So I went to MEPS yesterday and here is what occured. I originally went to Meps with the attitude that because I scored so well on the asvab I was going to use that as a bargaining tool to get a good job. I could not have been more wrong! I was offered two jobs infantry or infantry. I was also informed that infantry and special forces is all that they are offering prior service. So, what about women I asked, he said women are completing thier MEPS processing and being put on a hold status until other mos's open up. He said that usarec has a number of prior service that they are going to recruit then stop before the end of the recruiting year. WTC will continue to process current military members that wish to go blue to green. He said soon, but he does not know when, prior service will be stopped. After giving it a little thought, I signed. I ship off to Ft. Sill Jan 22 2010 and I can't wait! When I asked if I could get a sooner shipping date I was informed that WTC is booked through January. So here I go a 44 year old GI, 45 when I ship, and I am damn proud just to be given the opportunity to be a soldier! P.S. this post is for people wishing to go active duty like me. I can't comment on reserves or guard because I do not know.
BIGTALI - I'm not a Recruiter and I am not speaking from any current knowledge either been out for 20+ years, so thats my disclaimer.
However, the Army has the option to send you through the full Infantry OSUT program versus sending you to WTC. It's written in the current Army Regulations as Commander's choice.
So my point in telling you this is to ask about this option if you want to ship sooner. I saw it done in 2007 so I know it was available then for Infantry (my Nephew's class had one or two that went through the full program). I agree you shouldn't rock the boat too much though. In my view if you want to ship in Sept you should be allowed to do that. Thats just me though.
On your earlier respect for rank question. I'm former Infantry, you will be respected more because you were a Marine vs a new private. What everyone said about rank is correct, in training situations in the Army, don't ever make it an issue, it is considered poor taste by Army Cadre anywhere.
If you go to Air Assault School or Airborne School, you can be a SFC and your still going to be treated by the Cadre as a PVT and you will pull Guard Duty with the gear alongside new PVT's. Just want to make sure you know about it, don't think that is a WTC thing...it's an Army standard even for those that have been serving for a while with multiple deployments under their belt.
School situations the Regular Army considers you a "Student", the old term used to be "Trainee" and they would refer to you as "Trainee".
Thanks for the info ErichG2. Under my current orders, I would be joining OSUT when they are half way through immediately after completion of WTC. I would be looking at just over 12 weeks of total training. So basically if I joined OSUT in the beginning it would only be 2 more weeks of training. I am going to see who I have to talk to in order to get that request sent up. Thanks again
They might have changed this since 2007. I did a seach on WTC in AR 601-210 (top of the Army Wannabe Forum) and can't find the passage. Wonder if that is the correct reg or not.
I saw it somewhere where the Commander could override the requirement to send to WTC and send you to full OSUT instead.
Like I said though this was 2007 when my Nephew was in training and I was asking about the PS in his class. At that time WTC was booked up and they had a NEED for more new Soldiers. They might have changed it because their NEED is no longer as dire now. They started the PS at week 3 in my Nephew's 2007 class.....if I remember correctly. Foggy memory.
Erich, I doubt your memory is foggy, you know just as well as everyone one else who has worn OD Greens, BDU's and so on. The Army changes things more often than politicians change their positions, the only thing we can do is go back to our Active Duty fall back line. "Mezagog why did you do that......... Because my SGT. MGR. said so"
If and when my paperwork comes thru I will ask about it, because I am getting very excited about serving again, and beside lets be honest, The new recruit kind of has a disney land expeirence by way of comparison of our basic trainings, then again my grandfather thought my dads basic was a joke compared to his, my dad thought my basic was a joke compared to mine and so on and so forth.
What everyone said about rank is correct, in training situations in the Army, don't ever make it an issue, it is considered poor taste by Army Cadre anywhere.
I would agree with you on this. TRADOC demands that you are in a "training status". But, good cadre will respect your prior service and rank, and allow you some leeway here and there especially if it makes their life easier, and it can. I performed much like the DS's did at my reclass AIT as they were short on staff. Its up to the 1SG of the unit you are in. The cadre should try to use your rank and experience as much as possible as it benefits them, and helps you also. But, in the end... you are a PVT again.
I haven't been to any Army training since 1987 but I visited Ft. Benning in 2007 and I was very surprised how much more physical it is now. So if anything they made it tougher in that respect. We had a total of 8 maybe 12 hours of hand to hand combat in 1982 and THAT WAS IT.
Almost all Drill & Ceremony has been removed from the training schedule vs the 2 weeks they had in 1982.
When they march to the range it's with the full body armor on, helmets, etc.
They were doing day after day of combatives in Infantry OSUT in 2007.
Eagle Tower looks a whole lot more intimidating at age 43 then it did at age 19 (lol). They moved Eagle Tower right to Sandhill now, I don't think it was always there. It's right across the road from 50th Infantry barracks.
Final PT test is still done on a oval high school type running track on Sand Hill, saw that in progress when I visited.
They have since removed the training schedule from the internet for that training company at Ft. Benning. Which is too bad for you guys but the sample schedule on the Ft. Benning website is fairly close.
They have NOT made Infantry OSUT easier by any means since 1982. MY Nephew got in the car in 2007 and less then a hour he was passed out on his pass before graduation. Same deal on the final departure on the way to the airport....passed out in 20-30 min.
They sleep deprived the IET Soldiers the last week to keep them from roughhousing in the barracks. Not sure if PS get the same treatment. Most of the entire last week (week 13) of OSUT, you pretty much do nothing but turn-in and cleanup of the barracks so the DS has you 24 by 7 for the most part.
hello i am also tring to renlist iam 43 done the meps and had to have another test done and that was done in april of this year and still have not heard any thing back all they are telling me is that they cant medical clear me because they have no job opening for me be prior service
Have you tried another station? Some stations are slower than others. I do not know the specifics of your situation and that is between you and the Recruiting station. If you do not like how fast the station/recruiter is doing you can always opt to go to another.
the recruiter told me that i will not need a med waiver because the meps requested the test,that was in april of this year like i said he keeps telling me that the meps wont clear me until there is a job opening but different pepole has told me that it doesn't matter they alway have job opening for prior service, and if i go to another recruiter it will take longer to process any more advice? thanks
the one recruiter told me that they would have to redo all the background and resumit to meps cause they cant transfer paper work from one recruiter to another , now i am caught between a rock and a hard place, i really want to go back in i have worked so hard in pthe past few mouths to give up now
I just spoke with my recuiter ( I'm in the same spot your in) He's telling me that they are still processing med waivers you may want to speak to your stations higher up. If not just wait until october 1st then the new year starts. Hope this helps alittle
it helps a little but like i said i have been going with this for a year and i am about to run out of time i have talke to higher up and they tell me the some thing that meps is working on it , if i dont heard something soon i might have to wait unitl the new year
hey i am in the same boat with the navy. The meps is taking forever with waivers. and i also do not have that kind of time so i went to the army recruiters office and they told me that i can get into a contract within a couple of weeks and that i would have a later shipping date propably not until the new fiscal year. I guess i would call you congressman and tell him or her what is going on. maybe they can speed things up i dont know but it is worth a try.
Just a friendly little tip on how I got my waiver fairly fast. First of all, I used alot of respect and alot of kindness when I spoke to everyone in my recruiting station and MEPS. I went to MEPS four times. While I was waiting for tests at MEPS I went out of my way to converse with everyone who worked there and talk to them "if" they were not too busy. Everyone at MEPS knows me by my name, and that is pretty good considering they process hundreds of service members per week. I called my recruiter and station commander on a daily basis every morning so I was the first thing they thought of when it came to conducting that days business. If they said they needed something from me, I made sure they got it promptly so they knew I was eager to become a soldier. If I needed something from MEPS they made sure they got it for me promptly. Of course you can't call MEPS but my recruiter was on it right away. So, there you have it, I drowned them with respect and kindness and alot of attention. It worked for me, try it. It may not work for you, but the odds will definately be in your favor. Remember, because of the economy, your recruiters are very busy trying to process hunreds of people from all walks of life. Talk to them every day and let them know you are eager.
Just a little something to let everyone know what you are up against when trying to enlist:
Recruiting. All four active services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for June. · Army – 6,207 accessions with a goal of 6,025; 103 percent · Navy – 3,428 accessions with a goal of 3,428; 100 percent · Marine Corps – 4,155 accessions with a goal of 3,655; 114 percent · Air Force – 2,846 accessions with a goal of 2,835; 100 percent
