Through hell or high water

[ScubaNinja]

I have another send the message to Garcia story. It has been really inspiring to read some of the other stories of guys fighting tooth and nail just to get their chance at Selection so I thought I'd share mine in hopes I might inspire others.
Just like many of you it has been my dream to be a Special Forces Soldier since I was a boy. I joined the Marine Corps Infantry when I was 17 in 2004. I was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2006. When I graduated college in 2009 I set out to fulfill my dream of going SF.
I called recruiters all across the country and was told I had wait out my Marine reserve contract. This meant I had to put my life in a holding pattern I have now sadly come accustomed to. I did so. Then in 2010 after six months of battling I managed to get a contract with 20th group. They let me start drilling with the unit in late 2010, but said I would still have to complete the try-outs when they came up before I could go to Selection. I TRAINED MY ASS OFF for it, but when it came around it was canceled last minute because it happened to be on the same day as now one of three near government shutdowns. That was about seven months ago.
I decided to just go Active Duty because I realized all I wanted to do in life was go SF. Also, being a recent college grad I was still in the holding pattern I described because I never thought I was going to be around long enough to make any real career moves. The sacrifice is OK with me, all I want to do is go to Selection.
I've spent the last seven months annoying the piss out of an active duty recruiter, and trying to get him to get my 18x contract. Of course there's been trials and tribulations at every turn. The latest is they can't find my medical records, and I'm basically doing my recruiters job for him and tracking them down.
I have been putting my life on hold for a couple years now just in hopes I get my chance at Selection. That's all I want in life right now, and I've never wanted anything this bad. There are times when it seems like it's not going to happen, but everyday I wake up, and hit the gym!!!

[Dusty]

Stay on it; you'll get there.

[1stindoor]

Stay on it; you'll get there.

Wait where's the whining about how life's not fair?

Hell, you're inspiring me.

[ScubaNinja]

Just thought I'd post an update for the hell of it. They ended up having lost my medical records. So we had to get a memo from my unit saying they don't have them. I thought then I was all set to go to MEPPS, but my conditional release from my unit had expired. I brought a new one over to HQ to get it signed. Just waiting to hear back, and I should be good to go, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime doing a little of this:lifter:p

[Dusty]

Just thought I'd post an update for the hell of it. They ended up having lost my medical records. So we had to get a memo from my unit saying they don't have them. I thought then I was all set to go to MEPPS, but my conditional release from my unit had expired. I brought a new one over to HQ to get it signed. Just waiting to hear back, and I should be good to go, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime doing a little of this:lifter:p

Lost your records?

Sounds like the class was overbooked.

[twistedsquid]

unrewarded genius is common...persistence alone is omnipotent...calvin cooledge

[ScubaNinja]

I called my old Marine unit they said they sent my medical records to the VA. The VA said they don't have them. So we just got a memo from my current unit saying they don't have them so when I go to MEPPS I'll just show them the memo and redo my physical.

[ScubaNinja]

Just thought I post an update. Still trying to get my contract. These incompetent desk driving POGs are still holding me back for no good reason.

[pjbluetogreen]

I feel your pain brother good luck. Hope to see you down the road when both of our packages are squared away.
In the mean time continue to make the most of every moment prepare your mind body and soul for the trails ahead.
God Bless

[Surgicalcric]

Just thought I post an update. Still trying to get my contract. These incompetent desk driving POGs are still holding me back for no good reason.

I would be careful who you degrade on the net. You never know what boards that "POG" may also be a member. It would suck knowing your packet was put on a permanent hold... It has happened before here. ;)


Crip

[ScubaNinja]

That won't be necessary Surgilactic. I just got permanently DQ'ed to serve in the US military under any capacity by the doctors at MEPS due to minor lower back pain I got as a result of my deployment to Iraq in '06. The issue is utterly benign, and I got doctor checkups and negative MRI's to prove it, but they don't care. I work out constantly and the previous lower back pain went away years ago. I just put it down back then because my leadership said it was a good idea in case it got worse when I was older I could show it was service connected. I never collected disability or anything.

So after all that it appears as if going SF or serving altogether just isn't in the cards for me. I am not giving up quite yet, but it's not looking good. Anyone know how to appeal such a thing? My recruiter said no waiver is possible it was already turned down at the highest level, and no further course of action to appeal is necessary.

I wish you all the best and will always have the utmost respect for SF.
By the way if anyone was offended by my previous POG comment just know that I don't have a problem with all POGs just the incompetent ones who dicked me around and wasted the last 2 years of my life.

[mud slinger]

I know this is a late post and I do not know if you are still going after enlisting in the Army, Scuba. I will give you some insight to recruiting as a ex-recruiter.

When a PR " Prior Service " guy walks in the office most recruiters will expect you to do all the work. If you demand your recruiter to do the work it will not get done. A lot of recruiters do not want to put in PR for a few personal reasons. Me personally I didn't care what you were or who a contract is a contract from there on you prove yourself to the Army, not me.

Did you receive anything in writing or were you told by a MEPS Doctor that you were disqualified? did your recruiter tell you that you were? also where were you trying to join from? that has a lot to do with PR people. There is a lot that I can help you with if I had more to go off of like how long did it take for them to get back to you about being disqualified, did they disqualify you on the floor at MEPS, did you have a consult threw MEPS at a local hospital near MEPS?...etc

Can you appeal it? yes I have seen it done with a guy in our office who was disqualified for having pins in his hips. The way we went about it was proving threw the civilian channels that he can perform in the military with no problems.

The way it works with medical at MEPS is like this, so if this did not happen to you then you were probably being tossed around and given bad information and still have a chance in getting back in.

You filled out a DD form 2807-1 and DD form 2808 you answered yes to back pain. Red flag! not a big deal who doesn't have some minor back discomfort. The next step as a recruiter is to contact the applicant before submitting those two forms for one of many reasons but the main one is we know if we send that up it will get flagged. We will ask the applicant what kind of pain it is and try to rule out that your just not putting something down just because it's discomfort and not a serious condition. I've seen some funny stuff while I was out there. If you the applicant told us it's serious and that you have seen a Doctor for it then we will not even submit it for we know you will need a MEDICAL READ for your back. How do we do that? threw your medical records that the Marines lost well how do we do that without medical records? easy you write a statement and sign it, we send it up and try to get you approved to come in and physical at MEPS to let the MEPS Doctor see you and schedule a CONSULT with a local Doctor to get a 2nd opinion or they can come back and say we need more then this to justify us for sending him to MEPS, so what do you do? you go to a local hospital and tell them you are going into the military and you need to have your back checked since you had back problems in the past he will do a physical on you and put his opinion on some forms and those forms we will send to MEPS as a MED READ and they can approve or disapprove you from there most likely if what you say about your back " that it longer bothers you " the doctor will agree with you and they will approve you to come and physical and the MEPS Doctor will still send you to consult with a local Doctor. You go home and wait for a yes or no and usually it take up to two to three weeks to get an answer. If this does not seem familiar to you then most likely your recruiter feed you some BS.

I know it may seem crazy that a recruiter would BS you but trust me it happens. Most of those guys never wanted to be a recruiter and they hate their life's as a recruiter. If your recruiter was fat he sucked and lacked self discipline. I've put in guys who came in our office saying that another recruiting office said they were disqualified when in fact that recruiter never submitted anything and based of his own opinion disqualified the applicant himself. A lot of recruiters thought they were the approving authority. The only person in recruiting who can disqualify a applicant for a questionable condition is a MEPS Doctor. Some cases we can as recruiters if it is noted in the regulation like an applicant who has no legs or missing multiple fingers or is deaf or blind...etc

My .2 cents to you is go to another recruiting office and tell them everything and see what they do if nothing go to another recruiting office...etc if you say you want to go SF as bad as you do then this should be no problem for you.

Good luck brother hope this helps you out a little.

I got carried away a little bit here :D

-Ski

[Flick]

I'm a prior service Marine, and I am trying to get into the Army under 18x. So my recruiter and I after a couple weeks were finally able to get my "conditional release" from Marine IARR to let me go physical at MEPPS, while at MEPPS the doctor DQ'd me for a shoulder issue I had in 2009. (shoulder strain that I did physical therapy for and cleared for, no tears, no dislocations, no surgeries, just instability) so they set up a consult with an orthopedic doctor which I went to. The orthopedic doctor honest to God said to me " I don't know why they sent you here, your shoulder is absolutely fine! So you are cleared by me." He faxed the necessary paperwork over to MEPPS...who still hasn't given my recruiting office my approval to go back and negotiate my contract and it's been almost over a week, my recruiter says it doesn't look good?
The other issue is a Master Sgt up at MEPPS told me if you have a med waiver you are not eligible for the 18x anymore, so this moves my options to coming in as 11B because I was Marine 0311, the problem is because I'm prior service they don't know if there are any avaliabilities for that?
This is by no means a complaint session, however I am utterly confused on how I can not be able to get back in to the military after claiming 0% disability and having no physical problems since 2009?

[greenberetTFS]

Just hang in there "young tigers",you'll get your chance to prove your selves soon enough.......;) :D

Big Teddy :munchin

[The Reaper]

Again, after all, the definitive reg is AR 40-501.

Can you enlist? Probably.

Can you enlist as SF? Maybe not.

The Army is getting smaller again and already has too many people.

The approving authority for a waiver is the SWCS Surgeon, unless something has changed lately.

TR

[ScubaNinja]

Thanks mud slinger, but I'm in now. Got selected. Keeping my eye on the prize, because I still have a long way to go. Like the reaper said the army is getting smaller and they're looking for any reason to DQ guys. I had a long tough battle, but when I get my mind set on something nothing stops me. The story is long and complicated of how I got back in, completely legitimate, but I'd like to say I just took the, dare I say, unconventional route.

I'd like to give other guys advice who are having a hard time getting in, but each situation is different. I knew I didn't have what I would consider good reasons for not being able to re-enlist so I knew I wasn't gonna take no for an answer. It all comes down to one question, and this applies to pursuing any goal or dream, How bad do you want it?

[Roboterlein]

Well, that seems like quite a story to hear. Last post, you said you were perm-DQ'd and now you've been selected! Congratulations!

[mud slinger]

That's good Scuba I'm glad you were able to get back in. I hate to see guys get screwed by recruiters. So you were able to get a 18X contract?

[KP34]

Just read this thread and thought I'd offer a little insight from my own recruiting experience for anyone currently dealing with medical issues. Last spring I got a commissioning physical at the Brooklyn MEPS. During the eyesight portion of the physical, my uncorrected eyesight was determined to be 20/30 in each eye. I was then hurried to the next portion of the physical with no further testing to establish my corrected eyesight, or prescription. Earlier this year I received a conditional release from my NR unit to take an 18x contract. During the paperwork process, I was unable to receive a grade determination because I was medically disqualified for eyesight. The results of the physical at Brooklyn showed that my CORRECTED eyesight was 20/30 in each eye, which is a disqualifier for the 18x. My recruiter had me see a private optometrist on my own dime, who faxed him a report saying that my uncorrected vision is 20/30, and both eyes are correctable to 20/20. About two weeks later, I reported to MEPS in Boise to have my eyes tested by their staff. They gave the same report, correctable to 20/20. After another couple of weeks, I was sent to a private optometrist for a consult scheduled through MEPS. Her report came back identical to the other two. So, with three reports saying that my eyesight was fine, I was assured that the entire problem was just a paperwork screw up, and would be straightened out soon. The next news I got from my recruiter was about three weeks later, letting me know that the eyesight waiver had been denied. I asked who I could contact to try to straighten what must be a misunderstanding, and I was told that all possibilities had been exhausted, I should either start a new packet with the NG or apply for an Infantry O slot. I immediately called a contact at the Batt Recruiting Office who had helped me get the conditional release from the NR, and explained the situation. He was able to speak directly with those on the medical side and clarify what the problem had been. About three weeks later I was at MEPS in Boise doing my Inspect and signing the papers for 18x. On a side note, even after all that they tried to get me to take an Airborne Ranger slot, acting as though there weren't any 18x contracts available, so don't fall for that shit. I guess the moral of the story is if you feel as though you've been wrongly barred for medical reasons, or any other reason, don't take the word of your recruiter as the final word. Go as high up the chain as you possibly can and make your case. Best of luck.

[TrapperFrank]

but this is what socialized medicine is like. Do we really want the government running our health care? I think not... Back on subject, I am impressed by all of the efforts by these individuals to enlist in the army. You are all fine young men and will represent the regiment well. Good luck to in all of your future endeavours and may God bless you and your families.

[Flick]

Well my recruiter actually called me yesterday and now because my consult went well it looks like I might not have to be a med waiver after all and I might still have an 18x opportunity. And the waiting for word continues...Good luck to everyone in a similar process. Best of luck to everyone getting through and still trying to! In the mean time we could all continue in our :lifter routines!

[TaiNormand]

I know there are a lot of military cut backs but I thought they wanted to expand SF, so why are they DQ'ing people so easily?- 18 Y/O civilian wanting to go SF after college.

[The Reaper]

I know there are a lot of military cut backs but I thought they wanted to expand SF, so why are they DQ'ing people so easily?- 18 Y/O civilian wanting to go SF after college.

Because first, we have plenty of 18s right now, and second, we can afford to be picky, this is Special Forces, not Average Forces.

There are a number of discussions about this, and why we do not accept the blind, broken, mentally unstable, diseased, etc., etc.

TR