Recently enlisted - some concerns

[Border]

Hello, before i dive into this situation i am not trying to come across as i am to good for where i have ended up or that i do not appreciate what the military is doing for me.

With that being said, i have had a very interesting experience at MEPS and would like to share it with the community to get some insight and see if maybe i am in the wrong here. I went to MEPS with an 11x contract reservation by my local recruiting office, once arrived at the Miami MEPS office i was told i do not qualify for this job.

Now full disclosure i have a slight lazyness in my left eye- known as ambloypia. I had to get a waiver for this and also had a eye consultation.

My eye results stated that my vision is correctable to 20/20 - 20/30. Once my waiver was approved i was informed my new PULHES score is 111111

However the MEPS recruiter told me that i do not qualify over and over, i pulled my local recruiter inside with me who was in the hall just to see what he says. Basically they went back and forth and my recruiter seemed slightly confused. He even repulled the job for me in the system on his laptop but the MEPS recruiter was not having it. He went on to say that my eye consult i was instructed to get done has 0 value to them and that he is only giving me a job based off initial findings at MEPS. But initial findings at MEPS are uncorrected vision where as my corrected is 20/20-20/30. So that is two completely different values.

Told me if i want to end up one day with a slot in SFAS that i have to go to 12B and after my 14 weeks i can contact the SF recruiter to submit my packet. That sounds peachy but i keep finding information about having to be at a duty station for at least a year to reclass, certain ranks, if leadership will even release you, on and on.

I have a good friend who was an 11b that is just concerned for my future, he told me he has seen this happen to lots of people and they in the end will lose motivation and get broken down. He believes as well that 12b and 11x have the same vision standard so if i can enlist under one.. why not the other.

Like i said i am happy and lucky to even have made it this far, i understand a lot of people do not get the chance to enlist at all no matter how hard they try. I just do not like the feeling of potentially having the wool pulled over my eyes.

I know i have been on these forums a good bit more than i probably should be and just should roll with my situation. But i value the information you all have and the experience,. With that being said i do not want to make improper life decisions because i did not stand up to a recruiter in the fear of a 6th trip to MEPS. I want to have little to no regrets in life.. at least if they are easy to fix before they occur.

Of course if there is nothing to be done i will be optimistic, keep my head up and work my ass off to get where i want to be.

I hope you understand where i am coming from and do not see this in the wrong light. Thanks for any replies in advance.

-Max

 

[Ooh-Rah]

I know i have been on these forums a good bit more than i probably should be and just should roll with my situation.

At some point while you are being 'received' at bootcamp, you are going to be asked if anyone made you any promises that are not explicitly written into your contract. You need to be 100% sure you know exactly what signed up for....if it turns out you cannot be 'whatever' because of your eyes, then don't go if you are that concerned about it. You're better off doing that than spending 4 bitter years in a job you hate.

Wanna know who's more jaded and bitter than the average Marine or Soldier? A Marine or Soldier who LET his recruiter or MEPS talk him into a job he didn't want.

Don't 'roll' with shit. Period.

 

[AWP]

Fight for what you want, enlist for what you want, accept alternatives with the knowledge your dreams may never happen. "Change or endure" with bad times and bad choices.

If the recruiter is saying go 12B instead of 11x and you think the standards are the same, then ask them to show you the standards. Don't get browbeaten into a job you do not want.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Here's my recruiter story, I share it from time to time. At the young age of 19 it was the first opportunity I had to act like a man....

I had been to MEP's and had a contract to go MP's after high school. Problem was, I was a fuckup in high school and was not going to graduate on time. When I informed my recruiter that I wanted to put off going to boot camp for one year so I could repeat my senior year, he immediately put me on a bus to MEPS to "discuss ".

Once at MEPs, the staff there were SUCH dicks; It was the first time in my life I had to stand for principle. I remember a Corporal coming in and really giving me shit, then a Major. The Major questioned my patriotism and my commitment to The Corps. He put a phone in front of me told me to call my mom and let her know I'd be shipping directly to San Diego that evening! ( No idea what they would have done with me, probably put me into some type of "shit platoon" until I could start a new series.) The Major said I could even finish high-school while in boot camp....yeah right!

I did call my mom, but to tell her what they told me and that I did not want to ship until I finished high school the right way. She told me to do what I thought was right, and I did. After that I don't remember much, this was in 88' so Gulf War had not kicked up yet - maybe quotas were tougher to reach then.

In the end I held strong and shipped one year later - no worse for the wear, and I tell you what - there is zero-point-zero chance I would have gotten my GED while in the Corps - to this day I consider waiting it out one of my strongest moments.

 

[Ranger Psych]

That MEPS guy is flat out pushing you into a gig they need to make mission on.

I have a Ranger buddy who's an EOD MSG now. That dude showed up to Batt with a bad enough permanent lazy eye that we'd give him 9-3 instead of 10-2 for a sector of fire, nevermind having to finally make a platoon internal standard that as he was right handed, his right eye was what was considered "looking at you" for determining attention paid during classes, browbeatings, and the like.

He did end up getting corrective surgery while in Batt as well, it's regressed some but he's still doing good things in the Army.

Take the contract you want, and if they say you are unqualified, then tell them to show you the regulation for what requirements/qualifications ARE for the job.

 

[Border]

bad enough permanent lazy eye that we'd give him 9-3 instead of 10-2 for a sector of fire

This gave me a good chuckle.

Thanks fellas for the positive reinforcement, I have been stressing all day over it. Monday i will go to my recruiters office and discuss the situation.

I will keep this post updated with the outcome, maybe i will be magically qualified again.

 

[Ranger Psych]

To make it even better, I've got a lazy eye as well. Only difference is that it's beneficial, as my spatial awareness and field of view increases when I'm fatigued. Otherwise, normal binocular.... I enlisted straight 11B though, as "I knew a guy" and had my contract modified at 30th AG.

 

[Chopstick]

In the end I held strong and shipped one year later - no worse for the wear, and I tell you what - there is zero-point-zero chance I would have gotten my GED while in the Corps - to this day I consider waiting it out one of my strongest moments.

Clearly, I do not have a personal MEPS story. But I can relate, that my son's recruiter attended my son's HS graduation party a few days prior to my son leaving for boot camp. Many of my son's friends and a couple of relatives were talking to the recruiter who was actually our invited guest.(After a year of DEP we practically had adopted that guy). One of the kids at the party displayed a deep interest in joining the USMC, however the recruiter informed that the USMC was not accepting home schooled students due to the rate of failure to adapt at boot camp of those students. The kid went back and forth for a while with a couple of recruiters but in the end opted for college.
@Border best of luck to you. I hope you get what you want.

 

[Devildoc]

Clearly, I do not have a personal MEPS story. But I can relate, that my son's recruiter attended my son's HS graduation party a few days prior to my son leaving for boot camp. Many of my son's friends and a couple of relatives were talking to the recruiter who was actually our invited guest.(After a year of DEP we practically had adopted that guy). One of the kids at the party displayed a deep interest in joining the USMC, however the recruiter informed that the USMC was not accepting home schooled students due to the rate of failure to adapt at boot camp of those students. The kid went back and forth for a while with a couple of recruiters but in the end opted for college.
@Border best of luck to you. I hope you get what you want.

We homeschool, and we know maybe a half dozen kids who joined the military, all of whom did very well. Not saying your story is bullshit; rather confirming that recruiters are a fickle lot and their stories change with the wind.

When I joined in the 90s, my recruiter got me field med school in my contract--after trying to talk me out of it. MEPS said no way, it was bogus. I walked, got a call not long after, telling me everything was good to go with the FMSS.

 

[AWP]

I know some homeschoolers who are a trainwreck. I can easily see a recruiter, or recruiting command, seeing a wave of twits and forming a negative conclusion.

 

[Devildoc]

@AWP , we definitely do not need to turn this read into a debate on our education system, but pointing out that homeschoolers typically do better in college then Public School counterparts. I would also say they follow the same bell curve as any other body of students, you get the brilliant and you get the losers but most people are right in the middle. But like I said in the presidency thread, I don't like to have a throw the baby out with the bathwater type of conclusion generalized on to any group.

 

[AWP]

@AWP , we definitely do not need to turn this read into a debate on our education system, but pointing out that homeschoolers typically do better in college then Public School counterparts. I would also say they follow the same bell curve as any other body of students, you get the brilliant and you get the losers but most people are right in the middle. But like I said in the presidency thread, I don't like to have a throw the baby out with the bathwater type of conclusion generalized on to any group.

I'm not bashing homeschoolers, but offering a different view. I can see someone seeing a run on kids with issues or someone with preconceived notions who suddenly see "problems" coming to a conclusion. No more, no less. For every Tim Tebow there's someone making a "shake and bake" meth concoction, you know?

 

[Devildoc]

I'm not bashing homeschoolers, but offering a different view. I can see someone seeing a run on kids with issues or someone with preconceived notions who suddenly see "problems" coming to a conclusion. No more, no less. For every Tim Tebow there's someone making a "shake and bake" meth concoction, you know?

Yup. Like I said, the bell curve. With regard to recruiters, it's certainly up to them to figure out if they "accept" a homeschool HS diploma, but at the end of the day the diploma carries the same legal weight as any other. I would believe like the PS meth heads, the interview, ASVAB, character references, etc., paint a picture. I haven't heard of any homeschool kids not getting in (the ones I know went AF and Army), but my 'n' is 6 +/- 2 and all from my town, so it's not like I have a conclusive grasp of the overall picture.

As for offering a differing view, believe me, over 15 years I have heard nearly all of them. I agree if one sees a bunch of kids (regardless of schooling) with certain developmental, academic, or character traits, it's easy to draw a conclusion, fair or not.

 

[Chopstick]

FWIW the homeschooler in my case is my niece. There was some back and forth with the recruiter's office but in the end she opted for college. She is a medical lab technologist now.

 

[Grunt]

I homeschooled my son from the 3rd to the 10th grade. To say he excelled academically against his peers would be an understatement. He had no issues with enlisting other than they DQ'd him medically -- which was extremely sad for all of us.

But, the homeschooling of a child and their willingness and desire to serve their country should not be a determining issue based on a groups failure to adapt. I've seen crackheads and the like adapt, so I know a homeschooled child can.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Oddly enough, I have a lazy eye and two MOS’s: 11B and 12B.

 

[Border]

Dropped in the recruiting office today, basically summed up. I told them i am not going to active duty unless i get the job i qualify for. Recruiter acknowledged and understood where i was coming from. He said he will E-mail the MEPS physician to find out if findings from an eye consult can be overruled by initial MEPS findings. Even though one is corrected vision and initial findings are uncorrected, so this should not even be up for questioning. It makes zero sense, but i will hear back from them tomorrow once they get an email response.

 

[Devildoc]

@Border, sorry you are having so such an issue. As you have seen here, MEPS is the Twilight Zone; all sorts of shenanigans occur. Best of luck and keep fighting for what you want.

 

[DocIllinois]

I homeschooled my son from the 3rd to the 10th grade. To say he excelled academically against his peers would be an understatement. He had no issues with enlisting other than they DQ'd him medically -- which was extremely sad for all of us.

But, the homeschooling of a child and their willingness and desire to serve their country should not be a determining issue based on a groups failure to adapt. I've seen crackheads and the like adapt, so I know a homeschooled child can.

Until 2012, enlistment hopefuls who were home schooled were automatically placed into a lower priority enlistment "tier," believe it or not, on the rationale that an education credentialing source predicted adaptability of military life.

Those kids are still placed in a lower enlistment priority unless they score at or above a 50 on the AFQT. Above that, they're placed into the same enlistment tier as traditional high school grads.

Which I could not believe until the part in this DoD memorandum that says its based on a large study of attrition rates. Hunh.

Education Credentials - Definition and Tier Placement

 

[Devildoc]

So....smart kids don't atrite, regardless of school type.