A day at MEPS

MEPS, the Military Entrance Processing Station. What can I say? It was a long day. The first of many I'm sure.
First, MEPS - Raleigh is only 10 minutes from my house, yet I was required to spend the night in a hotel the night before. But the best part is, we had a guy there from SC who was shipping to Ft Jackson, SC for BCT. They flew him from SC, through Atlanta, to Raleigh to be shipped to SC. Not that I didn't expect these types of things to happen, I was just surprised to see it so early.
The hotel night wasn't that bad. I was still able to eat dinner with the family before working out, then I hung out with the 17-20 year olds in the lounge until it was time to go to bed. (Yeah, they made me feel old)
The wake up call was 0430, the start of a long day at MEPS.
When we arrived at MEPS, they divided us into two groups. The shippers gathered and entered first, then the rest of us. Some were there for the same reason I was, some just had one or two things they had to complete.
As soon as I got inside it was time for the fun part, the very thorough physical examination. I will spare you worst details. It started with a briefing, where I quickly saw the first evidence of the type of private (PVT) that is sure to get me quite strong (from pushups) during BCT. We then went through the series of medical interviews, blood draw, hearing test, vision test, physical, ortho (where they make you duck walk in your undies), etc. Then it was time for the weight/tape check.
The weight/tape check was one of the two major concerns that I had been praying about up to this point. The military has many standards, including weight standards. If you don't meet weight, which I didn't by about 20 lbs, you get "taped". Taping is where they measure your neck and belly and, with that ratio, determine a rough guess of your body fat. Four days prior I was two inches over on my waist. The night before, still a half inch. Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to it. But, God was faithful and I passed the tape without an issue. (this was one of two "God Things" that reassured me of my decision)
After the tape test and all the other medical, it was time to start discussing my contract. I headed over to the liaison's office to discuss the terms. The second major concern I had was ship date. For several reasons, I knew that I really needed a ship date in September. The likelihood though of a September ship date getting assigned in August was slim. But again, God was faithful and the Sergeant (SGT) gave me the ship date of September 13th without any issue.
By now, I have been at MEPS from 0530 to 1200. I'm hungry. But unfortunately, I must have been one of the last few to make it to lunch, so all that was left was a 6 inch veggie sub and some water. If you know me, you know a 6 inch veggie sub is basically lettuce, cheese and bread after I remove the things I don't care for. Oh, and did I forget to mention that because of my concern with taping I ate a light dinner the night before and only a banana for breakfast, thinking all the while over my growling stomach "if I can just make it to lunch".
After "lunch," it was on to operations. Operations basically reviews you contract to ensure everything was in order and then fingerprints you for the FBI database. After that process, it was back to the liaison to sign and finish things up prior to the swearing in ceremony.
The swearing in ceremony was pretty cool. It was a nice way to bring together all the fast paced, somewhat confusing and tiring events of the day and turn it back around to my ultimate purpose of being there, to join the NC Army National Guard.
I finally walked out the door from MEPS at 1600 to head to my recruiters office to get the items I would need for my first, and only, RSP (recruit sustainment program) drill.

My next update will be after my RSP drill on August 20th and 21st.