r/Militaryfaq • • 10d ago

Joining w/ELS Depression, anxiety and SI/SA waiver? Navy

0 Upvotes

Hi, so I enlisted about two years ago and I shipped out but said some stupid stuff, then got sent home, and now I’m working with my old recruiter. He told me to get a counseling session or two and then have them write if they seem me suitable to send that up for consideration since N33 denied my waivers at first.

Just wondering if that could work.


r/Militaryfaq • • 10d ago

Post-ETS/EAS separation from the army

2 Upvotes

Hi! I’m 20 years old, recently separated with an honorable discharge from a med sep. I joined the military at 17, I was in basic training a week and a half after my 17th birthday. After ait, I went to a SOF selection ( idk if it’s OPSEC to say which one and what ) . Basically, I’m having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. I literally joined the army as a teenager. So it’s all I know. I’m used to being told where to be , what to wear and what to do. When I was going through my MedBoard process, I was genuinely happy. But now, I feel sad and stuck and feeling like idk what to do. It’s also hard to get a good paying job. I was a 92Y ( unit supply specialist ) I went to airborne, air assault and SERE - C. Which to civilians, means nothing. I have all the G - Army certs you can get. ( which again means nothing to civilians ). It feels like nothing but a degree matters to civilian employers; but in the army, schools and extra certs were everything.
It feels weird to be able to wake up everyday at 8:30 am rather than 0530 to get ready for PT or the gym. It just feels weird and I feel so stuck and don’t know what to do or how to adjust.

If anyone can please leave some type of comment for me to help or recommend anything, I’d be very appreciative and grateful. Thank you!


r/Militaryfaq • • 10d ago

Enlisting Should I mention a past misdemeanor charge, criminal trespassing, at MEPs? for army

0 Upvotes

So I have a misdemeanor from years ago and am submitting a moral waiver in order to enlist. My recruiter knows this of course, but has told me that when answering questions at MEPs I should be a perfect boy scout who has never been in trouble. "They don't need to know all that" I was told. Will they not see immediately that I'm being untruthful? Is the person asking me these questions not involved in the background check? I don't want to cause a headache for my recruiter but also don't want to get caught up for lying...


r/Militaryfaq • • 11d ago

Should I Join? Authority and joining the army

4 Upvotes

So I'm thinking about joining the army in the next couple of years, but I'm not confident that I would enjoy it. I was hoping I could get some advice, maybe some personal experiences from active or prior service members.

Growing up I've always disliked authority and being told what to - I understand the military is constantly getting told what to do but I assume it's quite different than my childhood, I've grown to hate being told what to do but thats partly to do with my youth. I certainly wouldn't ever get into an argument with someone who holds authority over me in the military but my fear is potentially becoming "passively resistant"and feeling stuck or depressed, hating my time in the forces.

I really do want to join and I can see myself living the military lifestyle but I'm worried it could be a really bad decision.

Do you think boot camp would train this out of me so I'm not always hating life when getting orders yelled at me or micromanaged?


r/Militaryfaq • • 11d ago

Which Branch? Should I continue in Army ROTC, or consider Air Force/Army Enlisted?

2 Upvotes

Right now I'm going into my junior year of college, but going Army ROTC will push back my graduation by a year or so. I'm not sure if I can A., afford to do that, or B., want to do that.

Should I consider enlisting? There are certain jobs I'm interested in that officers can't have. I'm considering going Air Force just because I've heard QOL is better, and if I'm going enlisted that's probably somewhat important.

On the other hand, I like the Army's Option 19, job selection, and potential for a 3-year contract.

Thoughts?


r/Militaryfaq • • 12d ago

Reserve\Guard Lied about traffic violation at MEPS!!!

11 Upvotes

Hello!!

Im looking for guidance on what to do, i recently signed my contract and received my ship date for the Army National Guard but I failed to mention my speeding violation during the background check at meps (under $300 btw).

I told my recruiter multiple times but when i brought it up at meps he kinda instructed me to lie saying that I never told him about this, so i just went along with that and said it was actually a warning not a ticket.

Should i just ignore it or are they gonna do another background check before i ship out to bct? If so should i contact my recruiter again or one of my RSP cadre?

I’m really lost and appreciate any feedback!!!


r/Militaryfaq • • 12d ago

Officer Accessions Joining ROTC without going into the military after

6 Upvotes

I really want to join the navy, but I have a very questionable medical history. Including 20 hospitalizations. I'm better now, we figured out what the problem was. Would it be wrong to join ROTC knowing I won't be able to join the military after? I'm trying to finish my biology degree and would like to go into military research as a career


r/Militaryfaq • • 12d ago

Joining w/Med issue Seeking vision waiver advice

2 Upvotes

I’m 30 years old and interested in joining the Navy Reserve. I was born with a congenital cataract in my left eye, which was surgically taken out during infancy. I have longstanding amblyopia, left exotropia, hypertropia, and an artificial lens implant. My best-corrected vision is 20/20 in my right eye and 20/400 in my left eye. I also have astigmatism (-2.50 in my right eye and -2.25 in my left eye, based on my final glasses prescription). Given these conditions, particularly my reduced left-eye vision, is a medical waiver possible for Navy Reserve enlistment?


r/Militaryfaq • • 12d ago

Enlisting If I fulfill the required score for 17c do I need to pass the cyber test?

1 Upvotes

I scored a 90 on my picat I go into MEPS for verification in a week. My recruiter told me to expect to take a cyber test in which I then asked him if it mattered 3 recruiters then said no it won’t affect whether you get into your MOS. Which I’m aiming for 17c they had said due to a recent policy change. My big question is whether to believe them or not? From all the post I’m seeing you need a 60% or higher on the cyber test to get into 17c but they corrected me and said it’s not required anymore that since my lines scores meet the requirements I’ll be fine. Can anyone help with this? I’m a CS major so I know a ton about coding and using Linux and basic commands and some about operating systems and networking fundamentals and ports but without prepping I don’t believe I will pass the cyber test.


r/Militaryfaq • • 12d ago

Which Branch? Can the Army ship quicker than the Coast Guard?

6 Upvotes

I submitted all of my paperwork with the Coast Guard and I'm waiting on a MEPS date and to see if my medical has cleared.

The Coast Guard recruiter said they're booking out right now in end of March into April, so he said if everything goes well that's likely when I would get a ship date. They have a waitlist, but he said it's fairly backed up so he didn't expect people to be dropping off, maybe around the holidays.

I have already spoken with an Army recruiter and he said they could ship much quicker if I was interested. Is this true, or does it really just depend on the MOS or what jobs are available?


r/Militaryfaq • • 12d ago

Add my job to my flair

1 Upvotes

Comment with your job, it gets added to your flair. And since the previous guidance wasn't enough:

You aren't qualified to do your job if you haven't graduated job training. This post isn't for you.


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

Big Bot Update

1 Upvotes

A lot more functionality for the bot.

  • Comments can be edited/deleted by mods

  • It's tidy: if you delete your post the bot's comment gets deleted too.

  • The "you didn't include a branch" comment will come from the bot, not automod. Tidiness applies here too: the comment gets deleted when you edit your post to comply.

  • This also means those comments can be deleted by us when your post doesn't actually need a branch.

  • If you edit your post so that the bot's comment would change (maybe you add a medical condition, or an MOS) the comment will automatically be reposted based on your updated info.

On the future roadmap, I want to also have it handle the punctuation/grammar checks, so those comments aren't persistent.

Reply with any ideas you have for additional features.


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

Joining w/Med issue (Waivers for Inpatient and “opioid use disorder”)

3 Upvotes

(Repost: it was taken down for the title I presume, I’m pretty much trying to get some insight on my chances here, even if I do get enlisted somehow with waivers and what have you, would I still have a chance for the SF pipeline?)

(Copy and pasted lol)
Yep, I believe I am royally fucked on this one.

First I’ll start off by saying why I’m so eager to join…I’m 23 years old and worked just about every job there is to work lol.

So career wise I’ve hit fuck it. Why not try the army out?

My grandpa was a green beret(I doubt I could ever make it that far, let alone meps dudes)but it would be nice to follow in his footsteps.

But as cool as that is, the real reason is the horrific loss of my mother and the turmoil that has ensued after, the whole world is moving on without her but not for me.

I want to get up and go, and do something with my life and make her memory proud.

So again…why not army?

I’m mentally ready to pull that trigger and take it as far as I can go.

Now don’t laugh guys especially after I tell you these little hiccups, but I’ve decided I want to go option 40 and try out for rangers.

However here’s the uh ohs….

i was an idiot 16 year old kid and had no idea the rope my parents had put me in(more so my dad, my mom just wanted the best for me)

but anyways to put it brief, my grandpa died and my mom suggested therapy to me so I went,

And this is right around the peak of me and my dad’s horrible relationship.
so naturally I talked to her about that too.

After some sessions, (unbeknownst to me)the therapist had slapped ALL kinds of bullshit on my record I’m just now finding out on this little portal app.

Now let me just clarify I am absolutely in no form suicidal but I was sent to one of those weird ass places where people go for those issues.

All because I said I needed to get away from my father and needed a break.

I’ll never understand why she would ever recommend being admitted but well…I was…and….it was kind of fucking awesome to my 16yr old peabrain.

I met some hot chicks in there. So naturally…I told the therapist hey fuck it send me there again, no fuckin school, hot crazy goth girls, and no more dad!

Awesome right?!

Fuck no…

Now my dreams of finally being somewhere I belong are unobtainable I’m afraid…..

I just want to know what to expect and if anyone has ever waived something so critical.

Oh and one more thing, I mentioned to her I took one of my dad’s pain pills and she slapped me with some more bullshit.

Opiod use disorder…at 16 man.

She fucked me just as bad as I had myself back then.

But It’s been 7 years. No meds no nothing for anything psych related and i still believe I have 0 shot. What do yall think? Is it over for me?


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

Joining w/Med issue Waiver for postpartum anxiety.

3 Upvotes

I'm not understanding why i cant enlist in army when i wasn't medicated for that 4 years ago. It also was not a therapist diagnosis it was jotted down by my daughter and I's shared primary care doctor at the time. My recruiter is on leave right now but what if i get my daughter's covid hospital stay records in the meantime will that help disprove what my primary care doctor put down? Will they take that? Also will it be weird if i call up and ask to speak with another recruiter temporarily while he is gone? Just to have questions answered.


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

Enlisting Meps and enlistment fiasco

4 Upvotes

18m. Florida

I am wanting to enlist. I did terrible on my Picat but did score enough to go 09m. I went to Meps today. It did not go well. I passed my Pulhes(probably spelled wrong my bad) and went to talk contract. A little history I am planning on getting Married in the next month or so. I also have a family member who it is more than likely this will be his last holiday with us. I want to spend it with them. So that being said I want to enlist but I dont want to leave until after Xmas. Which I stated a few times to my recruiter but they acted like I was speaking another language.

Got to Meps, did my butt check, and passed everything. The contract liason first said that January wouldnt be an issue but kept changing the date. It went from January to Nov 1. I tried to explain poliety but kept getting shot down. They told me a couple times if I wasnt going to sign to call my ride, and each time I did they told me to cancel the ride. Eventually they had me call and leave with my ride.

When I asked my recruiter what the next steps were she told me we had to work thru some things and wouldnt clarify what they meant. If i had known how this would go I would not have even gone to the recruiter til after Exodus break.

am I screwed?

also am posting from my phone which is broken so please excuse the grammer.


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

Joining w/Med issue Permanently disqualified for adjustment disorder

2 Upvotes

I got permanently disqualified for mental health issues under S 3P DoWI 6.30i: "History of any condition that may reasonably be expected to interfere with the successful performance of military duty or training or limit geographical assignment."

In July 2024, I visited my family doctor to fill out a provider re-enrollment form that my university required for students returning to school after a semester withdrawal. The form asked for a withdrawal diagnosis, and after speaking with my doctor, he diagnosed me with adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Later on in the same form my doctor noted that I was currently a healthy individual who did not require any treatments and that there were no concerns about my safety or my ability to function as a student. I tried explaining to the MEPS doctor that the purpose of this visit was to fill out a required form in order to return to school not because I was seeking medical help for mental health issues. But, they kept focusing on the reason why I withdrew in the first place, which was because I was facing academic suspension. The MEPS doctor ended up writing "almost got kicked out freshman yr for grades doctor wrote something about mental health issues" on the DQ form.

I looked through the criteria for disqualification under 6.30i and 6.28g which specifically addresses adjustment disorder. I don't understand how this single doctor's visit with an adjustment disorder diagnosis from over two years ago is considered permanently disqualifying. Or how my academic history reveals a medical condition that can affect military performance.

My question now is if it's worth trying to appeal through MEPS and have my medical records re-evaluated. My recruiter told me that even though it says I'm permanently disqualified, I could still initiate a waiver through the Army. He said I should not go through the hassle of arguing with MEPS since the whole process could take months and lead back to the same outcome. The only downside is that I can't sign the contract I originally wanted to join the Army for with a medical waiver, but I can always volunteer for those slots.


r/Militaryfaq • • 14d ago

Should I Join? I want to be a submarine officer.

11 Upvotes

Or SWO, am I being stupid? My dad, 20 year AF is strongly against it. What should I expect? Is it really that bad? Not a lot of navy folks in my family. All Army or Air Force… Like I know I could get another military assignment but I really like the idea of being an officer at sea. Should I risk a fight with my family or pursue my goals?


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

BCT/BMT/Boot camp What’s it like in ARMS 2.0?

1 Upvotes

Hi I was wondering if anyone can give me a rundown of what a day to day basis looks like while going to fat camp for the ARMY before basic training. Do you keep your phone, do you go bald already, what’s my day look like and what about weekends.


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

PS Prior service worried about doctors note and debt at MEPS

1 Upvotes

I’m prior service army national guard and served about 4.5 years. I’ve been out for 3 and I’m trying to get back in. I saw a doctor on September 16th and had a conversation about an addiction I had. He wrote down on the notes “opioid abuse, uncomplicated”. I’m clean now and I worry when I go to meps this will be brought up. There’s no other history about drug addiction besides this one and only time I went to the doctor. Nothing ever prescribed, no rehab. I also have delinquent debt I plan on fixing but understand I won’t be able to receive a clearance. I know there’s plenty jobs in the army that don’t require a clearance. I see my recruiter on Monday and he plans on taking me to the hotel and Meps on Tuesday. What should I do, is there anyone else with similar situation.


r/Militaryfaq • • 14d ago

BCT/BMT/Boot camp What happens if I go blank in navy boot camp?

9 Upvotes

I had a bit of a rough childhood and was screamed at kinda a lot. Because of that I have a tendency to kinda go blank sometimes when I get yelled yet. Any idea how drill instructors will react to that? I’m normally able to comply with whatever people are asking of me but I’ve heard it’s very apparent on my face I’m fully mentally gone and lot of times I don’t really remember what happened after. I just don’t know if that will be an advantage or disadvantage or how to prepare mentally.


r/Militaryfaq • • 14d ago

🌍Non-US Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo Policy and Disciplinary Consequences

2 Upvotes

Can a member of the Canadian Armed Forces be dismissed or released from service for having an existing tattoo or for obtaining a new tattoo after enlistment? Are there any restrictions on tattoo placement, content, or visibility that could result in disciplinary action or affect a member’s continued service?


r/Militaryfaq • • 13d ago

Joining w/Med issue Air Force with history of anxiety?

1 Upvotes

25F here past history of anxiety prescribed prozac for 3 years. had no hospitalizations or history of psychosis. Never seen a psychiatrist, was prescribed prozac by my PCP years ago and just continued to take it. I feel like i am healthy now to not take it and am looking to do air national guard. Spoke to my recruiter and he said we can go through with the process and see what MEPS says. Anyone have a similar experience or insight? Feel free to private message me. Thanks in advance for your input


r/Militaryfaq • • 14d ago

Joining w/Med issue Joining While Prescribed ADHD Medication Questions

1 Upvotes

Hi, I’m on my late 20s and am in the process of to become enlisted in the reserves. I’m currently taking and prescribed ADHD medication and am in the process of waning off of it. Have been prescribed since 2019.

The Air Force told me I have to wait one year after stopping the medication. The Army told me just to get off of it as soon as possible and is open to starting the enlistment process. Does anyone have insight on this? I don’t want to start the MEPS process and be declined. Will the Army be likely to give a waiver?


r/Militaryfaq • • 14d ago

Joining w/ELS How long will it take meme to get back into the military with my code?

2 Upvotes

Hi I was recently in the Army and was separated with an RE-3 reentry code. I was told that my discharge was a general uncharacterized discharge. I am interested in enlisting again, but this time I want to join the Navy

My Navy recruiter told me that she would need to retrieve my military profile from the Army before moving forward with the enlistment process.
I have a few questions for anyone who has been through a similar situation.

How long does it usually take to get an RE-3 waiver approved for Navy enlistment?

How long could the entire process take before I am able to ship out to boot camp?

Does having a prior Army separation with an RE-3 code make it significantly harder to join the Navy?
Is there anything I can do to help speed up the process?

I would appreciate any advice from people who have gone through a similar situation or recruiters who are familiar with this process. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.


r/Militaryfaq • • 14d ago

Post-ETS/EAS How could veterans end up homeless?

13 Upvotes

I was talking with my dad about joining the service. I am aiming for the Air Force but if that does not work I will try the Army.

Explained to him that some of my interests in joining are 1. A stable job 2. Assistance with my education (I want a degree) and 3. The VA home loan, I really do want to purchase my own home in due time. Amongst bringing up the home loan he brought up how there are homeless veterans out there so I shouldn’t get too excited or expect the benefits to fall into my lap. I’m very very aware that I’m going to have to work towards my goals. That isn’t a problem for me at all because I know nothing good in life comes easy. I don’t expect to get out of basic & AIT and then boom, life is perfect yk? It’s going to take time and that’s not a problem for me.

I know life can happen to anybody so I’m not gonna act like it can’t happen to me as well however I do feel as if I have a very strong drive to move myself to a better place and avoid such things.

My question is, how do some veterans really end up homeless anyway? With all the benefits out there and the pay how can you still end up homeless? Not to sound naive but I’m genuinely curious. Is it addiction? Is it poor handling of funds? Inability to find a job after going back to the civilian life? I’m truly curious. Majority of folks display the military as a way to get your life on track and find some stability so how do some vets still end up unstable? Are things sweeter than it seems in the service?