"As I stated in my previous entry, I had been scheduled to take my ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) this past Monday, then have a medical physical and swear-in later in the week. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.
On Monday afternoon, I met with my recruiter, SSgt. Pelham, at his office in the Dimond Center and he took me to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) himself. We waited there about an hour before being told that my medical pre-screen had still yet to be approved and I couldn't take my ASVAB that day - how that is supposed to make sense, I'm still not sure.
For the next two days, I was just very frustrated because I wanted these things out of the way and done with. What was even more frustrating though, was the fact that I was still trying to work these things around my work schedule; I had hoped I would get a call to go take my ASVAB on my day off (Wednesday), so that I didn't have to worry about getting my shifts covered but that didn't happen either. On the bright side, I had more time to study and drop weight.
The shocker came on Thursday morning while I was at work. I had clocked in at 9:30AM, as usual, and got to sweeping around the store for the next 25 minutes. Just as I was about to go put the broom away and open the store, my cell phone rang. I knew who it was and what it was about even before I pulled my phone from my pocket - SSgt. Pelham called to tell me that I my medical pre-screen had been approved and that I could take my physical the next morning (Friday). He then told me that the soonest I could take my ASVAB would be at 2 o'clock that afternoon - the dilemma was that I was supposed to be at work until 5! So I, not wanting to miss such an opportunity, told him I would call him back and let him know if I could get someone to cover the rest of my shift.
I had less than a half-hour to find someone to cover my shift and call SSgt. Pelham back. After ten minutes and two phone calls, I couldn't find anyone to come in early, but I called my recruiter back anyhow, telling him that I could make it. Everything worked out though: I had the morning paperwork done by 11:00, the drop boxes emptied by 12:00, and all of the movies ran out by 1:00 (keep in mind that I still had to check people out and do the majority of these things by myself). And even though I couldn't get someone to come in early so that Justin wouldn't be trying to hold down the store all by himself, Bristol (whom happened to be doing a candy shift at the time) was awesome enough to volunteer to lend a hand in my absence.
(* I was the only one there for the Marines the first two times I went, I was one of only three girls the first time (out of about 10 people), and there was one girl there the second time. My recruiter, however, was the only one who brought me there and waited for me to sign-in before leaving - everybody else drove there themselves and their recruiters were nowhere in sight.)
We were lined up outside the testing room, and were allowed to enter just one at a time. Each time it took about 5-10 minutes before they let the next person in and I was the last in line. When I did get in there, it was a tiny room with about 9 or 10 computers, and a desk for the proctor to sit at. The test consisted of 9 sections; General Science (GS), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Word Knowledge (WK), Auto & Shop Information (AS), Electronics Information (EI), Mechanical Comprehension (MC), and Assembling Objects (AO). We were given about 3 hours to complete this test, each sub-test was timed specifically. I finished in about an hour and ten minutes, just 5 minutes after the first person finished (the only other girl there).
At the end of the test I was given a small, brown envelope with my test results in it, but I was told about four times not to open the envelope in the MEPS. A large sticker on the opening of the envelope also indicated that only my recruiter could open it. So, I had to call and wait for SSgt. Pelham to pick me up before I would know ANYTHING. For the next 20 minutes, I was on edge, thinking that I had bombed the test and wouldn't be able to qualify for any job that I wanted.
When he arrived, I gave him the envelope before I even sat down in the passenger seat. He opened it but wouldn't let me look at it for a good 30 seconds. THEN I got my results;
AFQT 88
119 MM, 126 GT, 122 EL, 121 CL
Now, let me make some sense out of that for you. The AFQT stands for Armed Forces Qualification Test, and is computed using only four sections of the overall test; Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Mathematics Knowledge (MK). To get the score for the AFQT, you add the scores for Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension together, that number relates to a scaled score called the Verbal Expression (VE) score.
AFQT = (VE x 2) + AR + MK
The other scores are for the purpose of finding what jobs you qualify for - each branch of service separates their scores differently (though I believe the Navy and Coast Guard use the same line scores). The Marine Corps splits it up into four; Mechanical Maintenance (MM), General Technical (GT), Electronics (EL), and Clerical (CL). How these scores are determined are as follows:
MM = AO + AS + MC + EI
GT = VE + AR
EL = GS + AR + MK + EI
CL = VE + AR + MK
So, what does that say about me? It means that I scored better than 88% of people in a test group, aged 18-23. My line scores (MM, GT, EL, CL) mean that there isn't a single job in the Marine Corps that I cannot qualify for (since most require a score between 90 and 110). To top it all off, SSgt. Pelham let me know that I had the highest score at our RSS (Recruiting Sub-Station). I did AMAZING, in other words.
On our way back to his office, he let me know that I would be staying at a hotel that night (free of charge), and that I would be at MEPS at 6AM for my physical. He also said that he was going to give me a drug test then workout with me that night so I would drop more weight before my physical, just to make sure I wouldn't be disqualified for being overweight. I had one hell of an evening planned out for me.
When we got to the office, there were a bunch of a guys there that are already in the Delayed-Entry Program (DEP), meaning that they have sworn-in and are just waiting to ship to boot camp (since they are a part of the "DEP Pool" they are often referred to as "poolees"). I met Bud and Steven, but Bud was the only one who was actually interested in having a conversation with me (I think Steven is afraid of girls or something, he didn't seem to like me much). Anyhow, SSgt. Pelham bought me a bottle of water to make sure I could pee for my drug test, and I signed a few more papers while we waited. The test was negative of course, but I was barely able to get enough in the cup (I know, I know, TMI).
It was already 7 by the time we headed out. SSgt. Pelham drove Steven and Bud home, before taking me home to get clothes, then it was off to the hotel. There was some conversation in the car about Marine and Military-related subjects, things I knew about and felt comfortable talking about with my recruiter but some of it seemed to be lost on the other guys, which I found surprising, considering Steven is shipping to boot camp in July. Long story short, by the time SSgt. Pelham and I arrived at the hotel it was around 8, later than he had expected. So, he told me that I should get a light dinner (free!), then sweat off a couple of pounds before I turned in for the night.
I was on my own in a ridiculously fancy hotel, all expenses paid by the U.S. Government. First, I went to my room to drop off my things (AMAZING room), then headed down for dinner. After that, it was an hour in the pool, and another two in the fitness center. By the time I got back to my room, it was about 12:30, and I knew that I'd be receiving a wake-up call at 4:45AM. Sleep eluded me until almost 1:30, but I still woke up before any of my alarms and the wake-up call. At 5:15, I headed down to the first floor for my free breakfast, and met up with 3 guys in the elevator who were also going to MEPS that morning. We were all sat at the same table, so we were pretty much forced to make conversation - one was heading into the Navy, the other into the Air National Guard, and the third was a fellow Marine wannabe (he was only there to swear-in, so I wouldn't see him during the physical). They all had the opportunity to truly enjoy the all-you-can-eat buffet, but I still had to eat a light a breakfast which consisted of a small bowl of cheerios, fruit and two glasses of water.
At 5:42 we were hurried to the MEPS shuttle, where we met up with three other guys (two for the Air Force, one for the Marines). The shuttle left promptly at 5:45, and arrived at MEPS just before 6. We were told to wait downstairs for 10 minutes, and were then briefed on what we were about to do. Upstairs, we all checked in, put our belongings in a secured room, given name tags and then sent to meet with our respective branch's liaison and recruiter (if present). I was sent away to another room with my medical folder and was told to just wait.
Half an hour later, we were briefed by an Army Captain on what our day at MEPS was supposed to look like, then waited another ten minutes for ANOTHER briefing and a 10-page medical questionnaire from one of the medical personnel. The whole time I was wiggling in my seat because I had to pee, but I was told not to go since I would have to take a urinalysis within the next hour. By the time we were done with the briefing, the questionnaire, and the breathalyzer, I was nearly running down the hall to get to medical.
Thankfully, I was the first one down there, and I didn't have to wait for someone to check me in and take my blood pressure. I was hoping the urinalysis would be first, but I had to take an eye test before that (and apparently, my eyesight SUCKS (20/400), but it's correctable to 20/20 so it's not a big deal, though the medical personnel did poke some fun at me). Finally, I got the chance to pee, and by that time I didn't even care that some lady had to watch me while I did it.
Next was the blood test, then height and weight. I was told that the scale at MEPS tends to add about two to five pounds to your normal weight even though you're standing on it in your underwear, which is why SSgt. Pelham stressed so much that I get under 147. I did, in fact, weigh-in at 148, when I had been closer to 145 all that week. After that, I had to take a hearing test, and after that I was interviewed (interrogated) by one of the MEPS doctors, but it wasn't even close to as bad as my recruiter had made it out to be. Then I got to wait some more with four guys who still had to take their interviews, pee tests, and a bunch of other things. While I waited for the next fifteen minutes, I chatted with a 26-year-old, married guy who was trying to get into the National Guard.
Then my time came. I was taken down a long hallway to the room where they had taken my height and weight, and I was told to strip down to my skivvies (bra and underwear). The MEPS doctor and one of the medical personnel then walked me through a bunch of really, really ridiculous movements to make sure that all my joints had normal range-of-motion. Squats, duck-walk, knee-walk, toe-touch; you name it. Afterwords, I had to strip down completely and get into a paper gown for a breast and pelvic exam, which, fortunately, were very, very brief (but still uncomfortable with two people in the room).
I only had to wait about five minutes in the lobby before I was given a copy of my medical paperwork and told to go back to meet my liaison and recruiter. Everybody else had some kind of job counseling, then lunch, and swear-ins after all that, but I got to go home at 10:45 and was told that I would be swearing in on Thursday, July 1st.
That, my friends, has been my experience so far. I will be staying in the hotel again on Wednesday night, and I'll be back at MEPS at 6AM on July 1st. Supposedly, friends and family are welcome to come to my swearing-in ceremony, and I have invited my mom, Jenni and her mom as well. I will see if I can get someone to take pictures."
Originally posted on Facebook, 06-27-2010.
You know, reading your experiences helps me feel inspired as a fellow female wanting to go into the Marines. You show me through words in a way to not give up. And I think that's pretty cool. :)
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