I went to MEPS yesterday, went through all the stations, was cleared, and then when it came time to sit down with the career counselor, she made a phone call, and said that unfortunately right now, for prior service, there is nothing available. It has been until further notice "closed".
I talked to a SFC there, and he said that due to the sudden influx of prior service recently, in an effort to control it, the Army has for now, stopped accepting prior service. I asked him how long this policy would be in place, and he said predictably until the later quarter of the fiscal year (July-October).
There were a few other priors, and despite their promise and paperwork, were told the exact same thing. I called my recruiter who confirmed this, saying he's never seen anything like it (a total closing), but to keep calling him every few days to find out if and when anything changes.
Good thing is, once it is opened up again, already having all my ducks in a row, I will be in right off the bat.
It was like this in the early 90's. When I went back active, they opened 90 day "windows." They would accept prior service troops for a time, then close the window and see where their recruitment numbers were, and decide if they wanted to let any more in.
As always, that kid fresh out of high school remains the best recruiting choice.
Originally posted by 23819423: Does this apply just to priors with a break in service or is this across the board with the Blue to Green program included as well?
There was an active duty Air Force guy there, who was going Army (presumeably under this blue-to-green program), and he was told the same thing.
so im and e 3 prior service AF with an re code of 1j, i meet all height and weight requirements and can pass my PT test with a 250, is there still openings for me on active duty? or is it one of those, hit or miss kinda deals...
It is worth mentioning to whomever may be interested, that though Regular Army positions are all but closed, there is a wide open opportunity to go Army Reserve. What the real pros and cons of that are would be interesting to know. One of my recruiters mentioned the possibility of selecting a MOS with a long school, and in that time, work toward getting transferred to Regular Army, but having been in the National Guard and been down that road before, I know how incredibly difficult that could be. I'd rather just wait the freeze out and go back Regular Army without these complications.
FO2_325 so from what im understanding of you is this.. e3 and below there are still options out there for us and e4 and above space is limited? thanks for the INFO =)
so im going to MEPS on monday and my recruiter said everything should be good they havent been told anything about prior service slots being closed, so ill let you all know what they tell me up at MEPS.
so i went into meps today and passed my medical im just waiting on waivers for being duel military family but i was told slots are open just have to match my ait with wtc so they said looks like september august time frame... e3 and below are trainable anything higher and you have to go guard or go down in rank to go active duty, but prior service IS still being excepted i was told it may be the area in witch you are enlisting in may have already met their max for prior service... so you should so try again!! good luck =)
You've just reiterated what FO2_325 already stated, which I've confirmed with my own recruiter. I just checked with him a few days ago and nothing's changed. He says that although there is not to be any change expected until the end of the fiscal year (October), it's very possible it could all change tomorrow.
i was just letting you know first hand what the meps station told me. and you had stated that ALL slots are closed, which isnt true and i just wanted to make sure that people didnt think they were ALL closed. and i wasnt trying to be rude in any way just wanted to let you know.
Originally posted by caesarssoldier: It is worth mentioning to whomever may be interested, that though Regular Army positions are all but closed, there is a wide open opportunity to go Army Reserve. What the real pros and cons of that are would be interesting to know. One of my recruiters mentioned the possibility of selecting a MOS with a long school, and in that time, work toward getting transferred to Regular Army, but having been in the National Guard and been down that road before, I know how incredibly difficult that could be. I'd rather just wait the freeze out and go back Regular Army without these complications.
Don't do that or at least PM a Reservist before you try something like that.
USAR and NG have minimum service requirements before you can transfer active. Attending a long school prolongs their service requirement. Typically it is 2 years following your date of enlistment before they release you. Again though, a long school might make that period longer.
Just so everyone is aware the Army is not taking any more prior service on to active duty the message was sent down from usarec yesterday. The estimated time for them to begin accepting prior service again is the end of October. The are not even accepting reduction in rank as an option. I have an honorable discharge no waiver clean health bill and a 110 GT score and I am not getting. I spent all day at meps yesterday to find out at 1800 they are no longer taking priors. Now what I did find out was that active reserves and the national guard are taking prior service because they are trying to fill the NCO spot that they are short I just came back from my active reserve recriuter and I was given the same rank a different job best part about it don't have to go back to meps. The best of luck to all of you. I am sure we all feel the same way right now.
I can't imagine the bottle neck this is going to create (if the freeze is to be the next six months), so that when things are re-opened, there'll be a mad rush the likes have never been seen. Even now my recruiter said if things opened up tomorrow I would have to rush my butt ASAP to MEPS because there are so many waiting for the green light.
