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Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
I have been considering the Navy for a few yrs now, & was loosely planning to sign up in a couple yrs, but life has happened recently & I am thinking abt moving that date up & joining by the end of this yr. I do have a few concerns, & am looking for any input from others as to how to handle. When I first went in to see a recruiter last wk, I got to meet my guy's recruiter for the Marines. We were chatting for a bit while waiting for the Navy recruiter to arrive, & he started going down the list w/ sm of these qualifying questions. There were sm things like dancing & my mental health history that I would have liked to address w/ him right then, as I trusted him immensely based on what my guy has told me abt him, but there were several others in the room w/ us, & how many of you would just willingly announce sm of these things to a room full of strangers?
1) I recently started dancing again, as I was laid off a few wks ago from the job in my field that I moved up to my current area for. I have no doubt that at least my early dancing will show up on the background check, since I first started in an area that requires licencing. I have not danced in any areas since then that require a licence & was thinking I can bs that I got the licence then chickened out, but will my dancing history beyond that show up? I nvr received 1099s or other paperwork from any clubs I have worked at. I do not really have a problem being honest abt dancing if it comes up, have nvr received any citations (or amazingly any assault charges after all the customers I have clobbered over the yrs) but am a bit afraid that they will see it as a disqualifier.
2) apparently they want documentation for EVERYTHING I have had medically. Tonsillectomy, wisdom teeth, sports injuries, you name it. I had my shoulder looked at by a chiropractor last fall, but it was at a hole-in-the-wall place whose process was pretty much like going to get my hair done - what's the problem & how do we want to fix it? I got my shoulder popped to relieve a pinched nerve but there was not any 'official' documentation other than the receipt which I now cannot find. My shoulder works just fine(mostly) & I have nvr had any surgeries on any of my joints, so is this going to be a problem?
3) this ties into #2: I had an involuntary psych commitment when I was 17. I had a problem for yrs w/ SI when I was in high school & eventually opened my arm so badly that I needed stitches & was committed & placed on meds. During an initial talk w/ the recruiter I was asked if I ever had depression-type problems, self-harming, medication, involuntary committing, that sort of thing, & flat out denied it. I said only that I sm times scratch in my sleep to explain the more minor scars on my arm. The big scar that needed stitches was covered by my sleeve but I know they will see it eventually, & I explained it that I was injured by an unstable ex-bf. This all happened 10yrs ago, & one of my relatives in healthcare said the records which were sealed to begin w/ since I was a minor at the time, have very likely been tossed by now. All the same, is there any way they can find said records & thus keep me from enlisting? My mental-health history caused me the same problems w/ the FAA, they did not want to issue me a medical cert b/c they thought I was batshit crazy & it took a solid yr of fighting that to convince them otherwise.
I voluntarily saw a shrink several yrs ago, was not taking any meds since the FAA has a 2mile-long laundry list of forbidden drugs. I would have no problem being honest abt that & the causes for it, it was b/c of being assaulted previously & basically refusing to deal w/ it fked me up mentally. I know when I go to MEPs for questioning they will ask me a huge list of questions then ask me the questions in different ways to make sure my answers all match up & I am starting to really sweat over this.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Honestly the military isn't for you if have dealt with depression and was locked up. Trust me, boot camp will bring all of this out and you will be discharged. I was in the navy and was medically discharged due to arthritis and many people were being discharged due to mental problems. I didn't know at this point I had arthritis it came out due to me getting hurt. If you go in and they find out you knew you had problems you could face charges on lying to a recruiter. If you don't say anything and it comes out in boot (and it will)you will get discharged. Don't think dancing will matter unless you were arrested.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Even for medical problems, you can get waivers depending how severe they are. I got a waiver for depression in 2009 and was able to join (it took almost a whole year, though). I was later discharged because that depression caused me other problems along the way, however. I did 4 and half years of active and reserve duty combined: was an IT and left as an E-5.
If you DO manage to get by (after providing your medical history and getting waivers), get a job in intel (CT, IT, IS): they are the least stressfull (both physically and mentally) but you need to study a LOT!! Admin (YN) could be somethig to consider: if you're good during training, you may get a cushy deskjob in the Pentago or at the NATO offices. Nuclear engineering WILL aggravate any mental or physical health problem you have so forget about it.
Like Kelly said, unless you were arrested you'll be fine. Tons of sailors are former or current dancers (I started dancing while IN the navy). If you intend to dance while in the navy, your chain of command must know (you file a special request asking to "moonlight").
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kellydancer
Honestly the military isn't for you if have dealt with depression and was locked up. Trust me, boot camp will bring all of this out and you will be discharged. I was in the navy and was medically discharged due to arthritis and many people were being discharged due to mental problems. I didn't know at this point I had arthritis it came out due to me getting hurt. If you go in and they find out you knew you had problems you could face charges on lying to a recruiter. If you don't say anything and it comes out in boot (and it will)you will get discharged. Don't think dancing will matter unless you were arrested.
Wow Kelly, I did not know you did your time as well!!!!
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Yep, and it was a great experience looking back. At the time I was disappointed I was discharged but now I am happy at least I tried. I had hoped to make it a living but it was not to be, which is why I like to live the experience through others. My brother is currently serving as an army doctor and I am very involved with the American Legion and have so many friends who are serving or veterans. Even though my service was short, I find I have a lot more in common with those who served than those who never did.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
You guys deserve a lot of respect, all the men-and a few of the women-in my family were/are in the military-so thank you. OP, I'm not sure if there's a state by state difference in the background check process, but I can tell you that two people I know in Ohio got in, served their time, and got out with no problems. One had an involuntary commitment as an adult and one had a DUI that was plead down to a lesser charge. They never brought it up and it was never brought up to them. Since you told the recruiter you got the scar on your arm from an ex, stick with that story. They seem to value calmness and consistency, so display that. As far as the shoulder thing, paperwork varies facility to facility. If the receipt from getting your shoulder fixed is the only paperwork you were given, you can try contacting the place and asking for more detailed paperwork. At worse, you may just have to get a physical and have someone who's a bit more thorough as far as paperwork goes give your shoulder an ok. Hope this kind of helped, all the service men and women I asked to help formulate this reply-and me-wish you luck.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Go ahead and try it if you want to join. The qualifications and standards change constantly based on recruitment needs. I joined the army in 1999 and you had to be batshit crazy to get discharged for mental health issues back then. The only discharges for mental health issues I even heard of were one guy who attacked the drill sergeants and bit one of them and a girl who slit her wrists.
I remember a couple people pissing their beds repeatedly in basic training hoping to get a discharge. LOL It didn't work.
Bottom line, if they need people, they're more lenient and willing to give you a waiver for whatever issues you have. If their numbers are up, they might tell you no. It can't hurt to try, just be honest about everything.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Thnx to all who replied.
I do still have sm problems w/ depression, in all honesty, but they are not nearly as severe as when I was hospitalised & I find that having solid structure very helpful. Re: my mental health I am worried they will find out during the background check abt my difficulties getting cleared by the FAA bc in that instance I did have to provide paperwork.
Afa 'moonlighting' that had nvr occurred to me, dancing while serving! I do not intend to do that but would be interested to hear abt your exp, Jay12!
Idk exactly what I would want to do for them but I do NOT want a desk job. That WOULD straight up drive me crazy.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
I would stick with the story about the scar, but hope they simply didn't ask again. Be honest about the dancing I guess, but don't volunteer much information & play it down if asked. Truth is you really have done it for the money, not because of any of the 'bad' reasons they might judge you harshly for. And getting a flying career going is expensive as all hell.
My guess would be there's a lot of stuff they will overlook, as others have said here--but they are required to tell you the official rules & scare you a little about hiding shit. The FAA records could be tricky but it sounds like a lot of effort on their part for a recruit.
If you do ever get into intelligence, they will find out everything, all of it. But everyone has some kind of damned skeletons in their closets, so I suspect they will again overlook the small shit, if and when it comes down to it.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Djoser
If you do ever get into intelligence, they will find out everything, all of it. But everyone has some kind of damned skeletons in their closets, so I suspect they will again overlook the small shit, if and when it comes down to it.
I contacted my old divisional officer (an intel officer) about this (and mentioned the OP), and he said that dancing (not even if there's a paper trail) is not a concern for them as long as the applicant hasn't commited a related crime (eg. Prostitution, firing a gun in the club, selling drugs inside the club, etx.). When they do the background checks for people that are going to have secret and top secret clearances, they make sure the information given by the applicant matches what is found in the background check.
For security reasons, I'm not entering in specific details about these checks.
Mental health problems can be a concern but only for some jobs, depending on how bad they (the problems are).
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw
Sorry, couldn't resist!
I wish you the best tho, A.:)
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Djoser
If you do ever get into intelligence, they will find out everything, all of it. But everyone has some kind of damned skeletons in their closets, so I suspect they will again overlook the small shit, if and when it comes down to it.
I was in intelligence and had a top secret security clearance. They do find out everything but the problem is if you lied, they will not overlook it because that's a serious issue. If you try to hide something in your past, you're at risk of being blackmailed while in the service by someone trying to get sensitive information. That's what they're worried about. If someone walks in and says, "Yeah, I was a stripper, so what?" then they don't care. If someone goes out of their way to hide it, that's a problem and something they will deny you a security clearance over.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
So to update:
The enlistment process has been slow-as-fk until today. I moved back to FL abt a month ago & contacted a recruiter here, but there was sm delay as all my info was already filed in VA & had to be unlocked & sent to the guy in FL.
They called me today & want to schedule me to take the ASVAB nxt Wed then come back Fri for the physical & MOS selection. (I've heard the Navy doesn't call it MOS, but I don't remember their term & most of my family is Army/USMC so that's the term I'm sticking to) He is supposed to send me the details this wk once everything is set up.
I've been told that bc of HIPPA protections they cannot dig into my FAA medical records :relieved: & as long as I have full range of motion in my joints & nothing blows out during the duck walk segment of the physical I should be ok as far as any old injuries go. The recruiter took a look at my age & pretty much accepted that since I have been physically active for most of my life there is going to be sm wear&tear, but I've not needed any surgeries so I should be fine.
Oh & whirlerz -- I heard that song the other day & thought of your contribution to this thread! Thnx love! :D
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Ugh the duck walk hated that. True story but in the beginning of the physical at MEPS they had all the women come out in our bras and panties to see if anyone was overweight. One woman was really out of shape and was eliminated right then. This was 26 years ago when the military had strict weight standards. MEPS was an all day thing and it can get boring but there's usually many people there at the same time. My job was going to be HM, which is corpsman (basically a medic), which is ironic because I hate blood.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kellydancer
Ugh the duck walk hated that. True story but in the beginning of the physical at MEPS they had all the women come out in our bras and panties to see if anyone was overweight. One woman was really out of shape and was eliminated right then. This was 26 years ago when the military had strict weight standards. MEPS was an all day thing and it can get boring but there's usually many people there at the same time. My job was going to be HM, which is corpsman (basically a medic), which is ironic because I hate blood.
Yeah my bf told me abt the duck walk. I figure if I can do it in a thong & 6" heels at work I can do it at MEPS ... wish if I could do it for them in the 6" heels they would just waive everything else :D
The recruiter told me today that no matter when they schedule me, it'll be a two-day thing -- ASVAB first, then gotta come back & do the physical/job selection bc of sm kind of budget constraints + the physical taking so damn long. They still do have pretty strict wgt standards from what I understand, at least the USMC does. I am glad that's at least one thing I don't have to worry abt ...
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
That changed because when I went in the ASVAB was a week before going to MEPS. They didn't bother if you didn't score high enough. Granted this was years ago when women weren't equal to men in the military (at least the navy)and needed to score a much higher score. When I took the ASVAB they actually threw out someone because he put down the wrong race and gender and insisted he was. He was a black man who insisted he was a white woman inside. It was extremely funny.
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
The navy and CG calls them jobs "ratings". My rating was IT, so my job was just like a civilian IT person: computers, networks, servers, and all shit I can't talk about. My time resembled more to an episode of "The IT Crowd" than, say, the movie "Down Periscope".
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Re: Going to the military, concerns abt qualifying ??'s
Hey, best of luck and congrats!
Serving in the military seems one thing we all agree on and admire.