The Delayed-Entry Program, or DEP, is a program where individuals going into active duty in the United States Armed Forces enlist first into the Delayed Entry Program, before they ship out to Recruit Training, and any individual may stay in the DEP for up to a period of 410 days (usually only 365 though). It is an actual enlistment into the inactive reserves with an agreement to report for active duty (to ship out to boot camp) at a specific time in the future. Technically, it is a legally binding contract, meaning that if one were to fail to report to ship out to recruit training, the military could order that individual to active duty and if they refused, they could end up with a court martial.
However, this never happens. Not a single person has been involuntarily ordered to active duty, court-martialed, or otherwise prosecuted in civilian courts for being in the DEP and refusing to ship out to boot camp in the past 27 years. In fact, the Department of Defense's official policy on the matter is that anyone can request to be released from the DEP at anytime before they are sent off to recruit training, without consequence.
What's the purpose of the DEP?
Nowadays, people can't just walk into a recruiting office, sign some papers, and leave for boot camp immediately. It just doesn't work that way. The recruiting command must reserve a slot for that individual at recruit training, and currently, slots are reserved for up to a year in advance (usually it gives time for kids to graduate from high school before leaving for boot camp, since they need a diploma in order to enlist). Slots do become available though, usually when people drop out of the Delayed Entry Program or have to have there ship dates pushed to a later date, either because they do not currently meet the physical requirements prior to their shipment to recruit training, or because of medical reasons, family events, etc.
Also, it serves as an introduction to your service of choice, especially if you have no real experience with the military. The Marine Corps recruiters often require their "poolees" (members of the DEP "pool") to come to weekly meetings for PT (physical training), drill practice, "knowledge", or what-have-you. Once a month, they may also require you to run an IST (Initial Strength Test) to gauge your physical ability, and to make sure that you are prepared to ship to recruit training.
What has your experience with the DEP been like so far?
At my first "Pool Function", I took an IST with all of the other poolees who managed to show up. It consists of a timed 1.5 mile run, max crunches in two minutes, and either max pull-ups for males or a flexed-arm hang for females. In order to pass, males must run the 1.5 mile in 13:30 or less, get at least 44 crunches in two minutes, and at least 2 pull-ups/chin-ups. As for females, they must run the 1.5 mile in 15 minutes or less, get at least 44 crunches in two minutes, and must have a flexed-arm hang of at least 12 seconds. These are my stats from the first IST:
IST 20100708
1.5-mile run: 13:35
Crunches: 22
Flexed-Arm Hang: 00:24
Unfortunately, I managed to bomb my crunches, even though I had done a clean 50 for the MEPS liaison the week prior.
For the next few pool functions, I was usually the only one who showed up, and sometimes one or two other poolees might have showed up. For a couple of weeks we did "The MARSOC Workout Short-Card" which consists of a lot of calisthenics - mostly push-ups, crunches, burpees, star-jumps, cherry pickers, and hello dollies repeating back-to-back. Then we would finish up with a program called "Ab Ripper X", which is actually a DVD from the P90X exercise program that focuses on ab work. Let's just say I was sore for a few days.
Another time we did another P90X video called "Kenpo X", which is a cardio workout that introduces you to simple punches, kicks, and proper blocking technique. Our recruiter even introduced a little bit of MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) to us. After that, we worked on drill a little bit.
The most fun I had though, was going to the Arctic Thunder Air Show with the recruiters. I got to spend the entire weekend with them running "The Pull-Up Challenge", where people can try to do as many pull-ups as they can for t-shirts, water bottles, and hats. The U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the "Blue Angels", were also there, and as a perk I was allowed to sit in V.I.P. seating as they performed, or "demonstrated" rather. It got even better though; all of the Marine Corps and Navy poolees that were in attendance were brought onto the airstrip in front of the thousands of people in the crowd in order to swear-in and take the Oath of Enlistment again with the Commander of the Navy Reserves. He shook each one of our hands individually, and presented us with a "challenge coin" (I initially dropped it when I tried to put it in my left hand so that I could raise my right hand for the swear-in, but nobody really noticed).
Since then, I have a new recruiter, Sgt. Brooks, and have attended PT a couple times a week, though we're only required to come in on Thursdays. I feel that the more I prepare now the better off I'll be. At our last Thursday PT, we did another IST, and I have improved by a significant margin;
IST 20100819
1.5-mile Run: 13:00
Crunches: 32
Flexed-Arm Hang: 00:36
I still have a lot of work to do on my crunches, and Sgt. Brooks has since gotten me on a plan to improve my IST stats before I ship to boot camp in just 7 weeks; 20101011.
This week, I'll be at the Alaska State Fair helping with recruiting again at the pull-up bar, starting on Thursday.
UPDATE: I did a practice run of crunches with my recruiter this week and managed to crank out 55, so I now have a qualifying IST.
Hey Poolee! When do you leave for boot camp? Keep the posts coming.
ReplyDeleteLCpl. Webb, Kevin
I ship out on October 11th, 7 weeks to go.
ReplyDelete