MEPS Med Read

[LMaruko]

Hello all. This is my first post, and I have a couple of questions to ask all of you, if you can lend me some assistance or advice. It would be greatly appreciated!

I have been waiting to DEP in to the Navy (since January), and I am unsure if I am qualified as a prior enlist. I was discharged in US Marine basic training in Dec 2003 (under 180 days), with smoke inhalation. My re-enlist code is an RE-3P. Now, my recruiter is the only one who deals with prior service, and I have been waiting on a med read since May 18. In two days will be approximately one month (30 days if you wanna get technical). My recruiter has told me that the RE-3P was waived, but he sent in a med read just to cover his bases and to check what exactly my discharge was for from the Marines. I am looking to become a Nuke myself (being referred by the recruiters and other staff around the base with account of my ASVAB score), and I have been looking into it, and it seems like a pretty sweet position. I am married, with one child (and one on the way). My wife has two kids of her own, but they are not legally mine.

Now, for my questions:

1) Does it honestly take a month to have a med read come back? I have been trying to pick apart the search engines here on the internet, and all I have come across is med reads coming back between 2-3 weeks.
2) If it takes as long as a month (or more) for a med read to come back, is that a good thing? Or is that a potentially bad thing?
3) Am I classified as prior service, or am I a new recruit, considering I did not make it through basic? This question is more directed with the bonuses and benefits involved.
4) With regards to my family, will I be able to take leave after basic to retrieve them before I go to my A-School (being over 20 weeks)? Or do I have to wait?
5) Shoulld I ask for a waiver for the two children that aren't mine? Or am I screwed on that situation?

I am also considering that since my recruiter is slacking off, should I just find another recruiter? He doesn't give me answers, or returns my calls.

So, any help will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

LM

[sovbob]

1) Does it honestly take a month to have a med read come back? I have been trying to pick apart the search engines here on the internet, and all I have come across is med reads coming back between 2-3 weeks.

With these requests, you can never be sure.  It might be that they're having a hard time finding your documentation.  Or maybe it's sitting in some guy's inbox while he's out on leave.  Or maybe they have an unusually large workload.  Or maybe it got lost.  Or maybe that office is slower than the others.  Or...

2) If it takes as long as a month (or more) for a med read to come back, is that a good thing? Or is that a potentially bad thing?

I wouldn't think it's good or bad.  It becomes a bad thing if you start getting close to your ship date, and still no word.  In that case, your recruiter should pick up the phone and explain that he's got a guy who needs it ASAP.

3) Am I classified as prior service, or am I a new recruit, considering I did not make it through basic? This question is more directed with the bonuses and benefits involved.

No, the navy's definition of "Prior Service" is 180 consecutive days of active duty.  You are considered a Non-Prior-Service applicant, but you still need to take care of that RE-3P (which it sounds like you have)

4) With regards to my family, will I be able to take leave after basic to retrieve them before I go to my A-School (being over 20 weeks)? Or do I have to wait?

You will leave Boot Camp and go straight to A-school, but you won't start classes there right away.  Once you're checked in, you will have an opportunity to go home and move your family out to South Carolina.

5) Shoulld I ask for a waiver for the two children that aren't mine? Or am I screwed on that situation?

If you are the parent or legal guardian of the children, they are considered dependants and should be entered into DEERS (Defense Eligibilty Enrollment Reporting System).  The definition of a dependant is located here. http://www.nmfa.org/site/DocServer/Definiton_of_a_Dependent_11-05.pdf?docID=3621 Stepchildren are considered dependants and entitled to military benefits.

I am also considering that since my recruiter is slacking off, should I just find another recruiter? He doesn't give me answers, or returns my calls.

Recruiters are busy people, but that's no excuse for not returning your phone calls.  I would pay a visit to the office and talk to some of his co-workers about the situation.

[xforcehunter]

sovbob's answers and advice are on the money.  I, also, would go talk to the recruiter in person.  If you do decide to try a different recruiter, then make sure that you're up front about the problems with your old recruiter.  Good luck!

[LMaruko]

Thank you so much, guys! I appreciate the help and what you guys have experienced before. I hope that it isn't going to take forever and that I can get it soon!

[G-reg]

I'm no expert, and this may not even be applicable, but I know that in some cases getting a copy of your military records (such as your DD-214) can take several months to process if they've sent your records to the national archive.

It is possible that they're having to go through a similar sort of process to retrieve your information, since your discharge happened several years ago.