MEPS ETP

[subreservist]

And while interview scores don't factor into a MEPS date, they do factor into how much work a recruiter is willing to do to get you to board.

Edit: Beat me to it...like he said!!

 

[subreservist]

I was not going to respond because this discussion has ventured significantly off topic. I asked about ETPs to be seen at the board with MEPS date pending. I have confirmed with another NRD, that there are delays due to a variety of reasons. I know I am not the only applicant in this boat.

I DO have a waiver - I had the DD 785 and other documents required before I even contacted my recruiter - this is not the issue. I do not have medical issues. I do not have legal issues. And finally, interview scores do not factor into getting a MEPS date.

I appreciate y'all's input.

Just because you're not getting the response you would like, doesn't make any of these posts off topic - they actually are.

And whatever feedback you're getting about delays, I guarantee it isn't for 3 months. An 18 inch snowstorm wouldn't delay MEPS for more than a week. COVID-19 hasn't delayed MEPS for 3 months.

 

[fy18dco]

I did all my medical processing at a local MTF, took like all of a week to get through both parts of the physical. Didn’t bother going through MEPS at all.

 

[Squirrel Girl]

I did all my medical processing at a local MTF, took like all of a week to get through both parts of the physical. Didn’t bother going through MEPS at all.

I don't have that option unfortunately. I live in a pretty rural spot.

 

[bubblehead]

When you do go through MEPS, turn your patience meter up to 100.

 

[snake020]

Sounds like your recruiter doesn't want to work with you. Even if it were true that their MEPS couldn't "see" you, he or she would try a different MEPS to get you processed. But MEPS is not a place that doesn't "see" people for 3 months.

Somethings is off with your story. Do you have legal issues or a significant medical condition reported?

Nope, this is very plausible. I had a quota from the OCM to transition from IRR to SELRES. First NRD and MEPS in New York dropped the ball for months and wouldn't even return messages, so community leadership directed me to another NRD in same region. Even with a competent recruiter, MEPS stalled for months in every step of the process and it finally took an IG complaint after 9 months to resolve.

 

[subreservist]

Nope, this is very plausible. I had a quota from the OCM to transition from IRR to SELRES. First NRD and MEPS in New York dropped the ball for months and wouldn't even return messages, so community leadership directed me to another NRD in same region. Even with a competent recruiter, MEPS stalled for months in every step of the process and it finally took an IG complaint after 9 months to resolve.

I don't think your situation is similar to hers, though.

There are a lot of districts that don't know the process of getting someone from IRR to SELRES. You also probably didn't have a "clean" prescreen. Unfortunately, it can takes several months to years to get someone back to SELRES on case by case basis due to several factors.

But the OP is a civilian applying to an Officer program - that's a standard process. And with no legal or medical issues, there is no ball to drop in her case. For a normal accession, the MEPS doesn't decide to just not see an individual. We'd never get anyone into the military if that was a normal thing.

 

[snake020]

For a normal accession, the MEPS doesn't decide to just not see an individual. We'd never get anyone into the military if that was a normal thing.

But it's not unheard of for a MEPS to put their efforts on the teenagers shipping off to boot and punting the other cases requiring more thought repeatedly to the back of the queue. My NRD said after the fact that there were apparently several Congressionals that were pending at this particular MEPS involving officer packages, including one filed on my behalf in addition to my own IG complaint. You're being blindly dismissive of the OP and giving all the benefit of the doubt to the MEPS system which arguably has some significant problems.

 

[subreservist]

I agree, MEPS definitely does have its issues and their processes are far from perfect. But there is always multiple sides to a story, and there are folks with a multitude of issues that meet red tape when applying for a physical.

OP's story is that she's clean and MEPS simply will not schedule her. If that were truly the case, I'd lean more on the side of MEPS, but as it turns out she's been through MEPS before, been to OCS before and regardless as to why she did not make it through, there is more to her story.

But maybe that has nothing to do with it and maybe its all on MEPS. Maybe this MEPS is denying folks with no medical or legal issues physicals to prevent them from joining the military. I don't know what is to be gained from that, but maybe this MEPS is just that screwed up.

So, if that really is the case, maybe OP does need to go above the recruiting district with a complaint.

BTW - it may be different for each MEPS, but for the ones I know of, its actually less work for MEPS to work an Officer accession applicant. They do the physical and then it goes right back to the Officer recruiter to submit to N3M and apply for waivers if needed.

 

[bubblehead]

My NRD said after the fact that there were apparently several Congressionals that were pending at this particular MEPS involving officer packages, including one filed on my behalf in addition to my own IG complaint.

Will anyone be held accountable or are these people on the government welfare jobs program (i.e., GS employees)?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

But it's not unheard of for a MEPS to put their efforts on the teenagers shipping off to boot and punting the other cases requiring more thought repeatedly to the back of the queue. My NRD said after the fact that there were apparently several Congressionals that were pending at this particular MEPS involving officer packages, including one filed on my behalf in addition to my own IG complaint. You're being blindly dismissive of the OP and giving all the benefit of the doubt to the MEPS system which arguably has some significant problems.

each NRD has a quota and each MEPS can handle X amount of people per day, now each MEPS is different and I can see a delay for a person with no issues for a few weeks depending on what is going on, but months doesn't make sense. There are also a lot of people on this board that have recently gone through MEPS throughout the country, and the OP is the only one saying they are being delayed and has no medical issues.

I think @subreservist is right there is more to the story and that is causing the NRD to push off the OP, now the OP may not really understand that is happening and is being told something else, but something else is going on.

 

[Squirrel Girl]

each NRD has a quota and each MEPS can handle X amount of people per day, now each MEPS is different and I can see a delay for a person with no issues for a few weeks depending on what is going on, but months doesn't make sense. There are also a lot of people on this board that have recently gone through MEPS throughout the country, and the OP is the only one saying they are being delayed and has no medical issues.

I think @subreservist is right there is more to the story and that is causing the NRD to push off the OP, now the OP may not really understand that is happening and is being told something else, but something else is going on.

I am getting tired of yall speculating my recruiter or NRD is pushing me off. My recruiter is in constant contact with me when they clearly do not have to be. I am talking every few days I am completely updated on all the progress or where things are being held up.
I am still waiting on MEPS. My recruiter is constantly contacting the people at MEPS to figure out what is going on. Yes, this is just what I am being told. Yes, there could be more going on. But, as snake020 has stated, it could be a MEPS issue.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I am getting tired of yall speculating my recruiter or NRD is pushing me off. My recruiter is in constant contact with me when they clearly do not have to be. I am talking every few days I am completely updated on all the progress or where things are being held up.
I am still waiting on MEPS. My recruiter is constantly contacting the people at MEPS to figure out what is going on. Yes, this is just what I am being told. Yes, there could be more going on. But, as snake020 has stated, it could be a MEPS issue.

This is what I would suggest, hop on to one of the pilot board threads and ask if anyone has been through the MEPS that you are trying to go through and see what their experiences were, if they had no issues use that to push back on your recruiter.

Just because you are in constant contact doesn't mean they aren't pushing you off, I can tell you from what I have seen first hand it is easier to give someone updates that they are "still working on it" than deal with the headache of someone calling IG and dealing with that.

I have friends that are in a variety of roles in recruiting and if I knew what MEPS I can message them to see if they have had issues with that MEPS or heard of issues. The guys I know are now mostly in the southern half of the US.

 

[Hair Warrior]

There was a brief period in the past 5 years when the IWC DCO Board did look at some applicant packets that were otherwise complete except for MEPS due to a MEPS backlog, but I believe those days are over.

I agree that there must be some underlying issue. In general (not specific to this person) it could mean:

1. Applicant not particularly competitive
2. Waiting on a waiver or other prerequisite
3. Recruiter not particularly competent
4. Recruiter not particularly interested (see #1)
5. Recruiter not able to get traction on their requests (sometimes happens with a recruiter who is an E5/E6, but any recruiter can overcome their rank limitations by being a quality performer, see #3)
6. MEPS temporarily closed and/or not operating at 100% (e.g. COVID closures)
7. MEPS has other priorities (see #1, #2, and #4)
8. Miscommunication, or paperwork lost in the interwebs (see #3 and #4)

In general, assume that recruiters are competent, so #3 is rare and should not be the go-to assumption.

At this point, as subreservist noted, you've missed the March board and will be targeting September. It happens to the best of us. Keep progressing in your day job, keep doing self-PRODEV, keep working toward certs/degrees, and re-check all your Navy paperwork to see if it will still be within 1 year for September. You should also consider who is your recruiter, and do you want to try a different NRD or not.

 

[Squirrel Girl]

Update:
BLUF: Lack of clear communication kept me from MEPS for almost a full year on a simple easy fix.

The issue was the people at MEPS who look at the paperwork were not accurately/clearly explaining the additional paperwork they needed from me to my recruiter. Everything was fine with me, but essentially, I was seen a few days too early for my post-eye surgery follow up for MEPS to accept my surgery paperwork. I had to redo all my post-op exams four years after the surgery (which of course all came back fine because my eyes have been perfect since surgery). This was 2 extra eye appointments, the 90 day post op AND the 30+ day after 90 day post op papers I was missing. Went to a local doc who did a vision test and some measurements and all was good to go (literally 30 minutes between two appointments).

I got a MEPS date two months ago, and just got word I am medically cleared to apply to next board.

My recruiter is still awesome and checks in with me often. They were not brushing me off, but was fighting for me and trying to figure out the proper paperwork too.

Excited to have closed this MEPS chapter and move on to hopefully join the world's greatest Navy.