I got ordered last year but had previous plans (vacation with plane tickets, etc). I forwarded that info to someone online (MyPers, I think) and they waived the requirement.
Huggy,
PM me with your buddy's info if he's still looking. I work for a veteran non-profit and we have a large pool of candidates that might be interested.
It can...so can the Air Force. The real world also doesn't check your cell phones, or send you across the globe to make ppt slides, or wonder where you're going over the weekend.
good post!
another point: you can go and establish a "date of claim" or something, then proceed to gather your paperwork before you actually submit everything. (you have a year from that date)