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MEPS: (Military Entrance Processing Station) |
Located in San Jose, it is one of two military processing stations located in Northern California. The mission of MEPS is to process individuals who are trying to enlist or inducted into the military service, based on the Department of Defense (DOD) peacetime and mobilization standards. Three primary areas in which determines an individual’s qualification for acceptance into the military service is based on their aptitude test score (the ASVAB), their physical qualification (physical examination), and an evaluation of their background.
During my first interview with my recruiter he kept throwing out the word MEPS and then a couple more times before and after I took my ASVAB test. All I knew about MEPS at the time is that it is where I will have to take my medical to see if I am physically qualified to be in the military. I didn’t really know what to expect going there but I knew the day before MEPS I had to go my recruiter who wanted to brief me on what I should do, what not to do, and how to answer questions they ask me. He even made me do a pee test just to be sure, although I knew and he knew I was 100% clean. Although my recruiter briefed me on what to expect, I really couldn’t have expected everything that I had to do that day.
I woke up at 4 a.m. to be at the recruiting office at 4:30 a.m. so that we could be at MEPS by 5 a.m. While my brain was still trying to wake up my recruiter was talking to me on the way over trying to mentally prepare me for the kind of medical questions they will ask me. He stopped by 7-11 to pick up some coffee for the guy in charge of job processing. I don’t think it’s called bribing but more of a reminder for the guy that a job is needed to be given to me today and to not forget about it, at least that’s what my recruiter called it.
When I got there a big bus came around the corner full of people who were also going to get processed that day. My friend who went into the Air Force gave me a tip on being the first one in front of the door when it opens so that my processing goes by faster. It was a good tip for a majority of the day until I got stuck at the physical examination because I was a girl. Since there aren’t usually that many women at a time joining as there are men the girls are physically screen all at once together instead of one by one like the men. So even though I was done with everything else besides the physical I waited an hour for all the girls to be done too. The first process I went through was to check my sight and hearing. I felt like the people there didn’t really care, but then again they see 30 or so individuals a day from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. to just pass or fail them for their processing. I think I would be a little less caring and irritated to doing the same thing 30 times for 30 different people in one day for a couple of days a month.
The next portion of the processing was the background briefing where we first sit and watch a power point presentation on how to fill out some paper work. It’s not so much difficult but tedious, having to be told how to fill out paper work and in what order to place them in the folder we are given to carry around for the rest of the day. I felt like this was something I had to get use to because military instruction is different from college instruction, where I needed to be on top of everything because I don’t want to be the one left behind because you will get left behind. The instructor will move on and make it known to everyone that you are unable to keep up and or listen to instructions. This went on for 2 hours, 2 hours of just filling out paper work.
The rest of the day I went through a pee test, blood work, medical history background and the physical with the other girls being processed. It was about 2 p.m. and my medical processing was over. I wasn’t sure if I passed at that point because with all the tests went on routinely, meaning hand them your folder, they write in the results, they give the folder back and tell you to move on. After the physical is where they tell you the results of all the tests and let you know the news whether you are physically qualified to serve in the armed forces.
The last and worst part of the day came after the physical where I was bounced around from room to room signing papers, getting fingerprinted, and waiting. This is a time when you get negotiated for a job in your branch of service. Every branch of the military is different, but what is the same is that on some days there are jobs available the day you are at MEPS and other days you would just have to wait for your recruiter to call you with a job. If you are willing to take any job the negotiation is easy and you are out. The Military is different these days compared to 20 years ago when you could have gotten any job you wanted. Like civilian life, jobs are limited at this moment in time and you either have to take what you can get or be patient and wait. I didn’t know what was being worked out but since I was specific in what I wanted to do in the Navy, I am waiting. After 12 hours at MEPS I was given the news that my job field is full and they are not accepting anyone at the moment and so I had to wait. I did however take the first initial oath into the Navy and so I am enlisted and no longer a civilian. I am just now in the Delayed Enlisted Program, waiting to be sent into boot camp and be given a job.
With so many people being processed that day, about 20-30 of us, the total amount of time of the attention that’s given to you is about 4 hours from the 12 hours you are there and the rest is just you sitting and waiting.
My tips for anyone going to MEPS:
1. When you first get there, be the first off the bus or be the first person in front of the door when they open so that you can get your eye exam and hearing test done before the background briefing begins.
2. Don’t take the people who work there and process you personal, they are supposed to be mean and to the point and seem like they do not give a care about you except to get you through the processing. Listen and do what they say correctly the first time.
3. If you are a girl, your physical won’t begin until all the other girls are done with everything else, even if you are done with everything. If you are a guy, the physical will be like the other tests, taken individually and then move on to the next step.
4. Don’t fall asleep during the screening process, if a personnel catches you, you MIGHT get told to go home and come back when you are ready and serious about joining the military. That is only if the person who catches you isn’t mean.
5. If you know what you want as far as jobs go. Stick to it and do not get suckered into something else you do not want to do. They might tell you, you could always transfer into that job once you are IN but what they do not tell you is that it comes with a long process of signing new papers and more schooling and tests to be done in order to transfer.
6. Be prepared to sit and wait for a good 12 hours. Make sure you are mentally prepared and straight forward when answering questions. Have a straight answer, “NO, YES, NEVER” because if there is even a sound of doubt they will drill you with more questions.
Now that this process is over, the waiting for a job begins. I am confident and patient enough to wait. I have heard people have waited almost a whole year to get shipped, but then again it depends on what job you want.
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