MEPS today...

[srqwho]

Yeah I was surprised that things "flowed" as well as they did. At the Tampa MEPS there was a guy who watched as a line of us at different urinals did our business. I, proudly, finished first... which was acknowledged with "nice work #1" b/c I was using the urinal with the #1 above it.

Oh, and as far as the pooper check goes... prostate exams and complaints of possible appendicitis will also get you "checked out"... trust me on that. I had the forutunate pleasure of being looked at by a doc that wanted to show his resident what to look/feel for when checking for a swollen appendix... and I just happened to have a complaint to solicit such an exam. Turns out the appendix was not the issue, thankfully.

 

[smattles1of2]

I went to MEPS months ago but never got the chance to say I was going officer. I kept getting yelled at for not having my folder completely straight on my desk, etc. It was fun times. I also completely failed the depth perception test. I actually asked, "so when do the circles pop out??" Thank goodness I don't need to pass that to be a nurse! haha.

MEPS is definitely an experience!

 

[srqwho]

Yeah the docs and administrators at MEPS definitely don't take any crap or any incompetence. I could be wrong on this, but the lady doing my vision test said to forgive the fact that the vision slides look liked they have been walked on with muddy shoes. It sounds like some of the slides at MEPS are not in the best condition and thus making it harder to get the correct answer.

Anybody know if the vision machines used at MEPS the same type used at OCS and pcola? I was expecting to read letters off a wall like the normal doc's office, but instead they had us looking into these large microscope looking devices.

 

[Lobster]

Too bad its not like elementary school where you get a sticker for finishing first haha. Yeah I was expecting to be reading letters off the wall to but it seems like some places have the wall charts and others the thing you put your face in, they had the thing you put your face in at the DMV as well but my regular Doc had the chart.

 

[OUSOONER]

I am 20/10 (from my flight physical for my private pilot's license)..but at MEPS they just put down 20/20. I was kinda disappointed because I prided myself on my eyesight..just to be able to say "Hey, I'm 20/10." I asked my OR, he said the Navy doesn't recognize officially better than 20/20 because that's considered "perfect".

 

[m0tbaillie]

...and clingons.

Something about using the word "piddled" while discussing operation golden flow makes me cringe.

Did someone say Klingons?!?!

On a serious note, I figured there was another physical as soon as you got to OCS, but how similar is it to MEPS? Seems a bit...redundant, almost, yea?

 

[Lobster]

The United States Redundancy Department...of Redundancy

 

[Harrier Dude]

I am 20/10 (from my flight physical for my private pilot's license)..but at MEPS they just put down 20/20. I was kinda disappointed because I prided myself on my eyesight..just to be able to say "Hey, I'm 20/10." I asked my OR, he said the Navy doesn't recognize officially better than 20/20 because that's considered "perfect".

My pre-commissioning physical was kicked back for saying 20/10. They said that I was no longer eligible for an air contract since my vision wasn't 20/20.

After much bitching and pointing out the obvious, I was told that I could either drive 5 hours to Corpus Christi fo another free eye exam, or pay to have one done out in town. Take it or leave it. I paid the $85 and had them put 20/20 on it. No problems since.

I probably could have fought this further and not had to do either, but it just wasn't worth the hassle. Just take the 20/20 and move on. Nobody gives a shit if you're any better than that. You might be risking the red ass I went through (unlikely) that some shoe clerk is separating medical records into two piles......20/20 and anything other than 20/20.

 

[OUSOONER]

That was where I was getting at..I was responding to the poster who said they were confused why they didnt have 20/17 on their sheet..and it's because the Navy doesn't recognize better than 20/20. Using my example/experience to support this claim.

 

[BACONATOR]

Because technically if you're 20/10, they consider you "far-sighted" and will correct you back to 20/20. Since that is retarded, and the docs know it, they put you as 20/20 and they're done with it. Don't complain. 20/10 vision isn't getting you a slot over a dude with 20/40 if your GPA sucks and his doesn't.

 

[OUSOONER]

exactly, I agree...it's just a check in the box pretty much.

 

[Defuego]

my MEPS experience

I just wanted to talk a bit about my MEPS experience (20080811). I would say overall it was a pretty horrible experience and hopefully not one that is representative of my future dealings with military facilities. I will say they were very good at getting everyone through the 6 parts of the physical. There were about 70 kids enlisting and I was one of only 2 people commissioning. I got the same physical as all those enlisting, including vision even though I’m going to be a pilot. I was tested for colorblindness and read 4 lines of eye chart. I felt like I should have had more tests to stop surprises at OCS.
If I hadn’t had paperwork issues it would have been over before 11 and I would have been on my way and had no problems with the experience. I really didn’t spend that much time waiting around, just a fair amount of short waits. Because of my paperwork issues an employee was accusing me of lying and kept referring to my paperwork as shenanigans. I felt like a falsely accused criminal helpless to do anything about it. It ended up sorted out and I qualified so in the end it was all good. That experience was something I was not expecting out of MEPS, it was shocking.

 

[rhinoh82]

Am I the only one that didn't take the depth perception test at MEPS? When I went to MEPS in April they refused to give me the depth perception test. I asked the lady doing the vision screening and she said that only AF Officer applicants take that test. I expressed to her that I was going into the aviation field and that everybody else I had talked to received that test. But she flat out refused to administer the test. After MEPS I went to my OR and told him about my situation and he said they know what they are doing and that if he needed me to take the test he would just send me back to MEPS for that one test. Needless to say, I've never heard anything back from him about going in to take the depth perception test. My package was submitted and I was accepted. I have since gone to a civilian doc and took the depth perception test on which I didn't miss any. But none of that was ever submitted to the Navy, it was only for my peace of mind (read all the horror stories on here about that test). I'm just wondering if they overlooked it or if its not required until your physical at OCS?

 

[nzachman]

I didn't take the depth perception on my initial go-around at MEPS. We sent all the paperwork in for my final-select and found out I had to go back and take the depth perception test which they forgot??? to administer. Just tacked on more wait time to my final-select.

 

[jt71582]

They tried to refuse to administer the test. Sometimes you just have to be like, "Look, [rank], name, I know for a fact that I need to take the depth perception test as a potential aviation Officer Candidate. If you need to, please contact my OR"

It's all about taking charge of your destiny, but remaining respectful. I know it's hard and frustrating when all you want to do is get out of MEPS - I've been there, I know it sucks.