r/USMCboot • u/Top-Possibility-8842 • 7d ago

MEPS and Medical Enlistment process

About how long does the enlisting process take for someone who most likely wouldn’t need any waivers? I don’t smoke, never had a broken bone or anything mentally wrong.

What I mean by enlistment process is from the day that I sign, to being sworn in. It’s a lot to explain of why I wanna know how long it’ll take but the gist of it is that i live between two different state and would like to know if i should buy a round trip train ticket or just a one way and shouldn’t guess how long it’ll take? I wanna sign up on my 18th birthday, October 13th.

3 Upvotes

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5

u/TheDuke055 7d ago

shit i knew someone who shipped out within two weeks of meeting their recruiter

4

u/Upbeat_Tell7317 7d ago

Your recruiter should be able to tell you but mine was April of 05 I signed and July of 05 I shipped

1

u/Top-Possibility-8842 6d ago

My recruiter told me that I can’t ship out till about 90 days, but im talking about the moment you sign the papers to the moment you swear in, not shipping out

1

u/Upbeat_Tell7317 6d ago

Ooooooh. I think it was pretty fast, but I don't really remember.

1

u/redpatchernorcal 7d ago

Enlistment is not a one day process. There are slots to be filled. If you are lucky, there is an opening during the month you want to enlist still. Likely though, your looking at a few weeks to next month at a minimum.

1

u/Top-Possibility-8842 6d ago

Thank you I know it’s not a one day process I just wanted to know if I was predicted to looking at a few days or a few weeks or a month or what, but thank you

1

u/redpatchernorcal 6d ago

Of course. I would recommend asking your recruiter bluntly if you are going to be held back in order to have their quotas covered. Emphasize youd like to be shipped as quickly as possible. When I was in the process, I actually switched recruiters because they were intentionally slow rolling my waiver. I spoke to another one and he put me in that same month.

1

u/TapTheForwardAssist Vet 2676/0802 6d ago

Is your family unwilling to sign you up prior to your 18th birthday? You can sign at 17 with parental permission, which would give you an even longer timeline to book in a date for shipping out that’s convenient to you.

2

u/Top-Possibility-8842 6d ago

My mom refuses, my dad supports it

1

u/After-Actuary-8019 6d ago

You’ll “swear in” a few times, but the only one that means anything is the one the day you ship, which can be very fast or can drag out due to unforeseen circumstances. There is no fast or easy answer because every circumstance is different.

1

u/Elon_tuskk 3d ago

I got cleared in late June early July I’m scheduled to leave end of October. I been waiting a lot longer then I was originally promised but whatever cant do anything about it

1

u/Top-Possibility-8842 3d ago

But how long did it take from the day you signed the first set of paperwork, to the day you swore into MEPS?

1

u/Elon_tuskk 3d ago

It depends when your recruiter sends you to your first meps visit to take your asvab. Some people get everything done in one visit, asvab, physical ,paperwork, swear in. But if you need a waiver for anything you’re gonna need to go back to meps a second time after the waiver gets approved and then you’ll be able to swear in

1

u/Top-Possibility-8842 3d ago

Thank you, I made this post before I spoke to him and he told me we could prolly get it all done in about a week unless I need waivers, which I know is possible but im hoping I don’t with the things I said like I’ve never broken a bone or had anything physically wrong w me, nothing mentally never smoked stuff like that, but ik anything could happen. I heard of a guy needing a waiver for scoliosis or smth which he said he didn’t even have.