I have a friend who just joined the Army as a 92y or something like that, he is scheduled to leave on the 24th of July. He has a problem, he's worried because he lied at MEPS. His recruiter told him to, because "it's not that big of a deal". Well friend asked me what to do. I having no knowledge told him I dunno. My friend has had a few traffic violations, major one, no insurance all paid up and everything all tickets are over 4 years ago, he lied and said no to the tickets ? at meps, since the recuiter said to because when he checked nothing came up. Well my friend is also worried because of medical history. He has been to the ER a few times because of common things, recuiter said say no, he also has seen a counselor for "depression" back when he was 15 or so and was diagnosed with mild depression by a shrink & prescribed meds which he never took also around 15. Later on around 17 or so he went in for "suicidal tendencies" he was wanting attention he said he could never commit suicide, well anyway he lied about all that, the recuiter said none of that is important so DO NOT mention it. My friend did just as told. But now he is feeling bad about it and doesnt know what to do. Will MEPS actually dig that much and find that like I have heard from others or no? I have heard many different things. My friend is worried about possibly getting court martialed later on. Any feed back is greatly apprecciated. Thanks in advanced.
JJ

This is something that should be asked on the Recruiting Forum in the Joining the Military area. Your post will be moved there at 0900 EST.

Messenger----tell your friend to get his/her azz back to his/her recruiter and 'confess' his/her 'sins' and get it completely straightened out.
ALL things will be found out eventually. And that is NOT good when it comes to light...

Well see the thing is my friend is afraid that if he "confesses his sins" then he will be denied entry into the Army. He really wants to be in, plus he has already signed the documents & done his first swear in. What can happen if the truth is discovered? I have heard people lie at MEPS all the time, well according to people that have enlisted at our local recuiters office. According to my friend the recruiters were telling everyone in there say no-no-no...

Here's the thing - the recruiter didn't lie, your friend did. When somebody finds out, it's not the recruiter but the recruit that gets in trouble.

The lying is not good to begin with.
And to tell you the truth someone with suicidal tendencies and problems handling stress and depression is not a good candidate.
I'll be honest,who can trust someone like that when they are under fire?

quote:

Originally posted by NightMessenger:
What can happen if the truth is discovered?

Not a question of IF but WHEN.

REcruiters are not allowed on the floor at MEPS for a reason. They specifically ask not only if YOU are telling the truth, but also if anyone told you to lie. I know, I've been there.

In response to the question the answer is simple: fraudulent enlistment. It's not pretty. Better to be denied entry than to get thrown out with a OTH and an RE-4, which makes job prospects on the outside even worse than before.

The recruiter told my wife the same thing about some very minor things. She refuses to lie, though, and told MEPS not only what she was told not to tell, but also what the recruiter said. They told her that was exactly what she should have done, her issues were not disqualifying, and she is lucky she didn't lie about anything. She passed through MEPS just fine, and now she doesn't have to fear someone finding out she lied and losing her new career.
The truth is always better, because the penalties are always worse when the truth is discovered later on.

quote:

Originally posted by catherine0830:

quote:

Originally posted by NightMessenger:
What can happen if the truth is discovered?

Not a question of IF but WHEN.

REcruiters are not allowed on the floor at MEPS for a reason. They specifically ask not only if YOU are telling the truth, but also if anyone told you to lie. I know, I've been there.

In response to the question the answer is simple: fraudulent enlistment. It's not pretty. Better to be denied entry than to get thrown out with a OTH and an RE-4, which makes job prospects on the outside even worse than before.

Exactly. It's not a matter of if but when.
Eventually ALL things come out of the darkness into the light. And when it does guess who's in trouble---not the recruiter, he/she has long forgotten about you.
Your friend will get called on his lie, it'll go thru the channels, and then he's looking at an R4 discharge.
Once an R4 code is on the record, it's damn near impossible to get that changed-if ever.
It will show up on the records as being "other than honorable discharge"---a potential employer will see that and ask "what does this mean? What happened?" Then that person gets the joy of telling his potential employer that he lied to get in the service.
Good bye potential job.

Is the lie worth affecting the future of the person??

I have to agree that probably none of those would have been disqualifying anyway except maybe the depression and suicidal tendencies. Even though I understand that he really wants to join, I think a person doesn't fully understand the kind of stress, anxiety, and loneliness he will be going through in basic and afterwards. If you are already prone to feeling depressed you don't want to make it worse by putting yourself in that stressful of a situation. Also, like someone said previously, I don't know if I would want my life placed in the hands of someone who could not take that stress. There are a million other things in the world that your friend could do that would probably make him happy. I know right now it might feel like this is the "only" thing in life that will make him happy, but give him a couple of months in the military and he might change his mind.

Just my two cents....

quote:

The lying is not good to begin with.
And to tell you the truth someone with suicidal tendencies and problems handling stress and depression is not a good candidate.
I'll be honest,who can trust someone like that when they are under fire?

Father of my children left me pregnant with our 22 month old in a house with no electricity and flat broke. He had a nice four month vacation before he went off to Boot Camp, during which he never sent one penny home for these babies. When he got to AIT, he came home to see our second son five days after his birth. Spent a total of four hours with the kids, ignored our older boy who kept trying to get his attention to no avail because he was too busy telling my neighbors about HIS 'experiences' in boot camp, and then spent the rest of his time that weekend with his new girlfriend who it was more important to have at his graduation than his own children! Is THAT SOMEONE YOU CAN TRUST UNDER FIRE?

He also lied at MEPS too. He has a disease that is destroying the cartelidge in his knees. He had to stop playing football in hight school because of it.

Finally, he is now threatening to take me to court for joint custody of the kids he won't even pay child support for. He tries to tell me that JAG is going to serve me with papers. JAG has no authority over me, I"M A CIVILIAN. And JAG is criminal justice system for enlisted services, they have no jurisdiction over civil or civilian matters.

The man is a bully, a liar, a deadbeat dad and a weasel. He claims that he shouldn't have had to pay child support because his name wasn't on our son's birth certificate. Wasn't my call, was the state's call. I was married to someone else and the state wouldn't allow me to name anyone but the father on the birth certificate. But this sociopath's way of thinking is that people and children are something to be 'owned' and without 'ownership' of the kids, he can say he loves them, but leave them homeless.. now who can trust someone like that in the Army? And where can I report his lies to MEPS?

You are on very thin ice with borderline hijacking threads, 3/4 of this reply belongs in its own thread elsewhere.

To answer your question, you can't disclose his medical information, and if he has a disease with that debilitating of an end result, then the military will find out plenty quickly enough. It's not your concern.

NEVER LIE AT MEPS! Take advice from someone who did. I have twins on the way, and getting married very soon. When I went to MEPS one of the first things they asked me before the medical part started was, do you have unborn children/or children? I said yes sir. He replied alright, see you after medical.

Then after medical, my recruiter came to pull me to the side. He said that I HAVE to lie and say I lied before, and I don't have any unborn children on the way. OR they will tell me I have to go reserve or not at all. So of course I listened to him like a complete idiot, and went back in and told them I lied. They were furious! They told me to get the hell out, and go eat lunch. So I went to lunch, and was very upset with my recruiter that he actually told me I HAD to lie.

After lunch I waited to be called back into the Navy room, and they told me to tell the truth, and I still kept lying just like my recruiter ordered me to. The guys in the office told me to get out, and this is my LAST chance to restart. So I re entered the room one last time, and told them the truth. He showed me a form that all I had to do was check saying I had children on the way so I get benefits.

So all worked out, EXCEPT I didn't get a job. I was QNJ (Qualifed no job) all because I lied, and they knocked me to the back of the line to receive a job. If I hadn't lied, I would of received a job more than likely.

So no DO NOT LIE AT MEPS! Take it from me. Make the right decision, and don't lie. They will find out the truth even if you don't tell them. Good luck!

don't lie at meps.... we had another shot to answer the questions truthfully in zero week (this was af cant say for other branches) get him to be upfront and honest.

regardless of what the recuiter told him to say or not say he needs to say it.

he will most likely not get through with a history of suicidal tendanices and the attention seeking makes it worse in some respects because it shows there is not a reason behid it other then not enough attention and downrange you wont get all the attemtion so the queston would be will it kick off again).

be honest get him to tell someone and if his recutiers wont listen go higher or elsewhere. there is nothing worse then going in to be put out and if its on fraudlent basis that can take longer and be more drawn out. and depending on WHEN they find out and if they do put him out can affect the rest of your life being put out on fraud (this depends on how long he lasts).

best of luck to your friend but i would encourage him to look at schooling options and different routes