Just got done with MEPS looking for an answer...

[Jeffe]

Sorry if this has been asked before and no I have not discussed this with my recruiter...he's on vacation for a week. I just finished MEPS (which really wasn't all that bad, the hardest part for me was depth perception. I say probably due to only like 4 hours of GOOD sleep) and I am wondering what, if any, physicals are next?
-Do I sit around for them to run my medical history?
-Does Navy do a flight physical on top of MEPS? (I know you do something of this sort in OCS like day 2)
-If anyone is curious on what goes down at MEPS I'd be more than happy to help you out...biggest advise *thanks to OttoWrote8* DRINK A METRIC TON OF WATER. I have ONLY been drinking water the past few WEEKS and it was BARELY enough to pass the tinkle test....

Looking forward to the advise! Thanks alot guys and gals!

 

[nugget61]

For USN you get your flight physical at OCS and if you passed everything at MEPS and they didn't want anything else from you then you should be good to go. From what I was told.

 

[jorgelito]

Sorry if this has been asked before and no I have not discussed this with my recruiter...he's on vacation for a week. I just finished MEPS (which really wasn't all that bad, the hardest part for me was depth perception. I say probably due to only like 4 hours of GOOD sleep) and I am wondering what, if any, physicals are next?
-Do I sit around for them to run my medical history?
-Does Navy do a flight physical on top of MEPS? (I know you do something of this sort in OCS like day 2)
-If anyone is curious on what goes down at MEPS I'd be more than happy to help you out...biggest advise *thanks to OttoWrote8* DRINK A METRIC TON OF WATER. I have ONLY been drinking water the past few WEEKS and it was BARELY enough to pass the tinkle test....

Looking forward to the advise! Thanks alot guys and gals!

I got MEPS next week. Other than the poke and prod, anything else to expect or prepare for? What types of things do they fail or disqualify you for?

 

[Big Biff]

MEPS goes about something like this,
5:45AM Arrive,
6:00AM some E-4 comes outside and starts pretending like he is a DI and yelling at all of the 17-18 year olds to sound off and that they need to get a whole lot louder
6:15 you go inside you your service liaison and hope that your paperwork is there. The good news is you have priority over the enlistees so you move a little faster.
6:30-7:15 everyone sits in a classroom and awaits for a MEPS staffer to begin killing you death by powerpoint. They give you forms, do not fill them out unless specifically told to do something. It goes by the numbers, dont jump ahead or another E-3 or E-4 will go phony tough on you and threaten to send you home because you can't follow orders.
8:00am the breathalyzer is administered to everyone and the fun begins.
Between 8:30-11:30 its a semi organized set of stations, invloving blood work, eye test, hearing test, piss test, and prior med screening.The thing thats takes the longest is the urine test, because they only go in there when at least 8 people have to go.
11:30 is the final mobility exam (duck walk, tip toe walking) and you are usually finished by 1, getting your finger prints taken and going home.

The two big dq's happen during the prior med screening and the mobility exam. Follow directions exactly when walking on toes and such. When duckwalking keep your balance. Do everything they say just as they say when its your turn. The prior med screening often is the other big one. I let it leak out I took a vitamin B supplement two weeks before. He went nuts, fortunately all I had to do was sign a waiver saying I'd stop taking it. Little hickups like that send people home. Blood pressure that is too high is a sticking point.
Don't be a moron and say you may have had migraines before or you took asprin when you were 10. MEPS sole purpose in life is to weed people out. You are nothing but another statistic to them. If you have had a bonefide issue you can try for a waiver, If it goes through it will mean you get through the whole process over again. Don't get a case of reverse amnesia either. I have been to MEPS 5 times for various reasons. Every time there is some nucklehead who remembers he smoked a joint when he was 16 during a rock concert. I'm sure the Col/Captain loves signing these drug waivers. Depending on the circumstances it could mean your security clearence never goes through.

 

[blarged]

I got MEPS next week. Other than the poke and prod, anything else to expect or prepare for? What types of things do they fail or disqualify you for?

poke and prod... ehhhh... just hope you don't have to sit for a long drive home...

 

[jorgelito]

Big Biff,

Thanks for the rundown, that's real helpful. I got to admit, after all the stuff I went through and how far I've come, I'm a but anxious for MEPS. I don't want to get DQ'd for anything so I want to be sure I have everything in order. Only thing I can think of is I am close to the weight limit (1-2 pounds under in my underwear) and that I'm sore from PTing all the time.

So far, I've been told to just show up and no caffeine drinks the day before. Other than that, I haven't been told to bring any paperwork etc. Any issues should have been noted or addressed in my appliction package. I'm considering practicing the duckwalk too just to be safe.

Blarged, yeah, tell me about it. I'm just gonna close my eyes and go to my happy place. Hopefully it will be quick and painless. Lucky for me I only live 2 miles away from the MEPS place here.

Thanks for the tips guys, 4 more days to go, then hopefully Final Select will be right around the corner.

 

[acwildcat]

Only thing I can think of is I am close to the weight limit (1-2 pounds under in my underwear) and that I'm sore from PTing all the time.

I would not worry too much about the weight thing. I was a couple pounds over and I got a waiver without any problems because my Body Fat percentage was low enough

 

[Big Biff]

Ooh, the weight think can be an issue... can be... I was a fat body when I initially enlisted into the Marine Corps in 2000. Had to get rejected and drop some pounds and come back a few weeks later. As someone who can give you advice about being close, know that they WEIGH YOU IN AT THE VERY END. It was always an issue because I would drop weight the day before, show up dehydrated, but have to re-hydrate for the piss test and then sweat the scale. I also have a small neck so the rope and choke never works for me. The way they weigh you is if your under a half pound over, you make it, over half, you get taped. Personally I never trusted my future to be in someone elses hands (the tape). Drop weight this week, wake up and hydrate so you can pee early and then not worry about the extra pound or so of water weight.

Good luck to ya.

 

[sciguy]

When I went to MEPS almost a month ago, I saw a guy get DQ'd for being overweight, by a couple of pounds. They were not giving him any room at all for that. He got a body fat analysis and it didn't help. Everyone in my group felt the person recording our height cut an inch off of each of us. Granted I was the only officer candidate out of a group of about 50 individuals, many of whom did not look all that fit to me.

I HATE that duckwalk and all the other little activities they make you do in your underwear. I really hope I never end up back there again. That was a horrible experiance in more ways than one.

 

[Jynx]

I would not worry too much about the weight thing. I was a couple pounds over and I got a waiver without any problems because my Body Fat percentage was low enough

Jorgelito,

I was about 20 pounds over, but because my Fat % was only 16% with the rope and choke, They waived me through. If you're fit enough to do the run and sit ups and pushups, you should make the body fat portion no problem

 

[jorgelito]

Thanks for all the tips and advice fellas.

I'm just gonna do my best and power through.

3 days to go!

 

[jorgelito]

Well, that was interesting... I was lost for a couple of hours before the staff figured out what to do with me. To top it all off, when it was finally all over, the guy at the door wouldn't let me leave without my recruiter who was not even in town. It took a little while to explain to him I wasn't a recruit shipping out. He didn't quite get the concept. I eventually got some other staffer to explain things to him.

I made weight with a few pounds to spare but now I have to submit some more docs and get some waivers for some other things. The waiting continues but I am closer to Final Select.

Despite all that, all in all, the MEPS experience wasn't too bad. Now hopefully I can get my waivers soon so I can get my final select.

Almost there!

 

[flyn4pride]

Very nice.....Did he have a hard time understanding the statement that you are pro-rec'd going to OCS?

 

[wink]

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but it might be useful to highlight something mentioned above. MEPS IS trying to keep you out of the military. Be careful what you say or write down. They rarely allow do overs and are not very humorous. If you had Juvenile Asthma and you are no longer a juvenile, then I bet you don't have asthma. If your back hurts after 90 minutes in the weight room, it probably isn't because you have a back problem, you probably have a technique problem. MEPS doesn't need to hear about that back pain. Never self diagnose. Don't tell the doc you have migraines if a doctor has never said you do. Trust me. If they are migraines and they are bad enough to keep you out of the military you would have been driven to a doc for prescription meds already. Don't say you have hayfever if a doc has never diagnosed it and you just take some over the counter stuff a dozen times during the spring. Be honest, be careful.

 

[Makk85]

Here are a few problem areas I have seen on my visits to MEPS.

Don't hollar out or moan when doing the duck walk and other nearly nude excercises. Some of the things are uncomfortable, but being a squeaky pussy about it will only get you DQ'd. During the knee walk, where you walk frontwards and backwards on your knees, a guy next to me moaned and stood up in the middle of the excercise. He was DQ'd. Yeah it is uncomfortable grinding your knees into a hard surface for anyone, but don't show it.

Don't try and suck it in if you are a bigger guy getting taped for the weight portion. I watched a guy getting taped around his waistline try and hold it in, the doc warned him once not to suck in. Second try the doc asked him where he was from and he barely whispered his home town like he was holding his breath. He was DQ'd simply for trying to cheat. Most of the doc's can tell you are holding your breath just by watching your diaphram bounce up and down while you talk. If you are not holding your breath your diaphram will be relaxed and there will be no bounce.

Avoid the food served for dinner and breakfast at MEPS. Bring your own food. Aside from being downright nasty the MEPS food is loaded with excessive salt which will skyrocket your blood pressure.