MEPS: I need a NEUTRAL third Party...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Let me start this by saying that my Current Nat. Guard recruiter NOT ONCE told me to lie.

She kept saying she was not telling me how to answer. My recruiter kept did not coach, cajole, or pressure me to give certain answers. She kept saying she was not telling me what to do.

That being said, I have no dis-qualifiers. No major surgery. No asthma. I never did drugs. I got ONE ticket for running a stop sign (which I paid off before MEPS)

Clean, clean, clean. NOW.

I tried joining the Navy. ** The past Navy recruiter wanted documents which I COULD NOT FIND. **

Here is a list of said- Possible Issues for which DOCUMENTATION NO LONGER EXISTS. Literally. I cannot produce something which is not there. He wanted documents which I did not have.

I told him that but he still wanted these. If MEPS wanted ANY ONE of these Documents, I could not get in. DESPITE these not being disqaulifiers. Despite me being 100 percent good to go, lack of documents out of my control would stop me. Simply because doctors did not keep records on a person who had NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM:

*** NOW, read this CAREFULLY. I was NOT diagnosed with anything; when I saw a pyschatrist. This doctor was a One-Man operation, private practice. BECAUSE I was not diagnosed, there is a good chance he got rid of my records. He sent me to neurologist…

*** This neurologist gave me a sleep deprived EEG. It came back clean. When I went to the Navy, I contacted the practice. My documents had been shipped off site to a separate company and possibly erased. BECAUSE AGAIN, why keep around a NEGATIVE test result?
PS: For the Nat Guard, I tried calling this practice again. 6 different times…each time when I got to the patient help line, I got an automated message. that tells me if they’re not out of business, they will be soon.

**MEANING If I told MEPS about the NEGATIVE result on a sleep- deprived EEG, I could not get the documents anyways.

READ: I would get disqualified, for lack of documents, over a NEGATIVE TEST RESULT.
**

*** Back in 5th grade, I had a bike accident. I was wearing a helmet. I did fracture my eye orbit and my jaw. it’s healed and I’ve been told the bones are a little stronger now. NO concussion, NO passing out. My helmet saved my life. I did spend the night in the hospital.

In the past for the Navy, I was told MEPS would want it. I called the hospital and was told because it had been over a DECADE, I could not get my records.

*** Other minor issues that are NOT the major disqualifiers for which Medical records would be very hard, IF NOT Impossible, to obtain.

So I said “NO” to a lot of things. Otherwise I would be kept out for LACK OF DOCUMENTS. When I have no major issues.

NOW to my question: Does the military care about minor issues? If they find out about said minor issues. Would I get in trouble for saying answering “NO” to questions when I had:

No head injury. Clean test results. And a Clean diagnosis. also for minor issues like Lice and Strep. (Both ER visits) I doubted I could find documentation for those…again. Lack of documentation over a Minor Issue which would stop me. Simply because I could not get documents, which I’ll say it again, ARE NOT THERE.

2

**I doubted I could find documentation for those…again. Lack of documentation over a Minor Issue which would stop me. Simply because I could not get documents, which I’ll say it again, ARE NOT THERE.
**
I am so worried about CLEAN, NEGATIVE, and NO head injury because of that Navy Recruiter. Despite my Nat. Guard, current one, saying I’ll be fine. Read it again: Clean (from Pyschatrist), Negative (EEG) and NO HEAD INJURY (helmet)

PS: I did not have a regular, normal doctor yet. I went to the ER for Pubic Lice and Strep because I had no where else to go… If I told MEPS and could not get documents for these NON-emergency visits, I would be out of luck.

Out of luck despite Pubic Lice and Strep NOT being dis-qualifiers. Same with the other “issues”. Clean bill of health. Clean, Negative, no Head Injury. Normally, with a record like that a person would be good to go. My issue is documents which cannot be found because they do not exist.

3

If past issues do not impact my current health and performance, it should not matter.

Tell me, how many people in the Armed Forces have minor issues?

Such as anxiety, worry, stress? How many had scrapes, bruises, and cuts? How many did NOT go to a doctor for said Minor Issues?

Now. IF I CAN BE DISQUALIFIED for going to see a psychiatrist and being SENT to a neurologist, and still being CLEAN AND NEGATIVE, so can anyone else.
**
If my minor issues can disqualify, same for everyone else.

If minor issues do not disqualify, then I will no be disqualified for minor issues.
**
The crux of this “problem” is NOT the issues. The problem is incomplete medical records and NOT the issues themselves.

4

From my own experience in the Air Force, I’ll suggest that if you have issues with anxiety, worry, and stress, the military may not be the best career choice for you. Basic training is all about stress. You’ll start out sleep deprived, and constantly have drill instructors supervising your every move, yelling at you, insulting you, insisting that you do more, faster, etc. After training, military duty is often very stressful even in non-combat roles. You will be held accountable for your actions on and off base, as well as job performance.

Also, when you answer the questions on the various enlistment forms, you are warned that you are answering under oath, and subject to being charged with perjury for false answers. In my opinion, it is better to come clean right up front than risk problems later. The initial screening may not be very comprehensive, but if you get selected for a post that requires a security clearance, they will do a background check that could turn up anything you were…less than truthful…about.

5

Everyone stresses or worries. I was NOT diagnosed by the doctor with anything. No disorders or the like. I had nothing wrong with me. Just normal anxiety.

The doc. sent me to the neurologist because he couldn’t help. At the neurologist, they did not find anything wrong with me. I got a clean, normal EEG. That is why I didn’t speak up. They would want documents which I could not find.

I don’t want to be kept out because OTHER PEOPLE got rid of or did not keep medical records. Because nothing is wrong with me.

Say I was 100% truthful. then they would want documents I could not get. Meaning, even though nothing is wrong with me, a lack of documents would keep me out.

Documents and nothing personally wrong with me.

6

I imagine a lot of people that have issues with the military think they can lie and say the records don’t exist and they’ll get around it. Or they pay cash for services from a doctor and use a fake name, if that’s still possible.

The real thing is the military isn’t desperate anymore. They don’t want the, go to the army or go to jail, type of recruit. They want who they want. They aren’t hurting so if you can’t give them exactly what they want, they can afford to be choosy.

This doesn’t mean you aren’t worthwhile, but they don’t need anyone that can’t explicitly get what they want.

I work in H/R and our policy is simply to give, hire date, separation date and if they are eligible for rehire. We also will confirm or not confirm a salary amount if that is given by the person requesting the reference.

That is it. I’ve had former employees call me and say the employer they’re interviewing with is demanding more. We just don’t give it. End of story. This doesn’t mean you were an awful employee, that’s just how it is.

And if you miss out on a job because you can’t get a more detailed reference, I’m sorry, but if I left my company I’d get the same thing.

The military is the same way. They want what they want. If you don’t have it, even if it’s because it never existed, they’ll just go to the next guy who does have it.

When they run out of people, then they’ll lower their standards.

You could try a different recruiter or branch or such

7

If I had been 100% truthful, even about minor issues. Minor issues which had NO bad diagnosis or results, then they would want documents. **Then things that would normally NOT be an issue would become one. **

Things which would not normally disqualify a person would disqualify me. Nothing to do with personal anything. It would be based on a lack of documents beyond my control.

If a result is negative it’s a non-issue. If you were not diagnosed with anything, then you don’t have it. Negative and Clean meaning there are NO problems. So I said “no” on the MEPS forum. Will I get in trouble for lying?

Despite being Clean and Negative. Despite the Fact that someone who did NOT go to any doctor would be fine with getting in.

The ONLY thing separating me from someone else with a clean bill of mental health is I got checked out. and nothing was found.

So it’s not a personal issue that would’ve stopped me from getting in. It’s an administrative issue.

8

If you read up a bit, I wrote why the documents are not there. One is over 10 years old. The other was put into deep storage and the practice is probably out of business.

The psychiatrist didn’t like me very much. He thought I was wasting his time. He is his own boss. If he got rid of my records cause I wasted his time I am up a creek if I was 100% truthful.

The decisions of other people would prevent me if I had disclosed EVERYTHING.

The military is looking for personal issues. The only “issue” is Administrative.

9

Will a person get in trouble for lying about minor issues?

Take out my visits to the two doctors. Take out my visits and any “issue” vanishes.

As for my bike accident, it was over 10 years ago. No head injury, no concussion, no loss of consciousness.

Say I had been 100%. I would be barred because OTHER PEOPLE did not keep complete records.

10

A person who is willing to lie about minor issues might find lying to be an easy answer to major issues.

11

What does the question say?
You must answer truthfully, obviously.

I do not have and never had diabeters, colon cancer, or a host of other diseases. That doesn’t stop the doctor from doing tests for those and several other diseases on my annual checkup. If the question is “have you ever been treated/sought treatment for…” the answer is “no”.

The classic dilemma was, years ago, many places asked “Have you ever been tested for AIDS”? But then it became a standard blood test in some places before surgery, etc. For example, I haven’t been for surgery or admitted to hospital, so I don’t think I have. If my blood was ever given that as part of a routine battery of annual tests, nobody told me. I suspect I have not been tested, but I can’t know for sure - have never bothered to ask, it’s not important because I’m not at risk.

So answer truthfully but read the question carefully. Just visiting a doctor and being tested is not “being treated for…” unless there was a positive diagnosis and a course of medication or therapy etc.

12

I give 100% and they want documents that do not exist. and I get barred because of the actions of others.

And not for anything personal.

13

When I was in college I went to see a psychiatrist and a psychologist, at my mother’s orders, stemming from the depression and mythical ADD that was “causing” me to drop out of college. I spent maybe 2 hours total as a “patient” of those folks, and received 2 small prescriptions that I filled and then never finished.

I mentioned all of this to my recruiter once, adding that even though it was only a couple of years prior, I didn’t remember their names, and when I looked them up in the phone book their offices had moved. He said, “Oh well,” and then suggested that I not mention it again. There were other issues like that where he told me not to mention them again, and I’m glad he did.

I’ve had multiple single scope background investigations since then for my security clearance. I’ve had a 10 year career with the USAF. If the government has bothered to dig up this “dirt” on me, they haven’t seen fit to use it against me.

From the way you’ve described things, I wouldn’t mention any of it to MEPS or the recruiter. If your current recruiter knows about it and isn’t pressing you to disclose it, trust his judgement.

14

My recruiter knows about it. MEPS won’t know about it, then. That takes care of anything psychological.

Also, if anyone has any “issues” they would fail the TAPAS (it’s an exam given to all recruits).

Thank you for your input. And yes, my recruiter keeps telling me the Pyschatrist/Neurologist and the bike accident are minor issues and to not worry about them.

As for Strep and Pubic Lice… if those were dis-qualifiers well over half of people wanting to join would be barred on Strep AND/OR Pubic Lice alone.

15

I’m a litte unclear on where you are in the process… do you have an issue preventing you from joining or are you concerned about a future issue? You have a somewhat frenetic writing style that doesn’t give out the facts easily.

I presuming you are enlisting, not going in as an officer. What job do you want to do in the Navy? Usually MEPS is pretty good about chasing down all the documentation they need as pposed to sending you off to fetch it. Medical waivers are not very hard to get as long as they are consistent with what job you’ll be doing and you’re an otherwise desirable recruit.

What part of the country are you in? I have someone who has been doing Navy recruiting and in-processing for 30 years and may be able to help. Please describe more thoroughly where you are in the process and what you’re hearing from the Navy about where you stand, what’s standing in your way and what’s next.

16

You do realize that if a doctor gives you a test, when he get’s the results back he doesn’t look at them and say “Well, that came back negative for herpes/depression/diabetes, I’ll just throw these results away now” right?

17

Exactly right. Plus doctors are required to retain medical records in some fashion for a number of years - I believe it’s 10 years in the state of Illinois, but I know the office I work in tends to err on the side of “keep them” - regardless of the result. They may not be onsite at that office, but they will or should be in storage somewhere for the legally-required time limit.

Not true, for reasons stated above. Have you actually tried to request the records?

Shipped off-site probably just means that they were sent to a professional records storage company which specializes in such things. Doctors’ offices do this all the time or they’d be swamped by the sheer number of charts that build up over the years. You may have encountered someone who was lazy or ignorant on the subject, but they would or should have kept even a “normal/negative” result for the number of years required by law and various health care regulations.

If you’re just trying to get into the service, you’re probably fairly young? I see no reason why any of the results mentioned should not still be in existence.

As noted by snowmaster, your writing style does not lend itself to easy interpretation. If your communications with your recruiters or the physicians offices (written or verbal) are similar, you may not be making your intent clear. To get records, you need to write a simple request, or get from them a consent for release of information form, and write very clearly and simply what you need. Something like “copy of my EEG, performed in (year OR month/year)” or “copies of my visit notes from (year OR month/year)” would suffice. You may have to pay a small fee for copying, especially if the item in question is in storage.

18

[moderating]
Since there isn’t really a question in the OP, I’ve moved the thread from GQ to MPSIMS.
[/moderating]

19

Make some time, actually go in person to these practices and talk to a human being, like a receptionist, ask how you might get your records. Be polite, don’t act like it’s your right to demand ancient records and have them appear instantly, because you are asking them for a favour.

If they are actually destroyed (I doubt it), the next best thing is probably to ask the doctor who did it to sign a letter stating that you were tested for whatever it is you actually want proof of. (Maybe. If they can remember you.)

Minor issues? If they don’t ask, they are probably not interested. But if you are hiding an injury that you know or think will hamper your training, they will do their best to keep you out, not unreasonably.

Disclaimer: I’m not American. I don’t know you guys’ exact procedures. But I did get through NZ Army Reserve recruiting 6 months ago. Had some similar situations.

edit: Reply to Snowmaster’s post. He seems to know.