.



Good news! Just got back today. Signed an 11B Option 40. It took a bit of fighting but It worked out.


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## Rahmik (Jun 6, 2019)

AKguy said:


> I'm also an 11b currently in the Guard. My contract is almost up and I'm really hoping to stay 11b and get into regiment, but it sounds like option 40 is a no go if you're mosq. Maybe 13f would be a good alternative.


 

It’s possible, I got it after a contract renegotiation. Just keep at it, Ive been trying since around January and they kept telling me it wasn’t possible. I was asking for a bit much as well, I wanted a contract in 2020 because I graduate in December so that was the real issue. They offered me one or the other as PS. I could get RASP and leave soon or get into the Army later with my degree. 

If you have 48 month or less of TIS and you are willing to go as soon as they want you too. I think you’ll be able to swing one just like I did. Good luck!


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Jun 6, 2019)

Dude you already played 11B, another MOS,  13F is a good one, and you get a shot at where you wanna be to boot?  Take that shit and run with it,  you can always put the radio down and shoot people.  Promotion potential and ability to fill multiple roles in a unit like Ranger regiment is fucking priceless. 

You will hate FT Sill but at least you ain't going as a boot and you damn sure know where your next stop will be.  

Own that shit...


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## AKguy (Jun 8, 2019)

Congrats, this is great news! Good luck with everything.


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