Introduction

[Otterfied]

Hello Rangers!
My name is Lee and I am a 20 year old university student (junior) at Michigan. I have always wanted to join the military, but I decided to finish college before serving to fulfill my parents' wishes. I will be graduating in April, but I will not be able to ship out until finishing a field study in August 2016. I have been working with a recruiter since April 2015 and I have completed both the ASVAB and the MEPS physical.

My problem is that the vision portion of MEPS was faulty and gave me a prescription of -7 -9 correctable to 25/25, compared to my most current prescription from my optometrist that is -6 -6 correctable to 20/20. I showed them my prescription and asked the technician and the MEPS supervisor for a chance to retest or talk to the doctor in order to have a consult, but their reasoning is that they will not change my physical as I qualify for some Army MOS; just not Infantry, Airborne, or Ranger.

The 1SG at MEPS told me his hands were tied and recommended that I work through my recruiter's chain of command. After two weeks of trying different options my recruiter is recommending that I select a mos and reclass into infantry after ~2 years of service. His Captain offered me a shot a OCS which would give me a chance to serve in a combat role provided that I branch infantry.

My current options seem to be
1. enlist and reclass infantry after ~2 years
2. OCS, branch Infantry, Airborne, Ranger School, RASP II
3. try to fix the MEPS vision issue by contacting congressmen, prior service, etc

I am meeting with the Captain on Monday to start my OCS packet. Entering as an officer candidate will at least give me a shot at getting into a combat role compared to enlisting. He also stated that officers are prioritized for Airborne, Ranger school, and Lasek/PRK surgery.

My father's coworkers and associates offered to help clear up the MEPS vision issue. The problem with this is the 1SG was against me contacting anyone directly and stated that everything must be run through "proper channels".

PT
PU 80
SU 55
2m 12-12:30
Pullups 20

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for the guidance you provide for future soldiers.
-Otterfied

[Jim]

Welcome, Otterfied . You have established a PT baseline to build on. If you really want to earn a space in the 75th Ranger Regiment you came to the right site. Please tell us more about yourself. We take great pride in the fine young men who pass thru this site on their journey toward earning a space in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Plead read all the FAQS, stickies, threads, and posts. You will find insights toward dealing with MEPs. The search feature located on the top right of this page is your friend. Never, never quit!

[CharlieRanger1FFV]

Welcome to the site, Otterfied.


RLTW!!!

[rangerjd]

Welcome to the site Otterfied , there are several Rangers on here who were or are officers who would be able to help with the OCS question, but regardless of what the 1SG says if you have a way around this problem and can solve it that way, then do it. Right now you need to do everything you can do to help yourself get what you what out of the Military. This is YOUR future. Give everything you've got, every time you give and never, ever quit! RLTW

[justadad]

Rangers, if appropriate I might be able to give some insight on the IN officer track based on my 2LT son current experiences.

[Jim]

Rangers, if appropriate I might be able to give some insight on the IN officer track based on my 2LT son current experiences.

Please feel free to share.

[justadad]

Otterfied , I can't help with anything prior to OCS branch selection, graduation & commissioning, but from there out it's fairly standard.

It would be worth seeking out the IN "Yellow Brick Road" slide which shows LT & CPT development path. This path is publicly available, and is a good resource.

Here's the short version:

- All new IN 2LT's will go to IBOLC whether OCS, ROTC, or USMA. Timing is dependent on order of merit, etc, most are anxious to get started.

- You will report to 2-11 at Benning, and "snowbird" until your OCS class starts in most cases. If your OCS date is way out, you may have a cadet command assignment before then. If already assigned to a unit, you wear that unit patch, otherwise are 2-11.

- IBOLC is roughly 5 months, and is the final phase of IN officer training. It is a mix of doctrine, field exercises, and PT. It starts with individual skills, then progresses from team, to squad, to PL, then ultimately company level exercises with a 16m ruck march. Most find the training very good, I know my son did.

- IBOLC is also used as prep for Ranger School, and you will not graduate unless capable of meeting RS RAP week standards. (RPFT, Land Nav, Ruck Marches, etc) Most underestimate the physical requirements of even IBOLC, but you will be trained up. The IBOLC RPFT is given by RI's, and my son has several friends who did not pass pushups, even though doing 100+ several times each day for training.

- The majority of IBOLC grads move directly into a RS class. And all will attempt it at least once. While waiting for the next RS class you will be assigned to the Ranger Platoon in 2-11 and continue with PT, Individual skills prep for RS.

- We know PT studs that took 5-6 mths to complete RS, and others that did it with no recycles. Plan on staying until you graduate.

- If not Airborne qualified prior to IBOLC it will be done after RS. There is too much risk of injury which would put you at severe disadvantage for RS. (Twisted ankle, knee, etc). So if possible get ABN as a cadet, or you will be a leg Ranger during RS.

- Once through RS, you will complete any training required by orders. ABN if in an ABN unit. Air Assault if 101st, etc. Currently the default 2-11 mode is to only schedule courses required by orders unless IBOLC honor grad or similar. This is a bit of a sea change, and very different from 1-2 years ago apparently.

- The IBOLC - RS - ABN/whatever pipeline is typically 7-12 mths, and it's not unknown to go longer.

- From there 2LT's report to their unit. Your first unit will lead to a Platoon leader slot, ideally very quickly. If no slot available or you are deemed not ready, you will be on staff somewhere, often S3 shop, until you get a platoon.

- After a period of time (dependent on many things) you will rotate to a 2nd unit. If you were light before, you will likely go mech or stryker. Or vice versa. The 2nd assignment will typically be a staff gig.

- During your 2nd assignment you will put in packets for your Junior Officer Broadening assignment, which is when LT's can apply to the Ranger regiment as well as other options. There is information on this process on the Army website, and if picked you will go through a specific RASP type training (RASP2?) Others may have more info on this, but unlike enlisted, there is no track to the regiment as an officer until you have met your 2LT unit assignments.

The above is the typical IN 2LT pipeline, and is what most experience apparently. However, needs of the Army override, and I know of IN 2LT's given cav platoons, unit reductions causing reassignment just prior to report, etc. everyone will know of exceptions. But general timing & flow is still valid, and is what you should plan for.

Again, this is just the process my son and friends is seeing, and as documented in the IN doctrine/development info. Specifics do drift over time, even as commanders or policy change. Needs of the Army, all that.

Hope this helps, and feel free to PM me if you have questions!

[justadad]

Some of other thoughts:

- vision for ROTC/USMA is a bit stricter, but did have an appeal & waiver process. But that was done through DODMERB not MEPS. So don't know what would apply for you.
- From reading the ARMY regs and similar discussions, OCS still has a +-8 dipoter max variance. Don't know if this is subject to waiver or appeal. So probably worth a discussion with your OCS contact
- As I understand it, there is no guarantee of branch when entering OCS. IE: ales have to list 2 combat arms preferences, 2 non combat arms, etc

All that said, I'm not clear on what your objective is. If it's to be in the regiment, going OCS will be a long route, and is not at all guaranteed.

Others are better suited for input on the enlisted path.

I'm wondering if there is an officer at your school who may be able to give you parallel input without the pressure of the recruiters, etc.

In any case, good luck!

[Otterfied]

Thank you Rangers and justadad!
My recruiter did some magic and reserved a 15W option 40 slot yesterday. Although it is not combat arms, 15W seems to fill a unique role between intelligence, combat support, and aviation.

I swear in on Monday, provided that the MEPS personnel and career counselors do not stop me based on the vision requirements for Airborne.

If it does not break OPSEC, are all Ranger 15Ws based with RSTB at Ft. Benning? I understand that Ft. Benning and JBLM are both possible stations for 15W.

Thank you for your insight justadad! If the Opt. 40 does not work out, I will put in an OCS packet or enlist as 12B.

-Otterfied

[Jim]

Let us know when you take your oath. We have assets available to you.

[Otterfied]

Update
My recruiter's captain sent in a vision waiver to the army doc, but it got denied. Currently my options are OCS, EOD, or 68W and hope to pick up airborne/RASP at AIT.

If I am offered an airborne slot at AIT, will I be disqualified by my MEPS vision test?

I have taken EMT-B training and was allowed to experience the ER and EMS. The work of EMTs and ER techs is definitely under appreciated.
If it is not possible to get airborne/RASP I would much rather join EOD and possibly drop an SF packet in the future.

[Jim]

If you enlist for 68W Option 40, you get the SF medical course. Consider that. Otherwise try for an Option 40 in AIT.