Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Day 1 of Naval Enlistment

The initial meeting didn’t go exactly as I thought it would. I thought I would walk in unprepared, bumbling about wanting to get information about jobs in the service as a corpsman.

I walked in fairly timid, asking myself WHAT AM I DOING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?!? I’ll admit it, for the first minute of being within 3 feet of the buildings very walls; I was close to walking away and going home. Most of it was out of suspicion that I would fall into an irrecoverable trap. I looked around for a few seconds just simply to compose myself and in all honesty, it helped A LOT!

Yeah, I had heard from TONS of people that these recruiters aim to trap you specifically in order to fill jobs in whatever branch of the military they serve. In fact, the most common phrase I had heard any time I brought up the idea of joining the military in front of someone was "Do not sign anything." In a sense, they have a point. However, keep in mind that this stage is, and has always been safe in terms of commitment. I will get to how this is true, but I must continue with my story first.

I entered the recruiting office for the Navy branch and confirmed with the officer in the room that this was indeed the navy recruiting office, making sure to mention that I had an appointment with one of the recruiters. He quickly pulled his phone and called the officer I had scheduled the appointment to see, and got me set up on the preliminary knowledge exam.

This exam is EASY!!! I found myself answering questions that were predominantly 8th grade level. Some of the questions I had never seen anything like before, but the system tells you it will not count against you to guess. So, I did, and I still scored well enough to be considered upper intelligence.

KEEP IN MIND HOW THIS TEST IS FORMATTED. THIS WILL HELP YOU ORGANIZE YOURSELF LATER ON THE ASVAB!

By the time I had finished the test, my recruiter had arrived, and we began talking about what I wanted to do when I joined. I being heavily interested in a corpsman position asked all sorts of questions relating to the medical field. He handed me a brochure describing the hospital corpsman position and I jumped at it. It was what I wanted to do. At the same time, he gave me a packet used to conduct a general preliminary background check. As well there were smaller packets for, preliminary medical background checks, privacy release forms, and Navy insurance forms, the most complicated of which is the general background check packet.

HOLD UP! What did I just say? Well, I’ll dissect it for you:

1. The general preliminary background check allows the Navy to look into your past and make sure there isn’t a reason to deny you entry. (Insert twilight zone theme here) Imagine if you will: a branch of the military made of criminals, gang members, and just overall unrepeatable dishonorable people. This packet helps filter a lot of those people out. So if you have no police records or no trouble with the court, you should be safe. Mostly it’s asking for a list people who know you, so if you’re a sweet little angel like I apparently am, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

2. The preliminary medical history packet is mostly used to determine if you’re physically unfit for service. In all honesty, THESE PEOPLE YOU ARE SITTING DOWN WITH AND FILLING OUT THE FORMS FOR ARE YOUR FREINDS! I don’t think I can stress this enough. If you have a good recruiter, they will tell you what to say later to help you avoid a load of mind numbing paper work later and may even save you from disqualification. TELL THE TRUTH TO THESE PEOPLE, AND ONLY THESE PEOPLE!

3. The release forms really just allow then to access legal information about your personal history. Once again, if you’re a good boy or girl, Santa has presents. If not, well, I wouldn’t know anything about the consequences.

4. The insurance forms basically state that if something should happen to you during service, that the navy will step up to the plate and make sure things are taken care of to help support your family and loved ones in terms of finances, keeping your families civilian insurance from becoming more expensive. Trust me; these guys really do take you under your wing. This is why they want all this personal history.
KEEP IN MIND: THESE FORMS DO NOT BIND YOU TO ANY KIND OF SERVICE. IF YOU STILL HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT JOINING, YOU ARE CLEAR TO LEAVE, AND NOT COME BACK. THIS IS WHERE YOU TELL ALL THOSE FARGING ICEHOLES TO CLAM UP AND LET YOU GIVE THEM YOUR AUTOGRAPH A FEW TIMES.

That’s really all there was to the first day of enlisting. We determined that I would need to complete the general background check packet and return it the next day because, giving me clearance to take the ASVAB. Also they went over with me multiple times what I would need for the next two days as they explained they would be putting me up in a hotel for the night after the ASVAB...

...and I will summarize what you need for your stay here:

1. Change of clothes, for obvious reasons.

2. Toiletry supplies. The most vital are deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste. I myself brought my own shampoo and conditioner because my hair is so farging long and not easy to maintain without it. If you want to do the same, just make sure you have enough room in your backpack.
3. Bring something capable of serving as an alarm clock. You will be waking up early the morning of your physicals, I guarantee it. I got up around 3 this morning, but 3:30 is when they start making the wake up calls. BE READY FOR IT!

4. Have your social security card on you. Your SSN is vital information for the preliminary papers anyway, but you WILL need it in order to take the ASVAB.

I’m pretty sure my recruiter noticed my face getting a little panicky and offered to take me down the street to the Social Security Administration and help me apply for a replacement card for the one I had lost to an asbestos contamination in the apartment I previously lived in. I gladly accepted, thanking him profusely for his help in such a time sensitive part of the procedure.

I wanted to take that test. Though today was not only a recon mission for me to see what the navy had to offer, I made a point to myself of getting the rest of the enlistment procedure done so that even if I were disqualified for some reason, I would at least have been through the hardcore testing and would know a bit more about myself on a mental and physical level.

After this step I went home, packed up for the next day, and finished the paper work. EASY!



Day 2:

I was picked up by my recruiter and brought to the office. We made a quick stop by 7-11 on the way for some drinks. I spent most of my time at the office finishing other little papers that were forgotten the day before. They were really just more insurance notification forms and medical information release forms.

The most important thing I filled out was the official version of the medical background. My recruiter told me what to avoid declaring to avoid more paperwork and delay the enlistment process, and if your recruiter is good, he will do the same for you.
Once all was said and done, they had me watch a video about the zero tolerance policy. It was kind of redundant, considering I got all kinds of kudos already for being completely clean. The real video they wanted me to see was the one on what the Navy has to offer in general. This video was actually interesting.

Finally!!! It was time to go to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and take the ASVAB! This test was a tad harder for me then the preliminary was, but it was organized exactly the same way and was a longer test altogether. After I finished the test, I received my score, and was on my way to the hotel.

We walked over to the recreational area and got checked in. Not a hard thing to do. I had a short interview with my recruiters’ supervisor and he briefed me on what was going to be occurring the next day. Short, sweet, and to the point. Once that was done, I made thoroughly sure I had EVERYTHING I needed for the next 24 hours and proceeded alone into the hotel.

My first reaction was mostly the defusing of 3 different types of OMG statements:

OMG- This place is friggen sweet!

OMG- What am I going to do now?

OMG- WTF am I doing here?

In all honesty, it was the first time in my life where I felt truly alone. I panicked inside as I put on a false front and walked around looking for the elevators. I found them and went up to my assigned room. My roommate must have been down at dinner because I didn’t see any sign of him in the room. I tried to call my mother to tell her I was ok, but she didn’t answer. OH WAIT! She’s in class and I could have had a V8 (insert forehead smack here)

Well, darn. What am I going to do now? I decided I had nothing to lose at this point, and went down with my MEPS voucher for the free dinner. I entered the dining room and noticed but a few MEPS people still eating.

To my left there were a few people talking about various topics. I heard the conversation quickly evolving as I looked to my right to see but another small group at the far end of the room and right next to me, a girl eating alone. I wanted to sit with her, but I didn’t know for sure if she was with the others staying for the physicals tomorrow. I turned and sat with the people who were talking and was surprised at how quickly they invited me into their conversation. They also invited the girl from the other table, and we all quickly found that we all had some kind of common interest besides the military.

We talked and ate for a while, getting acquainted and finding out what each other was into, resting for a while on the topic of anime and manga before moving on to other interesting topics. Soon after we all went over to the back of the hotel to continue our conversations while some of them went into the fitness center. Most peeled out to their different activities while I talked for a while to the girl I had seen eating alone before. Apparently she was joining the army in a similar job as mine. The topic changed every so often, and really, all that I can say is that she was JUST THAT AWSOME of a person.

Later, a hotel employee came by and notified us that we were about to cross the MEPS curfew and needed to be in our rooms by 10:00. I walked with her to her room so we could talk some more on the way. (Who would miss a chance, seriously?)

I got into my assigned room and my roommate and I introduced ourselves. He was cool, not much more to say then that. I must have woken him up, because he was already in bed, so I went to bed too.



Day 3:

Getting up early was easy. I woke up at 2:50 and pretty much just started getting ready from there. My room-mates alarm went off 10 minutes later, and he got up. I carried out my usual morning routine and packed up, ready for what today had in store... or was I?

We didn’t have long to eat, though eggs, hash browns and sausage was pretty damn good for a 10 minute breakfast. We all met out at the bus loading area and waited, some huddling together for warmth. I met up with the army girl from last night, and we talked a little.

Once we all got on the bus, most of us couldn’t stop laughing as one of the guys did a bit of stand up comedy (ok, so he was sitting but it WAS funny) on the way back to the MEPS. There we were told the rules and were let in one by one, our backpacks all being X-rayed and a metal detector to scan for weapons.

From there we went to see our career counselors and get our name tags. I got in the back of the line to get my medical record folder and go into the briefing room so they could use their scare tactics and try to get us to say something to get us disqualified. I plea the fifth, THANK YOU.

OK, here’s where people are out to disqualify you. Your recruiter is the only person you can trust here, and even now, with all these administrators around, you can say... NOTHING about any problems you may have. Ignore the threats of jail time and fines. Just follow your recruiters coaching and you should be fine.
From there it was off to the medical wing for our physical examinations. We went to the front desk first to get some additional paperwork, and were released to roam the different stations. Most people got 2 tests knocked out. I got my blood pressure and vision tests out of the way (Darnit) and we were all shuffled into the medical briefing room where we wrote down the important personal stuff such as our next of kin.

After I went to the audio station and took the hearing test. It was the standard headphones and you listen for the tones. This was set up a little differently though. We were in a sound proof room, just talking for a while as the attendant set up the test. We press this button every time we heard a tone. Simple enough, don’t you think?

THEN WAS THE BLOOD TEST! I myself had been dreading this test all day mainly because of my hatred of needles. I had finally gotten into the stall and a uniform came over to draw the blood. YIKES!

I was shaking. I mean it; I might as well have been in the mountains naked. The soldier looked down at me. "Are you going to faint on me man?" I told him I wasn’t and that I was just nervous, so he told me to just not look. I looked up and he reached for a box, so I looked back down quickly and started shaking again. "Dude! What did I just tell you?" He said. I knew he was trying to contain himself from laughing even though I hadn’t seen his face.

I looked back up again, and this time he tied a tourniquet around my right arm. I could hear him fumbling with something but resisted the urge to look down. He suddenly rubbed the alcohol on my arm and I jumped. "Dude...!" I could almost hear him laughing now "...It’s just the alcohol. Relax!" So I looked back up again. This time I couldn’t stop shaking. I heard him unsheathe the needle, and he told me, seriously this time "Ok, I’m going to need you to calm down because if you don’t, I’m going to end up sticking myself with this."

As stupid as this is going to sound, this is a really good time to get delusions of grandur about something that will help you stay still long enough to get the blood draw finished in the safest manner possable. What I did was visualized a glowing, pure white aura around me and burst as the needle penetrated, as though I was releasing my energy in such a way that I no longer had the strength to move, letting myself to freeze and allow the soldier to finish the blood draw safely.

Afterward he taped a gauze pad to my arm and released me outside. I started shaking again and this time it was harder than before. I walked across the room to sit in an empty chair in the urinalysis area, feeling everyone’s eyes fallow me as I passed them. It took me a few seconds but after I sat down, I broke the tension in the room with hysterical laughter. I could not help but say it out loud, "I am such a ******** pansy." As I said this, everyone else in the room laughed a hysterically as I did, not at me, but with me, as though I was the only one in the room with the guts to say about myself what everyone had been thinking about themselves since they had the test.

Urinalysis went off without a hitch. There was a person in there but he mostly just read his book, so it wasn't like he was looming over us. The only problem was that the needle left a sharply cold feeling in my arm when it was removed, and it hurt a lot, so I was a little destracted. I then went to a waiting area so a doctor could do a short 101 exam. One of them brought me over to his office on the other side of the medical wing and yet another interview began. He then had me come over to his side of the desk and drop my pants. He immediately grabbed my testicles, like he was eager to finish the exam. I remember pulling back, nearly cussing him out as he told me to turn my head and cough. Again with the other side. Then he turned me to "Bend over and spread them." Holy heck! But I did as I was told and it was over quickly.

Ah, yes, then the ortho room. Get undressed, height, weight, duck walk, done. NOT! I was then told to go get an ear wash because of the doctors’ notes on the medical progress sheet. It felt weird. They sprayed water in both my ears and had a vacuum to suck it back out, taking the ear was with it. The first ear was ok, but the second was left fairly waterlogged, and everyone left me worried about my hearing. After a while I heard bubbles in my ears and the water came out (YAY!!!) and I felt better up there.

I was sent over to my career counselor after that, and they got me squared away with... another interview. After that it was waiting for a while before I was set up to haggle another uniform for a job as a corpsman. After that, comes the contract signing.

These last sheets are the binding ones. If you sign these, you confirm that you are willing and able to join the military. As soon as they say "welcome aboard" you had better find out when your chances to back out are and make sure you know EXACTLY what is on your contract because you still have an escape if you are doubting yourself or are unsure about your decision. Either that or be prepared for when you get shipped off, and good luck to you.

After that, it was a lot of running around taking different papers between stations to get processed, and then going to get sworn in, it really wasn’t that eventful.

Just in case you’re confused, the swearing you do at MEPS is just for show. The real swearing is at boot camp. You should have already worked out with your career counselor when you are going to basic.

Now, some people may want to ask, how was all this that good. Well, with everything that has happened, I can honestly say I feel stronger than before, as though the child in me suddenly grew up and joined the Navy. I feel more confident that I have the capacity to make good life altering decisions, and follow through with the decisions I make. It’s really a great feeling, and I really have to thank my recruiters for all their help in getting me to this stage. I also believe that I can honestly say that I feel better about approaching people I don’t know without being so shy, and that I will be accepted as someone with a purpose to serve.