Meps severely delayed.

[tkownedu5]

From the time I’ve contacted my AFR recruiter to submitting all my medical records for Meps, it’s been a solid 6 months and I have yet to be scheduled for a physical. Every response from Meps took over two weeks, sometimes 20+ days. Long story short my medical records weren’t in order and I had sent duplicates. Everything has been corrected since then and that was almost a month ago. I am contacting my recruiter weekly and I’m getting the same response from him, waiting on guidance from Meps. Is anyone else experiencing this issue? When I was going for the Navy they cleared me for a physical in about a month. Where do I go from here? I’m so eager to serve my country as an officer and pilot.

 

 

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[Guardian]

Keep doing your part. It ebbs and flows on how quickly things go.

I heard a rumor that reserve and guard units are losing pilot slots to active duty because of the giant need right now. Let me clarify need. They need the pilot slots because active duty AF (rotc, academy, OTS) are severely overmanned with bodies. And the OTS route is usually what they slow to a trickle or all together to manage flow on ROTC and academy. I heard ROTC is trying hard to send dudes to guard and reserve because there is no where to put them. There are even claims of ROTC units letting dudes just go from their commitment before commissioning and letting them go with a paid for 4 year degree. Apparently there is no other place to put these people.

1st. It’s just something I heard and can’t verify.

2nd. It’s not unusual for OTS to go down to a trickle to deal with Manning.

3rd. Regardless of all the above. I’d recommend guard or reserve.

4th. It may just be a crappy recruiter or MEPS. Keep trying. Don’t stop if you truly want to volunteer for service.

[tarheelaviator]

Can attest to a similar experience.  My old MEPS physical is over 2 years old so I am having to get another.  Getting an appointment right now is Lord of Flies and taking months.  DM for details but it sounds like we are in the same boat.  

[tkownedu5]

Keep doing your part. It ebbs and flows on how quickly things go.

I heard a rumor that reserve and guard units are losing pilot slots to active duty because of the giant need right now. Let me clarify need. They need the pilot slots because active duty AF (rotc, academy, OTS) are severely overmanned with bodies. And the OTS route is usually what they slow to a trickle or all together to manage flow on ROTC and academy. I heard ROTC is trying hard to send dudes to guard and reserve because there is no where to put them. There are even claims of ROTC units letting dudes just go from their commitment before commissioning and letting them go with a paid for 4 year degree. Apparently there is no other place to put these people.

1st. It’s just something I heard and can’t verify.

2nd. It’s not unusual for OTS to go down to a trickle to deal with Manning.

3rd. Regardless of all the above. I’d recommend guard or reserve.

4th. It may just be a crappy recruiter or MEPS. Keep trying. Don’t stop if you truly want to volunteer for service.

Honestly, at this point I wouldn’t care if I went AD, Guard, or Reserve. Whatever service can get me to UPT sooner. I don’t have a preference for an airframe, I would love heavies because of the crew aspect but I will be happy flying anything. I’ve contacted an AF advisor and they’re leaving a note on my file to alert my recruiter to see what’s going on causing the delay.


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[tkownedu5]

Can attest to a similar experience.  My old MEPS physical is over 2 years old so I am having to get another.  Getting an appointment right now is Lord of Flies and taking months.  DM for details but it sounds like we are in the same boat.  

This is so frustrating and has caused me to wonder why the AF wouldn’t want me, at least that’s what it feels like when I get no responses. I contacted an Air Force advisor today and explained my situation. They told me the commission process is slower than enlisted guys for some reason. He said he was gonna leave a note for my recruiter, not sure what good that will do but I’m hoping it works.


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[jazzdude]

This is so frustrating and has caused me to wonder why the AF wouldn’t want me, at least that’s what it feels like when I get no responses.

Well, the Air Force is facing very high retention right now due to the pandemic. Overall retention is to a point that voluntary (and I'd bet involuntary shortly after) separations are probably going to begin in the next year or two.

There's a limited number of seats available in the AF, and you can't take one until someone separates/retires. And of the seats that become available on the officer side on active duty, Academy grads fill them first, followed by ROTC, and then OTS fills in the gaps (unless you have a critical skill that the AF is not getting through the other commissioning sources).

Can't speak to the guard/reserve side specifics, but I'd imagine they have a system to balance the number of new pilots needing UPT (with limited spots available nationwide) and experienced pilots leaving AD, some of who need no additional training (i.e. cost/time) to be useful to the hiring unit.

It's just luck and timing, and unfortunately right now it seems you have bad timing. It's probably not anything personal, but the AF is a large bureaucracy, with limited end strength allowed. Keep following up with your recruiter though, and good luck

[yervis]

On 12/11/2020 at 7:37 AM, tkownedu5 said:

 

From the time I’ve contacted my AFR recruiter to submitting all my medical records for Meps, it’s been a solid 6 months and I have yet to be scheduled for a physical. Every response from Meps took over two weeks, sometimes 20+ days. Long story short my medical records weren’t in order and I had sent duplicates. Everything has been corrected since then and that was almost a month ago. I am contacting my recruiter weekly and I’m getting the same response from him, waiting on guidance from Meps. Is anyone else experiencing this issue? When I was going for the Navy they cleared me for a physical in about a month. Where do I go from here? I’m so eager to serve my country as an officer and pilot.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

11 hours ago, tkownedu5 said:

Honestly, at this point I wouldn’t care if I went AD, Guard, or Reserve. Whatever service can get me to UPT sooner. I don’t have a preference for an airframe, I would love heavies because of the crew aspect but I will be happy flying anything. I’ve contacted an AF advisor and they’re leaving a note on my file to alert my recruiter to see what’s going on causing the delay.


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11 hours ago, tkownedu5 said:

This is so frustrating and has caused me to wonder why the AF wouldn’t want me, at least that’s what it feels like when I get no responses. I contacted an Air Force advisor today and explained my situation. They told me the commission process is slower than enlisted guys for some reason. He said he was gonna leave a note for my recruiter, not sure what good that will do but I’m hoping it works.


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I wanted to write this long post so you and others know they're not alone in experiencing these feelings and circumstances you expressed.

I haven't been logging this information so it's all coming from memory. I was hired around March 2020. In about three months' time I think I was assigned around five Officer Accessions Recruiters. One of which was particularly worthless and admitted to me multiple times he didn't care about his job any longer because he was retiring in a few months. While I appreciated his honesty, it made the process suck even more than it already did because he was the current gatekeeper to my future. I think I had to talk with my sponsoring unit's point-of-contact about the recruiter because the apathy got that bad, which then made some gears start turning in my process. The pandemic shutdowns happened around this time and did not help.

I then got another Officer Accessions Recruiter who seemed to both know his stuff and had the drive to get the process moving. While that ended up being true, he did tell me I was one of several hundred other applicants he was assigned. In June we sent the documents to MEPS requesting them to see me. A few weeks later, MEPS denied me, and said I had to get more records for something. I then scheduled a private physician appointment with the closest opening being several weeks out, spent several hundred dollars, then the medical record had ambiguous language due to the physician's software being used and by the fact the physician did not understand what I was requesting when I went there, despite me clearly stating it several times and him acknowledging it. About a week later, and with calling both his staff and the hospital which owns the clinic about ten times playing telephone tag, the physician got the record straightened out.

My recruiter then sent another request for MEPS to see me. The recruiter then called me later on to say I had multiple things that needed serious waivers. I was shocked and asked him to check his information because I thought he had the wrong applicant. He checked his information (I think it took a few days for him to get back with me) and my belief ended up being true, he got me mixed up with one of the other several hundred applicants. That was a stressful few days.

MEPS responded to the second request and said they wouldn't see me, so my recruiter had to request the Air Force Surgeon General's staff to override MEPS which forced MEPS to see me. I then went to MEPS and an ancient Chief Medical Officer misdiagnosed/disqualified me, and believed a separate prior temporary condition which hasn't affected for years was an issue and disqualified me for that too. I then scheduled another private physician appointment with the closest opening being several weeks out (sound familiar?), spent even more hundreds dollars, and thankfully got good medical records from the start this time, which showed the MEPS CMO was wrong.

The new documentation was sent to MEPS by my recruiter, and I visited MEPS a second time in November 2020. While at MEPS for the second time, I thankfully was assigned a different physician to examine me (not the CMO). This physician asked me what I had done to improve my condition (which did not exist). I told him I was misdiagnosed last visit at MEPS by CMO so-and-so, the physician laughed and made comments about how the misdiagnoses happened frequently with that CMO. Oddly enough, that CMO was not there when I went the second time and it was actually a different CMO, who was much younger. Maybe the CMO I had the fist time was also experiencing retirement performance apathy and had since retired? Anyway, this physician then examined me and found me within parameters of what MEPS and the AF Surgeon General wanted. The physician scoffed at the idea that the separate prior temporary condition as being an issue and said it was no problem. He also told me he believed the misdiagnoses should be taken out of my file, but said he did not want to do so because it would be too much paperwork.... I didn't care because I fell within what MEPS and the AF SG wanted. I left MEPS literally fist-pumping in the parking lot (I don't care if it's cringe) and was then granted the official waiver by the AF Surgeon General this month. Now onto the wait for the initial flight class 1 physical examination.

MEPS will try to railroad you at every step of the way. It's like getting your vehicle registered at your state government office on a Saturday. Go here, do this, you don't have something go away, now come back, your recruiter didn't send this or that, sit down now tell me... do you have records for that time you said you had the sniffles when you were four years old? No? Come back in two months when you do. Next!

I had to articulate an on-the-fly request to the MEPS physicians to measure me a different way, sure enough they did and determined me to be within the regulations. I had to ask the eye examining worker to repeat themselves about six times because their thick Puerto Rican accent made it impossible for me to understand which line they wanted me to read letters from. MEPS is not recruit/officer training. What I mean by that is do NOT think down on yourself for thinking/acting about only YOURSELF at MEPS. Once you're at officer training, then you're a part of a team and what's best for the team comes first, but that team mentality does not exist at MEPS even though it seems like it due to how it's structured. There is zero practical customer service/satisfaction at MEPS and you'll be out the exit door with a disqualification faster than you even knew what they disqualified you for if you let them. Can you tell I'm jaded about MEPS? 😄

The whole waiting process is tough because I think, generally, those of us who have been sponsored by units have self initiative to take charge of our own affairs; which is probably one trait contributing to the fact we were sponsored in the first place. Having to leave this bureaucratic process in the hands of other people (recruiters, physicians, et cetera), who don't care about your future as much as you do, is tough. The wait and bureaucracy does, on its surface, make it feel as if the Air Force doesn't care about us. Except you have to take a step back and remember you've been chosen, among hundreds and thousands of other people to have the opportunity to pilot the coolest aircraft, in the best air force, of the best Nation on this planet, all paid for by the tax-payer. Pulling myself back and remembering that is something which keeps me motivated. 

Between almost every big step in my process has been about a month's wait. Sometimes less, but usually never shorter than two weeks. I've gotten used to it at this point, still heavily dislike it though. I'm expecting two years from hire date to OTS.

Lean on your sponsoring unit's point-of-contact for help if you're legitimately stuck. Give requests to private physicians in writing if possible, they don't understand how MEPS works and what MEPS wants or doesn't want to see. Speak up for yourself at every step.

 

 

 

 

[tkownedu5]

I wanted to write this long post so you and others know they're not alone in experiencing these feelings and circumstances you expressed.
I haven't been logging this information so it's all coming from memory. I was hired around March 2020. In about three months' time I think I was assigned around five Officer Accessions Recruiters. One of which was particularly worthless and admitted to me multiple times he didn't care about his job any longer because he was retiring in a few months. While I appreciated his honesty, it made the process suck even more than it already did because he was the current gatekeeper to my future. I think I had to talk with my sponsoring unit's point-of-contact about the recruiter because the apathy got that bad, which then made some gears start turning in my process. The pandemic shutdowns happened around this time and did not help.
I then got another Officer Accessions Recruiter who seemed to both know his stuff and had the drive to get the process moving. While that ended up being true, he did tell me I was one of several hundred other applicants he was assigned. In June we sent the documents to MEPS requesting them to see me. A few weeks later, MEPS denied me, and said I had to get more records for something. I then scheduled a private physician appointment with the closest opening being several weeks out, spent several hundred dollars, then the medical record had ambiguous language due to the physician's software being used and by the fact the physician did not understand what I was requesting when I went there, despite me clearly stating it several times and him acknowledging it. About a week later, and with calling both his staff and the hospital which owns the clinic about ten times playing telephone tag, the physician got the record straightened out.
My recruiter then sent another request for MEPS to see me. The recruiter then called me later on to say I had multiple things that needed serious waivers. I was shocked and asked him to check his information because I thought he had the wrong applicant. He checked his information (I think it took a few days for him to get back with me) and my belief ended up being true, he got me mixed up with one of the other several hundred applicants. That was a stressful few days.
MEPS responded to the second request and said they wouldn't see me, so my recruiter had to request the Air Force Surgeon General's staff to override MEPS which forced MEPS to see me. I then went to MEPS and an ancient Chief Medical Officer misdiagnosed/disqualified me, and believed a separate prior temporary condition which hasn't affected for years was an issue and disqualified me for that too. I then scheduled another private physician appointment with the closest opening being several weeks out (sound familiar?), spent even more hundreds dollars, and thankfully got good medical records from the start this time, which showed the MEPS CMO was wrong.
The new documentation was sent to MEPS by my recruiter, and I visited MEPS a second time in November 2020. While at MEPS for the second time, I thankfully was assigned a different physician to examine me (not the CMO). This physician asked me what I had done to improve my condition (which did not exist). I told him I was misdiagnosed last visit at MEPS by CMO so-and-so, the physician laughed and made comments about how the misdiagnoses happened frequently with that CMO. Oddly enough, that CMO was not there when I went the second time and it was actually a different CMO, who was much younger. Maybe the CMO I had the fist time was also experiencing retirement performance apathy and had since retired? Anyway, this physician then examined me and found me within parameters of what MEPS and the AF Surgeon General wanted. The physician scoffed at the idea that the separate prior temporary condition as being an issue and said it was no problem. He also told me he believed the misdiagnoses should be taken out of my file, but said he did not want to do so because it would be too much paperwork.... I didn't care because I fell within what MEPS and the AF SG wanted. I left MEPS literally fist-pumping in the parking lot (I don't care if it's cringe) and was then granted the official waiver by the AF Surgeon General this month. Now onto the wait for the initial flight class 1 physical examination.
MEPS will try to railroad you at every step of the way. It's like getting your vehicle registered at your state government office on a Saturday. Go here, do this, you don't have something go away, now come back, your recruiter didn't send this or that, sit down now tell me... do you have records for that time you said you had the sniffles when you were four years old? No? Come back in two months when you do. Next!
I had to articulate an on-the-fly request to the MEPS physicians to measure me a different way, sure enough they did and determined me to be within the regulations. I had to ask the eye examining worker to repeat themselves about six times because their thick Puerto Rican accent made it impossible for me to understand which line they wanted me to read letters from. MEPS is not recruit/officer training. What I mean by that is do NOT think down on yourself for thinking/acting about only YOURSELF at MEPS. Once you're at officer training, then you're a part of a team and what's best for the team comes first, but that team mentality does not exist at MEPS even though it seems like it due to how it's structured. There is zero practical customer service/satisfaction at MEPS and you'll be out the exit door with a disqualification faster than you even knew what they disqualified you for if you let them. Can you tell I'm jaded about MEPS? 
The whole waiting process is tough because I think, generally, those of us who have been sponsored by units have self initiative to take charge of our own affairs; which is probably one trait contributing to the fact we were sponsored in the first place. Having to leave this bureaucratic process in the hands of other people (recruiters, physicians, et cetera), who don't care about your future as much as you do, is tough. The wait and bureaucracy does, on its surface, make it feel as if the Air Force doesn't care about us. Except you have to take a step back and remember you've been chosen, among hundreds and thousands of other people to have the opportunity to pilot the coolest aircraft, in the best air force, of the best Nation on this planet, all paid for by the tax-payer. Pulling myself back and remembering that is something which keeps me motivated. 
Between almost every big step in my process has been about a month's wait. Sometimes less, but usually never shorter than two weeks. I've gotten used to it at this point, still heavily dislike it though. I'm expecting two years from hire date to OTS.
Lean on your sponsoring unit's point-of-contact for help if you're legitimately stuck. Give requests to private physicians in writing if possible, they don't understand how MEPS works and what MEPS wants or doesn't want to see. Speak up for yourself at every step.
 
 
 
 

Wow, you really went through a lot during this process. Most people would’ve gave up experiencing those setbacks. You persevered which is inspiring to me.

I’m just not sure if I have a bad recruiter or if meps is severely backlogged. How do you get assigned a new officer accessions recruiter? I personally researched and found two recruiters last year who didn’t wanna work with me. I was then referred to my current recruiter by a sponsored pilot. This recruiter was willing to help me. He was great at the start and gave me hope but now things are dwindling down and I’m getting far less attention from him.

It sound so simple, go to meps and get my physical, take the tests, then start applying for units. I can’t apply to any units until meps is over with. Going on 7 months now with barely any progress is discouraging.


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[yervis]

35 minutes ago, tkownedu5 said:

Wow, you really went through a lot during this process. Most people would’ve gave up experiencing those setbacks. You persevered which is inspiring to me.

I’m just not sure if I have a bad recruiter or if meps is severely backlogged. How do you get assigned a new officer accessions recruiter? I personally researched and found two recruiters last year who didn’t wanna work with me. I was then referred to my current recruiter by a sponsored pilot. This recruiter was willing to help me. He was great at the start and gave me hope but now things are dwindling down and I’m getting far less attention from him.

It sound so simple, go to meps and get my physical, take the tests, then start applying for units. I can’t apply to any units until meps is over with. Going on 7 months now with barely any progress is discouraging.


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Thanks for the kind words. Inspiration to others is what I intended with that post. Also, C.W. Lemoine has exploded in popularity with his videos, if you haven't watched them, check him out. His saying of "Make them tell you no." rings true throughout this entire process.

I was assigned to different Officer Accession recruiters for different reasons over the course of several months due to the various recruiters switching units, or being promoted (thus I was in limbo until their replacement arrived), or retiring (as in the one recruiter who was worthless at his job). I think I had to send the same documents multiple times to each recruiter because it's as if they didn't communicate with one another and send each other what I had already sent.

I may be wrong since I don't know your life, but it sounds like you're doing it backwards, so I'll ask some questions to clear up my confusion.

Do you have your bachelor's degree? Do you have a private pilot certificate? Also, what is this Air Force Advisor you're speaking of?

[tkownedu5]

Thanks for the kind words. Inspiration to others is what I intended with that post. Also, C.W. Lemoine has exploded in popularity with his videos, if you haven't watched them, check him out. His saying of "Make them tell you no." rings true throughout this entire process.
I was assigned to different Officer Accession recruiters for different reasons over the course of several months due to the various recruiters switching units, or being promoted (thus I was in limbo until their replacement arrived), or retiring (as in the one recruiter who was worthless at his job). I think I had to send the same documents multiple times to each recruiter because it's as if they didn't communicate with one another and send each other what I had already sent.
I may be wrong since I don't know your life, but it sounds like you're doing it backwards, so I'll ask some questions to clear up my confusion.
Do you have your bachelor's degree? Do you have a private pilot certificate? Also, what is this Air Force Advisor you're speaking of?

I do have my bachelors. 3.5 GPA. 32hrs towards my PPL. The Advisor I spoke to was an online chat log on the Air Force reserve website where I explained my situation and they left a note for my recruiter to see what’s going on. They said if I don’t hear from my recruiter to give them a call.


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[yervis]

@tkownedu5

In that case since you’ve got your bachelor’s degree with a good GPA, get your certificate done, because you’ll need it to stand out whether you’re going Active/Reserve/Guard. Especially in this high retention time the AF is experiencing.

I included a PDF in this post to you. Open it only on a desktop in an Adobe PDF viewer so you can open the attachments. One of the attachments has the Officer Accessions Recruiter for your geographic location that I think only handles the aviation related officer accessions. Be advised, the PDF may have been revised since I got it in the spring of 2020.

Regardless if you’re going Active/Reserve/Guard, start calling around to “local” Officer Accessions recruiters (even if they’re not listed on the PDF I sent) about scheduling to do the AFOQT and the TBAS examinations. I was able to do them about two years prior to me being sponsored at a unit. I called a recruiter a state away, exchanged information, and she got me on a local base to do the examinations. (Get your certificate done first before the TBAS because more flight hours you have equals a higher PCSM score, to a point).

From the outside looking in, the whole process for the AF getting pilot applicants into the AF seems broken and inefficient as there’s no one really batting for you until you’re sponsored by a unit, which to my knowledge only happens in the Reserve/Guard where you then have a POC who knows what strings to pull and has access to do so.

AFRC_UFT_Guidebook.pdf

[tkownedu5]

[mention=80236]tkownedu5[/mention]
In that case since you’ve got your bachelor’s degree with a good GPA, get your certificate done, because you’ll need it to stand out whether you’re going Active/Reserve/Guard. Especially in this high retention time the AF is experiencing.
I included a PDF in this post to you. Open it only on a desktop in an Adobe PDF viewer so you can open the attachments. One of the attachments has the Officer Accessions Recruiter for your geographic location that I think only handles the aviation related officer accessions. Be advised, the PDF may have been revised since I got it in the spring of 2020.
Regardless if you’re going Active/Reserve/Guard, start calling around to “local” Officer Accessions recruiters (even if they’re not listed on the PDF I sent) about scheduling to do the AFOQT and the TBAS examinations. I was able to do them about two years prior to me being sponsored at a unit. I called a recruiter a state away, exchanged information, and she got me on a local base to do the examinations. (Get your certificate done first before the TBAS because more flight hours you have equals a higher PCSM score, to a point).
From the outside looking in, the whole process for the AF getting pilot applicants into the AF seems broken and inefficient as there’s no one really batting for you until you’re sponsored by a unit, which to my knowledge only happens in the Reserve/Guard where you then have a POC who knows what strings to pull and has access to do so.
AFRC_UFT_Guidebook.pdf

Money is tight so I’m trying m my best to finish up my PPL. I know quite a few guys get selected for heavies without a ppl, some units have waived that requirement and just want someone to at least have solo’d an aircraft. Thank you for the PDF, unless I’m not seeing it I do not see the contact list for the recruiters.

If you wouldn’t mind, could we possibly DM each other? Might be easier for us and not flood the forum. Thank you so much for the help.


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[yervis]

@tkownedu5

I hear you on money being tight, it sucks right now. If you need to, grab a second job and find a way to make it happen. We're in odder times than usual.

From my layman's perspective, it would still be in your best interest to get the certificate anyway to boost your chances. Apparently the number of applicants has been skyrocketing even before the pandemic. Bogidope's website has made it easier than before to see what units are hiring and how to contact their POCs directly. Also as I mentioned earlier with C.W. Lemoine, his videos are getting a lot of views. I had an interview last year and I think the squadron's POC said they had around 150 applicants for one slot. When I was hired in March of this year I think the squadron had around 250 applicants for what ended up being two slots. People are becoming very interested in applying! However, if all you can muster financially right now is the solo, then get 'r done!

If you open the file with Adobe PDF Reader [not an internet browser], on the left side in Reader there is paperclip icon you can click for the attachments.

Sure we can direct message or continue on this thread, either or. The forum is showing 235+ views for this thread so apparently there's quite a few interested lurkers in what we've all been saying. 😎

Edited December 15, 2020 by yervis

[GHawk]

On 12/12/2020 at 7:29 PM, tkownedu5 said:

Money is tight so I’m trying m my best to finish up my PPL. I know quite a few guys get selected for heavies without a ppl, some units have waived that requirement and just want someone to at least have solo’d an aircraft. Thank you for the PDF, unless I’m not seeing it I do not see the contact list for the recruiters.

If you wouldn’t mind, could we possibly DM each other? Might be easier for us and not flood the forum. Thank you so much for the help.


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Your mileage may vary, of course, but here's a takeaway from my very recent experience. Herk unit in a relatively unpopular part of the country received over 60 applications and hired four. Of these four, two are Army rotary flying regional jets at an airline, one is a CFII approaching 2,000 hours, and the fourth is enlisted with a four year aviation degree and is an instrument-rated private pilot.

What I'm getting at is that this isn't the most desirable unit (location, airframe, etc.), hired more applicants than average (based on what I've seen), and still required at least an instrument ticket. All four hires were local to the area, meaning that an out-of-town applicant would likely require even stronger qualifications. Going off of what has happened in the past does not accurately reflect the current situation, I believe COVID's effect on civilian pilot hiring is largely to blame.

[tkownedu5]

[mention=80236]tkownedu5[/mention]
I hear you on money being tight, it sucks right now. If you need to, grab a second job and find a way to make it happen. We're in odder times than usual.
From my layman's perspective, it would still be in your best interest to get the certificate anyway to boost your chances. Apparently the number of applicants has been skyrocketing even before the pandemic. Bogidope's website has made it easier than before to see what units are hiring and how to contact their POCs directly. Also as I mentioned earlier with C.W. Lemoine, his videos are getting a lot of views. I had an interview last year and I think the squadron's POC said they had around 150 applicants for one slot. When I was hired in March of this year I think the squadron had around 250 applicants for what ended up being two slots. People are becoming very interested in applying! However, if all you can muster financially right now is the solo, then get 'r done!
If you open the file with Adobe PDF Reader [not an internet browser], on the left side in Reader there is paperclip icon you can click for the attachments.
Sure we can direct message or continue on this thread, either or. The forum is showing 235+ views for this thread so apparently there's quite a few interested lurkers in what we've all been saying. 

Been following C.W. Lemoine for sometime now and I’m also on the Facebook group Make Them Tell You No. I have about 4 solo flights. I will be continuing my training here soon. I’ve been picking up OT and selling a few things to get started.

I understand the numbers are going up for applicants and a lot of them have might have more flying experience than me. I’m hoping my leadership experience through my achievements professionally will help outweigh the short comings of not having a PPL. I’ve been In management from the age of 19-25 years old, moved up rather quickly. Ended becoming an inbound operations manager for up to 100 people in logistics.

Great news!! My recruiter called and I’ve finally been approved for my physical for meps. Contacting an Air Force advisor online must of helped. I’m due to leave 20/21 this month. 6 months later!


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[ryleypav]

Just an FYI, but you dont need to have a MEPS physical completed to apply for guard units. Not sure how it works on the AD/Reserve side, but its definitely not needed for Guard applications. Typically. Maybe some units do. But I'd focus on getting the AFOQT and TBAS done if you haven't first off. 

[Broskees]

@yervis is spot on. Got hired with a guard fighter unit in June and have yet to get a MEPS appointment. It is truly at a snails pace right now, unfortunately...

[ryleypav]

37 minutes ago, Broskees said:

@yervis is spot on. Got hired with a guard fighter unit in June and have yet to get a MEPS appointment. It is truly at a snails pace right now, unfortunately...

I was hired in Nov 2019, didn't go to MEPS until April 2020. Its slow, even before COVID was getting in the way lol. 

[FDNYOldGuy]

As the above said, you don’t need to have MEPS to get hired and a unit supporting you through MEPS will cut through red tape. That said, the more boxes you have checked going into an interview, the better you’ll look. MEPS is something that can stop people in their tracks, depending on what is in your medical history/what the docs wanna see. So, having that done by the time you send apps/interview is just another hurdle out of the way that will give the unit more warm fuzzies they won’t hire you and have you kicked back due to something out of their control. Many hire backups/alternates for situations like that, but still; better to keep trying to get it done before you’re hired, if you can. 

[Leon17]

6 hours ago, Broskees said:

@yervis is spot on. Got hired with a guard fighter unit in June and have yet to get a MEPS appointment. It is truly at a snails pace right now, unfortunately...

Same, june hire and yet to see MEPS

[KSD]

Hi everyone,

I was picked up by a ANG unit for a pilot slot in October, I can relate to the medical paperwork struggles. Tentatively I’m scheduled for MEPs this coming week finally. Can anyone let me know what to expect as far as how the process goes? I’ve reached out to my POC but have been struggling to get some of the answers. Are you supposed to dress up? Do you need to bring anything? Is it just the medical or is there any other paperwork they go through? Any help would be great!
Thanks


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[1nfrequentF1yer]

1 hour ago, KSD said:

Hi everyone,

I was picked up by a ANG unit for a pilot slot in October, I can relate to the medical paperwork struggles. Tentatively I’m scheduled for MEPs this coming week finally. Can anyone let me know what to expect as far as how the process goes? I’ve reached out to my POC but have been struggling to get some of the answers. Are you supposed to dress up? Do you need to bring anything? Is it just the medical or is there any other paperwork they go through? Any help would be great!
Thanks


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They will typically put you at a hotel they contract with for the night before. Then at 5 in the morning or whatever, you get on a bus and they will bus you onto the MEPCOM base. You'll then be asked to have all your stuff put away in this locker room kinda thing, and then get your medical file that you'll pretty much be carrying with you the whole time as you go through different processing stations. You then do some basic stuff like vitals, listen to a briefing, fill out some forms (check Enlisted on your paperwork, assuming this MEPS appointment is to enlist into your unit to get your commission stuff going), do a breathalyzer. Then off to the urine (they watch you), hearing, vision, exercise like the infamous duck walk/height/weight, and then a doc will look at you individually. They rotate groups in between these different activities, so the order you do them in will probably be different than what I've said. Then you can probably grab a lunch, chill for a bit, they tell you you're good to go, then check out of there and dip. Just wear something respectable, be polite, be patient, and listen to directions. In my experience, the docs there all seem really salty... I imagine them wake up in the morning and be like "f I gotta deal with these mfers today f f f". Don't let that scare or intimidate you per se, but those that work the receptionist areas were nice when I had a question for them. 

 

[stuckindayton]

3 hours ago, 1nfrequentF1yer said:

 

.....Just wear something respectable.....

 

I second this.  It's not a job interview so wear something comfortable.

[Hopefulflyer389]

3 hours ago, 1nfrequentF1yer said:

In my experience, the docs there all seem really salty... I imagine them wake up in the morning and be like "f I gotta deal with these mfers today f f f". Don't let that scare or intimidate you per se...

 

100% agree on this. This will sound stupid, but take a moment and ask the person your interacting with “how are you doing?” That simple question made things night and day for me. You would hear them be an asshole to the person ahead of you and then their attitude would change when I dealt with them. 

[Terminator5]

3 hours ago, 1nfrequentF1yer said:

In my experience, the docs there all seem really salty... 

 

6 minutes ago, Hopefulflyer389 said:

100% agree on this. This will sound stupid, but take a moment and ask the person your interacting with “how are you doing?” That simple question made things night and day for me. You would hear them be an asshole to the person ahead of you and then their attitude would change when I dealt with them. 

Haha both of these are spot on. Don't go overboard and slather it on, but be genuine and carry a quick convo with them or ask how they are doing and I do agree it helps to at least somewhat alleviate the salt most of them seem to carry. However, you can't fault them 100% because they deal with a lot of recruits (a lot of which are fresh out of high school) and some of the stuff I saw would drive anyone crazy. We were told about 20 times to make sure we showered and put on clean clothes and deodorant. In spite of this some of them showed up smelling like dead animals saying they forgot deodorant, took about 40 mins to even line up outside because no one could listen to directions, over 30 people didn't have the proper paperwork which they had told the recruiter who checked them in the night before they had, etc., etc. Show up on time, be polite, do as your told and you'll be fine. Welcome to the military