# When One Joins The US Armed Forced...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-one-joins-the-us-armed-forced/358954>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 31, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-one-joins-the-us-armed-forced/358954 "2006-05-31T23:56:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![M.Meursault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@M.Meursault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Meursault)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-one-joins-the-us-armed-forced/358954/21 "2006-06-02T17:17:28Z")

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> [@Jinx](#):
>
> how does the military handle this when it seems they’ll take anybody? - Jinx 😕

As others have said, they do not take anybody. The Navy didn’t take me, because I was a member of a _very_ left wing political party for awhile and I was trying to secure a linguist position. All the recruiters told me it wouldn’t be a problem but the security LT at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Something, where they give you the ASVAB and check your health, urine, blood, etc.) told me it was a problem. He checked with superiors and they couldn’t take me for that position. He said I might be able to get a much less sensitive position but that it wasn’t guaranteed and I never tried, so I don’t know about that.

I have given some thought to trying to get a JAG position after law school, but I won’t be holding my breath.

So…yeah. This is just another reiteration of how they won’t take anyone. I even had the highest ASVAB score at MEPS that day and they wouldn’t take me, so yeah.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-one-joins-the-us-armed-forced/358954/22 "2006-06-02T17:19:22Z")

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> [@M. Meursault](#):
>
> …MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Something…

The Military Entrance Processing Station

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**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-one-joins-the-us-armed-forced/358954/23 "2006-06-02T18:37:27Z")

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IIRC, when my sister was applying to the Air Force Academy, she had to be fingerprinted, presumably to be cross-checked with whatever databases. She also (I think) had to go to the police station and get them to write a letter or something saying that she’d never been arrested in that jurisdiction and they basically had no record of her being a troublemaker.

They did not, to my great disappointment, come looking for people to reveal her dirty secrets.

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