Meps issue, advice for flight physical

[lawilm]

**best to go down to my revamped post a couple ones down different information**

[I3uller]

Getting through MEPS is the hardest part honestly. The flight physical is much more relaxed and straight forward and anything that comes up there, you probably won't be able to fix anyways (something wrong with blood work etc.). Keep on pushing through MEPS and don't worry too much about the flight physical. Someone I went with had an issue with her wisdom teeth and ended up being DQ'd for some sort of refraction issue in her eyes, I'm not sure exactly, but I don't really think there's much you can do to really prepare for the flight physical besides fasting like they tell you. Be sure to have all the paperwork you have from your MEPS adventure so you can explain everything to the flight surgeon but it's generally a much more "human" process.

[lawilm]

l3uller, thank you for that information and it is very good to hear. I do have one other question I got this document the recruiter sent talking about people doing initial flight physicals etc need dental records etc. Now Meps didnt' do anything about my teeth etc. My recruiter seems to think that is for Active duty only. Does anyone who going civilian route know what if any dental documentation I should bring with me to the flight physical?

 

I have had a xray and cleaning fairly recently but I do still have my wisdom teeth. Not sure if that is good or bad.

[PhrogGuy]

l3uller, thank you for that information and it is very good to hear. I do have one other question I got this document the recruiter sent talking about people doing initial flight physicals etc need dental records etc. Now Meps didnt' do anything about my teeth etc. My recruiter seems to think that is for Active duty only. Does anyone who going civilian route know what if any dental documentation I should bring with me to the flight physical?

 

I have had a xray and cleaning fairly recently but I do still have my wisdom teeth. Not sure if that is good or bad.

No. They do one of those 360 xrays to check for your Dental status. I brought both of my military health records (medical and dental) and didn't use either one.

[I3uller]

Ya you won't need any dental records. You might get some flak for having your wisdom teeth but if they aren't immediately causing any problems you should be ok.

[lawilm]

I certainly have not felt them cause me any issues yet but if I end up needing to have them yanked I'll waste no time to do so if so advised.

[amhenry]

I certainly have not felt them cause me any issues yet but if I end up needing to have them yanked I'll waste no time to do so if so advised.

 

I had the issues with wisdom teeth (and had them taken out a couple weeks ago). I never felt any issues with them either, but I'd say don't worry about it. I have barely enough room for all the normal teeth in my mouth, and they were concerned about potential infections in the future, so the dentist put me down as Class III. Even with a note from the flight doc saying it wasn't a disqualifying condition, Rucker kicked it back. As long as it doesn't say Class III anywhere on the paperwork you shouldn't have any issues.

And agreed with I3uller and PhrogGuy, no one ever asked to see previous dental paperwork.

[lawilm]

(Sorta rewriting the information as I have learned more and started putting the pieces together from my visit and what is going on now).

 

The saga continues and I am seriously starting to loose sleep over this after reading more into it. Guys I am just absolutely becoming very bent about this entire thing. Let me give some more information about what happened and what I have learned (This may help someone else in the future).

 

My situation for WOFT has suddenly gotten very dark and grim and I fear may come to an end from what I am reading.

As some of you on the Forum know me I am a 28 year old in good health and no medical issues. I am currently a Swat Team Commander and assigned to a Federal Agency as their Tactical Team Commander. I have never swayed to being untruthful with the Military and have no intentions of doing so.In my job my integrity is an absolute must and would never want to jeopardize it. I have completed my Asvab, Sift and everything ever asked of me within 24 hours of it being needed and have scored well.

 

As above mentioned in my original post there is some details I did not include and something I have found out about the last two days of research on this issue.

 

I went to MEPS a week ago and during my first physical with one doctor we went through my records, my two things where previous PRK surgery and a kidney stone from 8 years ago I passed naturally (due to horrible soda based diet, never again trust me). Anyhow the doctor looked over my records from the hospital when I went there and asked me did I know the size of the stone? I said well honestly they were pretty sure it was a stone based off the symptoms but never actually "got a stone" or found it on an xray and I may have already passed it. I knew in the past of hearing war stories of people with 10 mm and 13 mm stones. The doctor (whom is from India and I struggled to understand him) said possibly 5 mm's? I said well perhaps I guess he handed me my record while he wrote and I looked through and saw nothing about the size of the stone. I said yeah I have no idea, he then told me to sign the forms.. After signing the forms he then opened another book and went through a list and said any stone greater than 4mm is a DQ and would need a waiver. I was absolutely shocked and blown away by this, it almost seemed like he set me up for failure. I said "sir that is odd I mean I have no idea and no way to ever prove it, I passed it naturally and never have ever had a single episode after it. I also have been checked on several occasions during checkups and never had anything going on in my urinary tract.

He proceeded to mumble about getting some other things done. I proceeded to complete my full meps physical and met with the final doctor. The final doctor reviewed my file and then stated the only thing I needed to do was provide a recent Refraction dated after the date of my visit at meps (as they did not have an optometrist on duty). He stated that I could either get it done locally or I could come back to do one. The final Doctor then clearly stated "After this is done your file will be closed and you will be good to go I see no other issues.". At this point I figured that perhaps the previous issue must have been resolved. On my way home I stopped in to an optometrist and got my refraction information updated and sent it to Meps via my Recruiter the following day.

Two days ago I receive a Certified Letter from Meps stating that I was not qualified for Military Service based of a History of a Kidney Stone. I immediately drove to the recruiter to share the letter who was equally shocked. He reviewed his records and show that you just could not have had a stone in 12 months. The stone was 2005 ( I passed meps in 2008 for Marine Officer Program but did not pursue it due to my career at the time) and here in 2013 I was denied? So I did further research and see that in 2011 an update went out saying that anything over 4mm is a DQ (requires waivers as we all know can be very hard to get).

I feel very much that I was talked into saying this, I walked in there with no intention of hiding anything and it seems odd that a Doctor would DQ me or write this up based solely off my word of speculation when even the Doctors at the time never got a shot to look at it. Finally I looked into the reason why this was passed and it is stated that 5mm or greater is something that requires surgical intervention due to being too large to "fit through the hole" for a lack of a better word. I can say that I passed it without the need of any surgery and came into the hospital with pain but had passed it at some point.

All that being said and understanding how little effort I can expect out of my recruiter based off previous dealings with him, what should I do? How do I fight this? This is not a situation where I gave a document saying otherwise based solely off a "I have no clue". If I had known the information or have ever thought a Doctor was trying to set me up for failure I would have never "speculated" for him., the documents are there and who knows maybe it wasn't a stone as far as the documents show (of course its fairly likely it was)

I am sorry for the long post but this thing is really bothering me and I have invested so much in it to be stonewalled by underhandedness. The worst part is nothing will go on from here until Tuesday due to the holiday weekend. To think someone likely signed my fate with a stroke of a pen and could very possibly be wrong to start with. I will fight for the unlikely waiver if that's the only option I am left with but if you guys know something I haven't found I am all ears, even if there is a way to fight the what the Doctor indicated on the writeup?

 

Sorry for the long post guys and thank you all again for your information and support. This group has been an excellent resource.

[Lindsey]

Wow. This has definitely been an ongoing saga for you; I know how it feels.

 

I'd say give Mr. Garcia at Rucker a call. He's the Point of Contact for Civilians regarding the flight physical - while you are still at the MEPS level, he may actually care about your situation since you are a WOFT applicant - unlike some MEPS personnel who just couldn't give two shits. His phone number is posted on the USAREC WOFT page and is (334)598-8955. Even if he can't pull any strings, he may know a guy who knows a guy who can help you.

 

If he can't get you anything on Tuesday, let me know and I'll wrack my brain to see what else I can come up with.

[lawilm]

Wow. This has definitely been an ongoing saga for you; I know how it feels.

 

I'd say give Mr. Garcia at Rucker a call. He's the Point of Contact for Civilians regarding the flight physical - while you are still at the MEPS level, he may actually care about your situation since you are a WOFT applicant - unlike some MEPS personnel who just couldn't give two shits. His phone number is posted on the USAREC WOFT page and is (334)598-8955. Even if he can't pull any strings, he may know a guy who knows a guy who can help you.

 

If he can't get you anything on Tuesday, let me know and I'll wrack my brain to see what else I can come up with.

 

I called that number for got a generic answering machine. I wonder if that number is listed incorrectly.

[akscott60]

Man that sucks. On the bright side, you have a great job.

 

Trust me when I say this. For every one guy trying to get in, there is at least one trying to get out.

[lawilm]

I appreciate your feedback. My recruiter and I have been talking today. They are having their staff to start digging into this matter right now. A good point made was if someone came in with paperwork saying they had a 20 mm stone and the person said maybe a 1 mm stone who do they believe ? The person apparently.

 

In the meantime while we gather our case for MEPS to reconsider their information I am having my documentation reviewed by a couple specialist who will also give their medical opinion that A. It does not indicate a size of a stone, or that if in fact a stone was ever present. B. That it would have been unlikely to naturally have passed in a short period of time with little warning a stone of 5mm or greater.

 

The waiver option (which the recruiters pointed out may not be so bad due to the extreme discretion in this case) would be an option though of course we prefer to get this fixed the right way.

[UnitedWeStand111]

Best of luck OP. I know the frustration of dealing with MEPS, they can DQ you with the stroke of a pen. I'd go for the no-waiver route if at all possible due to the current recruiting climate. SBuzzkill is right, and you have an awesome job it sounds like. As an aside, my friend just got out after first enlistment as an 18C. Other friend was Ranger qual'd Infantry officer w/ three tours. They both said the grass is always greener on the other side, and now is not a good time. I'm an ignorant civvie who got pdq'd so take this with a grain of salt.