GQ, it was absolutely the worst!! I come from a Navy family, Dad retired as an 06 (SEAL) and my step dad a retired Senior Chief.
That being said, although "familiar" with the Navy, I was not completely informed on the app. process. Got in touch w/ the Hyattsville recruiting station in Feb and took my ASTB in March. Scored a 40 w/ 3's and 4's (a terrible score). They "submitted" my package on March 13 w/ Intel as first, Crypto as second. I wait. Three months pass and I don't hear anything; Chief doesn't call, is never there, etc. June 22 I call and want to know what's going on. I find out from the processor that mine (along with a dozen other packages) had never been successfully submitted. This guy is doing mainly Intel kits, so those were the ones affected. Anyway, they assure me it will be taken care of. I stick it out with the moron. July 2 I find out Millington still hasn't rec'd the kit b/c of another error. I demand a new recruiter and get an HM (who's also in charge of the office). She assures me she will be on top of things, apologizes for what's happened, blah blah blah. I don't want to start all over again, so I stick with it. This, I acknowledge, was not a smart move.
I have confirmation on July 12 my kit has been rec'd. Get my physical at Bethesda, and continue to wait.
I hear at the beginning of Sept that I haven't been pro. rec'd for either Intel or Crypto. This was not a complete shock, b/c after all the chaos and errors, I didn't have a great feeling about it. I did not know though, that not only am I completely unqualified for Crypto (so much so that I shouldn't have even put it down), nor did I know that my ASTB score wasn't even high enough to be looked at. My original chief should have told me that, instead I waisted four months. When I got another chief, she should have informed me that the Board only looked at 50's and higher (as well as advise me to change my choices). She didn't.
All in all, I found the Hyattsville station to be full of inept recruiters who had no idea what was going on, and sadly to say, couldn't have cared less. Looking back, my package was extremely weak....but I had no idea. Kept hearing I had a good kit. Had no opportunity to improve it, and no guidance.
I come to Fl and start over with a recruiter in Tampa. This guy is oustanding. The minute I get there, he's straight foward and direct. I take the ASTB over, get a 56 w/ 7's. I basically used the same package (i.e lor's) had to revise my app b/c the form had been updated. I also changed my motivational statement. My Senior Chief wouldn't let anything less than a strong package come out of that office; he gave me pointers, suggestions, and by the time I was finished I felt very informed and confident. This guy cares about his job (he's a NCCS), which I think is the prime distinction.
I've since been pro. rec'd for Intel and Supply and am waiting on acceptance status. Of course not everyone will have had this experience w/ Hyattsville...but I think that if it happened to me, it could certainly happen to someone else. They were careless, uninformed and sloppy. Now that I have the ability to compare that one w/ the one in Tampa, my opinion has only gotten stronger. Just watch your back and be active. Go w/ your gut instincts.
Reapergm: If these guys made it to the top ten, I can't imagine what the "bad" ones are like. Did the Tampa station make it??? I dont' knock anyone who decides to give Hyattsville a shot, and definitley wish then luck. Just wanted to give a heads up on potential problems. As for my original chief, he's been transferred from that office, a positive thing for any Intel hopefuls going through Hyattsville.
Good Luck to everyone!!!
Brooke