Thanks guys it means alot from guys who have been there and have had similiar experiences. I think by making this post and hearing what you guys have to say my confidence is reboosted. Whenever somebody tells me that getting these waivers is impossible I'm going to tell them to look at this forum and look at all the people on here who have done it, and if they can do it so can I. The only other thing that concerns me is the frequency of when it happened. Since it happened twice that might be a factor, but I'm not going to make any assumptions I'm just going to push foward and take it one step at a time. You guys are all great by the way, I hope that one day I have the privledge of serving with you.
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waitin on meps
- Thread starter cgoetz
- Start date
Just make sure that you aren't having dreams like this and you should be okay:
Seriously though, I would second the part about having a thick skin. From my very limited experience it goes beyond harassment for the sake of making you a better pilot.......it's basically the same thing that happens anytime a group of dudes get together...the harassment does not have to serve a purpose. Nobody in the ready-room is going to hold your hand or tell you "hey man, you are doing really good....man you are a shit hot stick" (not that anyone would be saying that in primary anyways). Just keep that in mind....
Seriously though, I would second the part about having a thick skin. From my very limited experience it goes beyond harassment for the sake of making you a better pilot.......it's basically the same thing that happens anytime a group of dudes get together...the harassment does not have to serve a purpose. Nobody in the ready-room is going to hold your hand or tell you "hey man, you are doing really good....man you are a shit hot stick" (not that anyone would be saying that in primary anyways). Just keep that in mind....
Seriously. When I suck (which isn't exactly rare), I am usually harder on myself than the IP in the debrief.
This isn't part 61 training where you're paying to be treated nicely with a patient IP. If you're fucked up, your IP will tell you to "unfuck yourself" (just ask Kmac when he flew with me :icon_tong). Thick skin goes a long way in Naval Aviation (at least thus far in the TRACOM for me).
The point is that if you want something, NOTHING will get in your way. Just keep trucking forward and don't let people tell you no.
utak
Registered User
Shit man, the stunts I pulled before (and after) joining the military makes your situation look like Miss Goody 2 Shoes. And I'm doing just fine in the pipeline.
I got the living shit beat out of me growing up. When I got old and mature enough and got my stuff together, I ran my ass off, and I have not stopped running yet. It worked well for me in the military. I was able to harness inner rage that enabled me to overcome small stature, and initial physical weakness. My inner rage made my will strong, and as I got physically stronger, my will got stronger, and the various rites of passage that I transitioned helped me harness my innate, pure meanness.
The military is the shit, for me. It taught me to harness these aspects of myself, and to unleash them on command, and then to stand-down when ordered. It's even more important as a commissioned officer, where you are a leader and mentor of sailors and enlisted men. I doubt that I would have had the stones to do the stuff I have done had I not started out as a pissed-off dude.
How it works for you....again, it's up to you. You can change your life. Or you can let yourself fuck everything up for yourself.
Regardless, maintain a positive outlook, impress all that you encounter positively, be calm, quiet, and centered. You will be tested by bureaucrats, sea-lawyers, and professional douchebags and they will tell you that you can't do this, or that, and they will tell you these things in a way that suggests that you are asking for actual skin off their own backs.
Just be cool. You can get there. Best of luck to you.
abracadabra11
Member
That sounds like a whole lot of small-man syndrome. Sexy.
I normally enter the student ready-room with a roundhouse kick just to demo my hardcore military bearing. If I hear a new check-in asking Fam 0 questions, nothing like a quick NATOPS to the head to clear up any confusion. Having such a high speed low drag lifestyle is challenging sometimes, but let's just say that I live my life one IGP at a time........
utak
Registered User
Hell man, Ive already decided to show up in the ready room, already assuming the position, for my first T-1 flight.
Well, I just talked to my new recruiter. Had to get a new one because it didn't seem like I was getting anywhere with the old one. Anyway we started talking about my forms and then we got up to the issue of submitting to MEPS. I asked him if I could submit to meps again if I got rejected the first and he said he thought so as lond as I didn't get permananately disqualified. He said he had two guys with similiar issues like mine and one of them got permanantely rejected because he had suicidal thoughts and it was documented more than once. This has got me a little weary because it is similiar to my situation because I had the one instance in High School and the other was almost two years ago. Know mind you the recruiter told me that he couldn't tell me the whole case because of confidentiality and he couldn't remeber all off the case. This doesn't seem right though because suicidal thoughts seem pretty common. I'm sure alot here have had them and if everyone was rejected for having them they probably couldn't fill there pilot slots. I know someone on this forum said they had suicidal tendicies when they were applying to navy ROTC and I'm sure that the same medical screening process as OCS. I'm pretty on my record it says I had sucidal tendancies but I never planned anything and I never tried to hurt myself. I don't know I guess what I'm trying to look for is someone who has had the same experience as me and come out allright. Sorry to get so ridiculous about this but I just hate to think in one instance it is going to be all over and I'll never be able to live my dream all because of one stupid thing.
Cgoetz, For what it's worth a while back I went to the docs for what I assumed was a virus. I have always been a bit of a hypochondriac so I was a bit stressed about how I was feeling... nothing serious, but I just don't like feeling sick. The doctor then tells me I'm fine, but being stressed about feeling ill made things worse. So he then gives me an Rx for Xanax. Talk about some nasty stuff! I took that for about 2 weeks and felt like hell. I was also put on Klonopin for a little while too. I am more than a little frustrated about how I was just given this stuff, but that's another story. All in all I was on anxiety meds for a few weeks. I have NEVER been an anxious person, but I thought I'd take the docs advice and take them.
One day I decided to stop the Klonopin cold turkey... BIG MISTAKE. Nobody ever told me about tapering these types of meds. I had NASTY withdrawal symptoms... depression and all kinds of weird physical symptoms that lasted about 2 months. I lost all interest in what normally would have excited me... and even contemplated leaving my graduate degree.
Anyway... that's my story... I know it's not what you may have been looking for though.
Stick with it and keep truckin!
One day I decided to stop the Klonopin cold turkey... BIG MISTAKE. Nobody ever told me about tapering these types of meds. I had NASTY withdrawal symptoms... depression and all kinds of weird physical symptoms that lasted about 2 months. I lost all interest in what normally would have excited me... and even contemplated leaving my graduate degree.
Anyway... that's my story... I know it's not what you may have been looking for though.
Stick with it and keep truckin!
I don't know I'm hoping the recruiter did confuse the suicidal thoughts with the attempts. Like I said he had that case with the other guy and he couldn't tell me everything because its confidential. Seriously I almost felt like not applying because it just seemed like it didn't sound good. But I figured if I don't try than I have most certainly failed then.
I will say one thing though as a word of advice. If anyone is ever feeling bad or they think they are in something they just can't get out of. Talk to your family and friends before you go run off to see a doctor. You might find that things are really not that bad and after a little while you will see that everything has a habit of working out. Quite honestly looking back on what I was going through and seeing know where I am at I see it was something that could have been resolved a lot better and probably not caused me or my family so much pain, but I can't change that I have to move foward and try to make the best of it.
Just looked at the waiver guide and all I could find was a waiver for suicide attempts. There was nothing about suicidal thoughts or tendencies. I know in the report that it says talked about wanting and thinking about suicide, but I don't know if that is classified as suicidal tendancies.
Commodore Mid I know you said you got psych waivers for depression and suicidal gestures. By gestures did they mean just thoughts which is what I had or was it something that you acted out. Sorry to be so personal and I'll understand if you do not wannna talk about its just I'm trying to get some assurance. Like I said before my new recruiter that I talked to yesterday said that he had a recruit which he claimed had suicidal thoughts and was permanantly disqualified from service this however does not sound right. Also in my records the mention of suicide came up twice once for the time in High School and the other one two years ago when I dropped out of college. Only reason I ask this is because I was just wondering if the number of times it was mentioned matters.