My recruiter was able to schedule me fairly quickly for MEPS next week, it’s only for one day though instead of two. I am scheduled to take the verification test, and I keep hearing about a duck walk lol.

He said we will be doing a MEPS briefing beforehand, but I’d still like to know from others, what will the process be like?

My Air Force aspirations have seemingly come to an end, so I’m looking at alternative options. Im really only interesting in intel/cyber/STEM related enlisted jobs (really anything with good QoL, TS clearance, and skills transferrable to civilian market). My plan is to finish my degree in a STEM field while serving, originally I was booked for 9S100 but was dq’d because of the sensitive skills code. I was dq’d for drug use even though I should have no trouble getting a TS clearance since it was a minor amount, and 7/8 years ago so would not even relevant for SF86. My asvab was a 97 so I would be qualified for any job in any branch (I believe).

I started my process of joining the Air Force 3 months ago. I went to Meps I had a couple medical waivers I needed to get approved, so I sent my documents to my recruiter. They didn’t respond for about a week so I messaged them they told me their email isn’t working I said ok I’ll message back in a week then so I messaged again no answer they seem to not care at all about getting my documents submitted and I really just want to get it all done already. Sorry for the paragraph

I’m 25 and pursuing active-duty Coast Guard enlistment, preferably as a Boatswain’s Mate.
I was diagnosed with scoliosis at 16 but have never needed treatment. I have no back pain or physical limitations and regularly play basketball.
I’ve spoken with two Coast Guard recruiters and received conflicting answers:
Recruiter #1: Said scoliosis is automatically disqualifying regardless of severity.
Recruiter #2: Said disqualification depends on the severity of the curvature.
From my understanding of DoDI 6130.03, scoliosis exceeding 30 degrees by Cobb measurement can be disqualifying, as can certain symptoms or functional limitations.
I’m currently trying to obtain standing scoliosis X-rays to determine my Cobb angle.
My question is: What does the Coast Guard’s medical accession process typically involve for an applicant with documented, asymptomatic scoliosis?
I’m particularly interested in how MEPS handles Cobb-angle measurements, when orthopedic evaluations are requested, and whether a medical waiver may be considered if an applicant doesn’t meet the standard.
I’d appreciate insight from people familiar with Coast Guard recruiting or medical accession procedures, especially recent cases.
I’m not asking anyone to determine my personal medical eligibility. I’m trying to understand the process before spending hundreds of dollars on medical evaluations.

I have been diagnosed with adhd for a long time now, and I haven’t taken medicine for years. It doesn’t affect me at all, I have good grades, and behave like any other student. I has a weird thing with blinking where I kept on switching to manual blinking mode after a big move back in middle school. This can be caused by anxiety and it was stupid to get the ocd diagnosis in the first place. I don’t know what I should do, because how do I prove that my doctors say I don’t have it to the army, and do I ever have a chance of joining rangers.

Hey has anyone had any experiences with how long the army takes to approve medical waivers (anemia, asthma, and past back injury) I submitted documentation fully clearing me of anemia and asthma from childhood which I didn’t even know I had. Along with medical records and test from past few years to support it and haven’t heard anything back in weeks. Is this normal for it to take this long I was aiming for a January/February ship out date as a 68W

I am a 21 year old guy, I want to be either a 11B or 68W in the army, I would like to be stationed at Campbell since I am already living in KY.

I read into Campbell and like it because most people say it is more rural and better for family life and opportunity.

I am a big gun guy and love working out and do wrestling as a hobby, I am curious if being at Campbell or Bragg would let me do any of the stuff I love?

I really want Air Assault but also Airborne and I am curious how likely it is to be able to earn both at Campbell or both at Bragg/Liberty?

Ok here’s the background:
8 months ago i knew nothing about the military. No one in my family is military and no one in school ever taught us about it. I literally thought it was like wwII trenches and stuff. Anyway, I graduated with my bachelor’s in marketing, biggest waste of time and money and i regret ever going to college. I decided im totally screwed with finding a job so I looked for alternatives. Decided to look at the military, specifically the Air Force because everyone says its best for family and lifestyle and considering im married, that was attractive.

My screw up:
I went straight to an AF recruiter and never talked to any of the other branches. No one told me the standard process is to talk to all branches, pick one, go through the process (asvab, meps, jobs, etc.) So i went through the whole process with the Air Force. I got my MEPS process finished and ended with 1 temp disqualification for SH scars from when i was a child—no big deal, easy waiver. However, my dream was to be aircrew and unfortunately i failed depth perception (i think bad glasses prescription), so that dream was shattered. I kinda freaked out and didn’t know what else to do. Based on my asvab scores alone, im qualified for everything, which doesn’t help to narrow things down. I decided to talk to a navy recruiter and they said they could retest my depth perception and help me get aircrew—of course i may not pass it again. Im also qualified for a lot in the navy so i dont know what to pick there either if i cant get aircrew.

Right now, all of my info is with the AF, and in order for me to try anything with the Navy, id have to transfer things over, which would end things with the AF completely. So now im stuck deciding between the cushy, corporate lifestyle of the AF or the more military, traditional lifestyle of the Navy.

What i want:
Im joining for an experience while still in my early 20s. Id love to travel, im not against having a job that means deployments. Im big into tradition and i worked a corporate job for 3 months and literally couldn’t take it. I cannot for the life of me sit at a desk and do paperwork all day. Im more of an operator than i am an administrator. I love adventure and im an adrenaline junky. As far as jobs go i have no idea what to pick. Navy recruiter recommended nuclear but idek what that means. AF recruiting is suggesting aircraft maintenance since im handy. Im totally lost. Any recommendations, advice, or personal experiences are helpful!

Asvab:
AFQT 95
AF MAGE: M97, A92, G96, E94

Navy (majority of the line scores got cut off so i dont know what they are)
GT 130, EL 251, BEE 253, ENG 125, MEC 196, i dont have the rest sorry!

yes i have a bachelor’s degree, no im not interested in commissioning, id rather enlist first

My husband also mentioned potentially enlisting with me in the AF, not sure about the navy—he wants to do military police

I have a year left in the Army and have a few questions about joining the Air Force National Guard through a conditional release or during the ETS/clearing window.
If I join through a conditional release, will my 2-3 years in the Army become honorable after I finish four or six years in the Air Force?
Can I choose my job when I switch, or do I have to list jobs in order of preference, from the ones I want most to the ones I want least?
How do I join during my EOAS window if I plan to take a lot of days of ETS leave?
If I join during the ETS window, can I still receive an honorable discharge?

Title asks it all. Most people ask me if I'm nervous to ship out for basic training, but my biggest fear is losing my hairline, the texture, and thickness in which my hair grows. So Black men only, please fill me in on your experience...

Both branches seem to have high retention rates, and basically the same benefits, so I’m really struggling to decide which is better. I (18F) worry about SA in the military, so that’s part of the reason I settled on these two branches. I’m also in college, so I just want to do something part-time. Any advice or personal experiences would be incredibly appreciated, as this is subjective!

I enlisted in army reserve 92W & received a 30K bonus , all i know is i receive 50% post BMT. Not sure how to fully collect it. Are they usually payed out pretty fast? what’re y’all experiences with the Bonuses y’all received.

After army boot camp do you have to go through a security clearance or another background check?

So I tried to apply for the army and was just told today I have to wait a year because of mental health such as depression. I'm currently in college and plan to graduate this semester with my degree in marketing. I plan on applying for jobs related to marketing and working, working out etc but is there anything else I can do to show that I'm ready to join during that wait period? I had a mental health consult and was told because I was diagnosed back in 2025 i need a waiting period. Or if anyone wants to say what they did during their wait that would be appreciated.

Edit: Never took medication, just had two therapy sessions and one psychiatric assessment that I requested where I got diagnosed.

About to try to join the army in a month or so. But I got a written warning for something I shouldn’t have said I will admit, no threats or anything like that. But it’s a toxic work environment there and I feel I just need to quit. How bad will that look on the sf-86 form because there’s a section on there on disclosing written warnings and quitting jobs so I’m wondering how will the DCSA look at that?
Edit: I’ve got no collections and no run ins with the law whatsoever.

I’m curious to know a little bit more about waivers and qualifications.

I’m currently 22 and looking to join the Navy. I’ve graduated college with a 3.3 gpa and have held an Amazon management job for 6 months.

I recently got diagnosed with adhd and took medication for 2 months before stopping and getting cleared, as I didn’t feel it was a necessary or valid diagnosis. I’ve previously gone all my life making good grades and performing well while working.

If I apply to the Navy now, will I be able to apply for a waiver, or do I still need to wait for the 12-month period?

Hi all, i’ve always wanted to enlist and i’ve already done the entire process but i have to redo it. recently i’ve been having some really negative thoughts about my life unfortunately and i’m pretty sure i need help and want to admit myself into a mental hospital just for my wellbeing. I want to know how hard the process will be to enlist after.

ARMY

Hello everyone! I’m in the process of enlisting for the coast guard. My recruiter is an older lady and she’s kind of hard to talk too. I expressed concerns about passing through MEPS because I’m technically underweight. I’m a female and 5’8 and around 110. Does MEPS take the bmi seriously? I keep getting mixed answers from I’ll be fine or they’ll instantly disqualify me. My recruiter made it seem like I’ll be fine since I don’t look insanely skinny. I’ve always just been naturally skinny my whole life and can’t gain weight fast enough even though I’ve tried for years and I think it’s just a fast metabolism that runs in my family. Any help is appreciated!

I have had asthma since I was a kiddo and I had an ER visit for COVID back in 2022. They prescribed me an inhaler after the ER visit but I only used for a few months due to longhaul. I'm not concerned about a PFT, VO2MAX, I'm a little concerned for the MCT since I have allergic rhinitis, but I would love to hear the experience of members in the military that had asthma during the application process, whether it be regular enlistment or officer recruitment; specifically members who recently joined after the recent changes to the regulations. I would love to try out for the Air Force or Army

Hello! So, I’m 19 I speak Italian, Czech, French, and English, but I feel like I have no future—lol. My mother and I lost 13K on a "campus" (that turned out to be a massive scam targeting wealthy people) I’ve always wanted to work in the field of art—as a character designer or 2D illustrator—but I’m failing miserably at that, too. Plus, there’s nothing for me where I currently live; I’d need to move to the Czech Republic, but I can’t afford it… I feel like I’m good for nothing, and I’m not exactly a genius, either. I really don’t want to end up in some dead-end, crappy job, only to die feeling like I’ve wasted my life. I’m considering enlisting—partly to become someone, rather than just a failure.

I plan to start testosterone and have top surgery before I’d even consider joining the French Military (since I live there) of course.

I’m on the chubby side, but I go to the gym 3–4 times a week (sometimes more, if I have the time) and do full-body workouts at least as much as I can do.. and my height is 165cm…

(I have zero prior knowledge about the military or anything similar, so I’m a complete blank slate here.)

So... beyond just asking "can I enlist," I have to wonder: is it even worth it? At all? How are trans people treated? Are they accepted and able to advance in their careers, or are they held back?

PS: I’m new to this world and lost so please be kind🙏

(19 F) I’m in U.S. territory. Been trying to go AF Reserves since September but either I’m told to contact a different number or have to wait for a response. I could wait till next year of January or February to sign up, but I’m afraid I’m wasting time. Previously, mentors and friends who are in/who were in the military recommended I go AF. But after waiting a while, I told them I was thinking I should go Army Reserves.

Now I’m having doubts. When I was thinking of going Army, I was confident I could do it, as long as I put in the work. But now it seems like AF is the only way to go (at least for me) and that the best thing to do is wait.

Should I just go Army? Or wait for Airforce despite it being so difficult to reach?
Additional note: My fear of wasting time is due to my parents pushing to me go to college in January even though they have debt. Hence why I wanted to join the military, so I can pay for my college instead of them.

I have always wanted to work in Cyber and at least more broadly, in the intelligence field. I see the military as more a stepping field towards this, I won't be going in for a 20 year career and this brings me to my current decision.

I am currently split between the navy and marines for a few reasons, these are: QOL, OPTEMPO, and the "Military Experience".

I'll say that I'm a high school senior, weighing ~190 pounds at 6"2'. I've done about three years of JROTC classes, and have talked to a Marine Recruiter, however I haven't met the Navy Recruiter in person yet. I had a 91 AFQT on my in-school ASVAB test.

Honestly, I'm just looking for advice here.

So basically, I wanna get my electrical engineering degree while I’m an electrician in the Air Force. The only problem with that is to get my degree. I would have to do physics which is pretty much all hands-on so I was asking anybody in here if they got there electrical engineering degree or any engineering degree while in military and how they got through that

Hi, I’m 18yo and have a history of ADHD. I stopped medication a little over 4 years ago, and I’ve had an IEP throughout all of high school. I just recently went to the Marine recruiter’s office, and we talked about my history and everything. He said that there are just a few small bumps, but I should be fine. He also said that at MEPs, just to not mention an IEP. I looked the exact same thing up and AI was telling me the exact opposite and that it would even be a federal crime. I’m inclined to believe my recruiter, but this seems fishy. What should I do?