Before I really get into the nitty gritty, here is a video that helps explain some of the "Underwear Olympics" moves you'll have to do. Practice ahead of time, they aren't really that hard but some of them take balance.
Arriving at the Hotel
I checked into my hotel at 3:30 pm with the Military Liaison. I had a room mate who was shipping out the next day. She was nice but not chatty. She slept most of the afternoon and evening, and I tried to be quiet because I figured she needed all the rest she could get. It was a perfect time to study.
I chose not to have a heavy dinner and opted for a protein bar, some fresh fruit and lots of water. I had to weigh-in the next day and since I'm close to the limit, I didn't want to risk gaining water weight from some heavy, sodium-filled food.
I finally went to bed around 9:30 but slept terribly, mostly because my room mate then decided to stay up all night after sleeping all afternoon. I forgive her though. I imagine that because she was shipping out, she was probably having a hard time sleeping. Who could blame her?
We both got up around 4:00am. We didn't have to be down to the military liaison office until 5:30am. We had breakfast after meeting at the office, which was a buffet style with a lot of heavy food (sausages, pancakes, bacon, etc.). I opted for fruit, I didn't want a heavy breakfast and I also couldn't eat super greasy food that early without likely making myself feel sick.
You will be handed info on what to wear more than once. Pay attention and make sure you wear appropriate clothing. No plain white shirts, nothing offensive, no rips or stains or holes in anything. Opt for a nice pair of jeans, a plain, dark-colored shirt, conservative undergarments and close-toed shoes. Don't wear athletic clothing like workout pants or sweat pants, and don't wear sports bras. Make sure the bra you do wear holds the girls in.... if you're exploding out (sorry, haha, but it has to be said), it's going to be a problem during the "underwear olympics" (more on that later).
Off to MEPS
Off to MEPS. I had to follow the shuttle because there is no return shuttle. It was TERRIBLE!!!! They sped through traffic, even on post!!! I was a little concerned that I would end up getting pulled over by the military police. (Curse you, hotel shuttle, you were a pain!). I did thankfully make it there alive, but they did not wait to start their briefing, so I didn't hear the very beginning. The jist was, "If you have a cell phone, silence it and put it in your bag, NOW. You will go inside, place your belongings on the belt and you will walk through the metal detector and you will have a seat on the left side of the room where you will then wait for further instruction."
Here's a tip: If you are going to MEPS solely for your physical and your ASVAB, leave EVERYTHING in your car except your manila envelope with the paperwork your recruiter told you to bring and anything else your recruiter specifically tells you to bring (I would also bring your driver's license and military dependent ID if you have one). Don't bring anything else. If you're like me and take your ASVAB and do your physical in the same day, you probably won't have time to use your cell phone anyways.
#1 Rule for surviving MEPS: Listen to instructions!!!!!! You're probably thinking "well, duh" but it is sometimes very hard to hear. The people that do the tests and briefings do it so often that they tend to mumble and it is sometimes easy to miss something. Listen as carefully as you can and don't assume things. Don't touch anything or fill anything out until you're told to. Be very polite and use your "yes/no, ma'am/sirs". This is your bridge to the military, so treat it as such and be very formal.
You will wait until your name is called and you will go up to the desk and check in. You will create a fingerprint if you haven't done so before and that will be how you check in from now on. When you go to medical and to the ASVAB testing area, you will check in with a fingerprint scanner.
ASVAB Testing
I was told to go to medical first. I started my paperwork, and they realized that another applicant and I had been sent there by accident. We were then taken to the testing area to do the ASVAB and TAPAS (personality test). During the test I didn't feel like I was doing particularly well. I did the TAPAS and HATED it!!!! It gives you two statements, and you have to pick "which is more like you". What's awful though is that sometimes neither of the statements is anything like you, and you just need to pick the lesser of the evils. Seriously, here is an example:
I often offend people.
I refuse to give to charity because I believe people are on their own.
I mean... you try picking of those. :P Neither is like me, and there were a lot of instances like this that I just had to try and decide which one was worse and pick the lesser evil. It was awful. I really hate the TAPAS. I'm sure there is a specific purpose, but ick. After my ASVAB and TAPAS, I got my printout of my scores!!! Although I felt like I did crappy, I did AMAZING. All the studying paid off! AFQT was 92 and all my other scores were good too!!!! Yay!
Medical
After that I went back to medical. I had my hearing and vision tests. I passed both, but the lady who did them was EVIL. Like..... spawn of satan evil. She yelled at me during the vision test, as if I could will myself to see better... I'm serious. She said that I was not reading the correct letters. I responded, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I cannot see well enough to tell what they are for sure." No matter how they try to ruffle your feathers, take a deep breath, stay calm and stay polite. I'm almost certain they do this both to teach you what basic training will be like and also to weed out the people who can't handle being yelled at. You WILL survive, someone yelling at you is not going to kill you. No matter what they say, stay polite. Do NOT get defensive. Let it go. You need to realize that you cannot take this personally. Every MEPS is different, but I have been told that my experience sounded more "hardcore" than most and that it sounded like they gave me a harder time than what is typical. Whatever the case is with your experience, you will survive. While it is definitely not fun, it is worth it.
Anyway, I slowly had my boxes checked off, and then all that was left was my interview with the doctor and my "ortho/neuro" checkup, aka Underwear olympics. The interview was done in her office. The rest was done in a separate area.
In the interview, the doctor was INCREDIBLY nitpicky. I had to submit a lot of records about my thyroid and my gallbladder so she picked up bits and pieces of other information from those and nitpicked me. She said, "You missed a period in 2007. Why????" and I answered, "Ma'am, I don't recall. I believe that was around the time I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, so perhaps it was because of that?" She grilled me about anything and everything. In 2013 I was prescribed muscle relaxer for a back spasm, and she grilled me about that too. I explained that I had just PCSed with my husband, and we had slept on an air mattress for 6 weeks. I told her I believed that was the reason I had experienced issues. Just be honest and stay calm.
IF YOU HAVE ANY MEDICAL CONDITIONS NOW OR HAVE HAD IN THE PAST, TELL YOUR RECRUITER BEFORE YOU GO TO MEPS.
You probably will come across people who say, "I lied, my buddies lied, everyone lies to get in." Do yourself a favor (and the Air Force) and DON'T LIE. Yes, the threat of being DQed is hard. Yes it will be a huge bummer if you do. However, if you lie and you are caught, the consequences are BAD. Before you even join, remember the core values: Integrity First, Service before Self, Excellence in all you do. Think about that for a moment. If you have to lie to get in.... are you ever really going to be able to say you act with integrity?
I was then directed to the room to do the underwear olympics. I was the only female applicant processing for a physical that day, so I was in the room all alone. The lady gave me directions as she was walking away and shut the door, but I believe she told me to strip down to my undies and bra and put the paper robe on with the slit in the back. I stood there for what felt like forever. I was freezing cold and standing there shivering in a paper robe. Lots of your day at MEPS will be spent waiting.
Finally, the doctor comes in. I do all the exercises in my underwear with two women staring at me, critiquing my form. It was awkward and every bit as embarrassing as I expected, but it's worth it so I just deal. (The reason you need a bra with good coverage is that you're going to be bending over, jumping around and doing weird movements, and if your bra isn't containing the girls, you will have issues and could possibly get into trouble. Try to wear a full coverage bra.) After that, it's time for my exam. Yay. I went into the exam room and I'm instructed to strip down to nude and put my paper robe on with the slit in the front. I lay down on the table and she pushes on my pelvis, checks my back, does a breast exam, and briefly makes me get into the stirrups but she seems only to take a very quick glance, as if to simply verify that I'm a female. Again, a little TMI, but it's all part of it, so I'm not leaving out the uncomfortable bits because I want you to know what to expect.
I was given 15 minutes total to go to the Air Force office, request my lunch, find the cafeteria, eat my lunch and be back. So I had about 10 minutes or less to eat after having not really eaten a meal since the day before. I was dying and that sub sandwhich was the best I've had in my entire life. hahaha, I was SOOO hungry!
I then had to go have my ears flushed out. I am a clean person, I shower frequently, I clean my ears.... but apparently I am just one of those luckly people who overproduces earwax. I had wax built up in my ears that even ear drops and hydrogen peroxide couldn't get rid of, so I got to have an ear wash with a thing that looked like a gun and shot water in and sucked it back out simultaneously. It was tons of fun. It took almost a full hour to get the chunk out of each ear. It was kind of gross. Just warning you! You might be thinking "TMI" but apparently it is not uncommon for people to need to have this done while at MEPS. I was mortified, but she assured me it wasn't anything to be embarrassed about.
I finally met with the doctor one last time. I got the not-so-great news that I was being disqualified for hypothyroidism and a possible ovarian cyst (I will require an SG waiver for each of those), seen on a scan when I had my gallbladder taken out. I also have an appt. being set up to have a psych consult since I had depression in high school. They aren't satisfied with the documents I had and want to verify that I am mentally fit. So... while most of my physical went ok, I have to wait for another waiver which could take months. I'm pretty bummed about that. My consult with the psychologist will be within 21 days and with a psychologist of their choosing. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm not worried about it since I haven't been depressed in a very, very long time. The reason I am sharing such personal info is so that you get a realistic idea of what to expect.
I finally checked in with the Air Force office one more time and then checked out at the front desk and was finally released around 2:30pm. It was a VERY long day, and I was experiencing a strange mix of emotion. I was elated that I did so well on my ASVAB, and very bummed about the medical issues holding me back. However, I'm trying to remain optimistic that my waiver will be approved. *fingers crossed*
Please let me know if you have questions! I can't promise that I'll have the answers but I'll do my best! Everyone will have a slightly different experience because each MEPS is just a little different but for the most part, all the important stuff should be the same.
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