update : MEPS, school, and life
on monday i was sworn in and enlisted into the United States Navy!! i'm so excited to be able to serve my country like so many others before me. definitely taking the road less traveled, but i don't think i was meant to do the old standard graduate high school, go to college for four years, graduate college, then work for the rest of my life. yes, of course i will still go to college, just on a slightly different time schedule. i feel that serving in the military (whether for 4 years or career-long) is something that i will do to not only find new career opportunities, but to serve something greater than myself, the United States of America. sure, people call me crazy. sure, some might stop talking to me once i join the military (sadly enough, there's even some members of my family who don't support me going into the Navy....screw them!).
My MEPS (military entrance processing station) experience :
oh, tampa MEPS. definitely a roller coaster of a day. the day started VERY early. i got to my recruiter's office just before 4 o'clock. my recruiter drove me over to the tampa MEPS. we got there around 5:15 or so. i slept half the way there. the processing didn't actually start til maybe 6 though, so we both ended up taking a much-needed 45 minute nap. right around 6, the folks in charge at MEPS instructed us to form three lines. first line was shippers going to basic training that day. 2nd line for people like me doing the full physical. i don't remember what the 3rd line was for.
we got inside and went through the metal detector and all that. we then went to our service liasons to get nametags that we would need throughout the day. we also got a large folder with all of our medical forms that would be filled out throughout the day. we got a briefing on what our day would be like, and what behavior was expected of us.
the schedule for everyone differed from that point on, so i'll just describe my experience.
--blood pressure test - pretty much perfect.
--taking blood - ugh. i hate needles. but it wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it would be.
--urine test - peeing in a little cup...with someone watching you. talk about invasion of privacy. lol but oh well you just suck it up and do it. pregnancy test, all that good stuff. i drank LOTS of water that day!
--hearing and vision test - passed with flying colors.
--now the really fun part!! height and weight measurements. those were fine. "flexibility and balance exercises"...in your underwear only with the doctors making sure you have all your limbs and everything works the way it should. there was only one other girl doing this with me (there are usually several), so it really wasn't so bad. it only took about 3 minutes. then the private exam with the doctor. he asked me the same questions that everyone else at MEPS asks you...do you do anything illegal? any major injuries/surgeries? all that stuff. i won't even describe the last part of the private exam. if you ever join the military you'll know what i'm talking about....haha...frightening...
basically, i'm in perfect health. so yay for me! =) not that i don't know i'm perfectly healthy, but i pretty much never go to the doctor, so i guess you never know what can come up i guess lol
after the physical taking FOREVER (lots of waiting), i started the process of about a million interviews, job selection, and finally the oath of enlistment ceremony! i can't believe how many times i was asked if i did drugs, was ever arrested, or did anything stupid like that. oh and two words..."fradulent enlistment". they make DARN SURE you know what fradulent enlistment is. good lord...it's all over the place. literally. lol.
but anyways, there were a couple different interviews and forms to fill out. (if you don't like paperwork, NEVER go to MEPS. lol. i'm serious!) i went to the navy job counselor. obviously since i haven't auditioned for the band yet, they didn't have the job i really wanted. lol. but i was able to find a good job with a ship date where i hoped it would be. as of right now i'm an SK (storekeeper), which in short terms means i'll be helping to supply the Navy with everything that it needs. but the nice thing about it is that i will learn many valuable skills that i can use in life, regardless of what career path i may choose. of course, all that won't matter if i make the music program. lol =)
let me just say that between the time of the physical and the time that i left, i spent a LOT of time talking not only with my own recruiter, but other navy recruiters, and also other people enlisting into the navy, other navy personnel, etc. and i don't say this because i'm joining the navy, but it has been my experience in general. navy people are the best all-around people. hands down. maybe that's just me.
and finally, the oath of enlistment ceremony. after many hours of medical tests, running back and forth between offices, waiting, some more waiting, and filling out a LOT of paperwork, it was finally time to take the oath of enlistment. there was 5 of us in the ceremony...two navy, two marines, one army. the officer that administered the oath was a lieutenant in the USMC. i was scared out of my mind. lol. he first asked each of us to introduce ourselves, and tell everyone what service we were going into, and what type of work we would be doing. he then talked to us a little more, and asked a couple required questions.
P.S. i love how i was not only the only female in this particular ceremony, but the ONLY person to stand at attention correctly! thank you, SWC!! =)
but oh man i was so nervous during the ceremony. i don't know why, but i was. but it really was awesome!!!
after that, we signed our enlistment contracts, and then we had the officer who performed our ceremony sign our contracts as well. as each contract signed, the lieutenant (i can't remember his name now, which is awful) asked each of us why we were joing our respective services. one of the reasons i gave was family tradition. but the lieutenant said something so totally awesome that i will never forget it....
"you must continue to keep traditions alive. otherwise, they will become nothing more than memories"
idk...i just really liked that a lot.
we're STILL not done!! lol we turned in our contracts to our service liasons (i know i'm spelling that word wrong) and we got a copy of our contract, and any documents we needed returned (birth certificates, dilpomas, etc.)
but the other navy enlistee and i did something that as far as i know, none of the other services at MEPS did. after we received our DEP id cards (which are kinda funny, sorry, lol)....a petty officer had the ENTIRE office stand at attention while the two newest DEP members recited the sailor's creed together. idk, maybe that happens everywhere, but i thought that was just really freaking awesome. after we finished, the entire office clapped, and were just very awesome in general.
and finally, my day at MEPS was done.
now i know darn well the RDCs at boot camp will not be as encouraging or awesome, lol, but i really feel like i chose the right service.
i won't even tell you the joke of that day. hahahaha oh man. way too funny.
in short, i'm VERY glad i finished my first trip to MEPS, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience.
school - starts monday. yay.
life - same old, same old. lol jk life is awesome!! =)