Enlistment Odyssey

[tallone]

Does anyone care to share how long they have waited on an NGB med review?
Some here have mentioned they have waited for a year. I am going on 6 months now. I called my recuiter again and he still says he hasnt heard anythng.

[louis.quinones]

Does anyone care to share how long they have waited on an NGB med review?
Some here have mentioned they have waited for a year. I am going on 6 months now. I called my recuiter again and he still says he hasnt heard anythng.
what were you being reviewed for? call another recruiter and get his opinion or request that the recruiter call someone higher to find status but I know from experience reviews and extreme waivers take their course

[tallone]

A few issues, nothing major. I was just reaching out to hear of other peoples time spent waiting. Keeps the hope alive.

The weird thing is, I also tried the reserves while waiting for word from the NGB. I sent in my paperwork to the Army reserve recruiter who sent it to MEPS for a review. They would not allow me to take the physical. Which is weird, because I sent the exact same paperwork to my national guard recruiter, and I was allowed to take a physical in Feb 08.

The army reserve station commander told me they cant submit a medical waiver unless I had been given a physical. Go figure.

[louis.quinones]

A few issues, nothing major. I was just reaching out to hear of other peoples time spent waiting. Keeps the hope alive.

The weird thing is, I also tried the reserves while waiting for word from the NGB. I sent in my paperwork to the Army reserve recruiter who sent it to MEPS for a review. They would not allow me to take the physical. Which is weird, because I sent the exact same paperwork to my national guard recruiter, and I was allowed to take a physical in Feb 08.

The army reserve station commander told me they cant submit a medical waiver unless I had been given a physical. Go figure.
Didnt you go to MEPs when you were trying for the guard; hence the medical review? I know some who have waited over a year. With the needs now and days, shocking that its taking so long but again if you really want this, start using your other civil servents (politicians)

[matthew.ritchie]

Does anyone care to share how long they have waited on an NGB med review?
Some here have mentioned they have waited for a year. I am going on 6 months now. I called my recuiter again and he still says he hasnt heard anythng.

A little background on medical waivers. The med waiver section at Bureau put in place an electronic tracking system (GEMR) a few years ago to eliminate this sort of thing. A recruiter packages the documentation, and scans it into GEMR at MEPS. It's assigned a tracking number. Every time something happens with that med waiver, it's logged with the name of who touched it, and the date/time stamp. The med waiver section at Bureau prides itself on an average response time of two weeks -- occasionally, they can respond the same day. Note: "Response" doesn't necessarily mean "resolution," because sometimes they need more info to make a determination. About 30 days or so after their response with no action taken by the recruiter, they delete the waiver request.

What does this mean for me?

Ensure that you comply fully and immediately with any and all requests for info from your recruiter.
Ask your recruiter politely but firmly to see the GEMR printout, proving that he has indeed submitted your request into the med waiver system. Gathering documentation isn't the same as submitting a waiver. If it's not in GEMR, it's not a med waiver request.
If after two weeks you haven't heard from him, politely but firmly enquire of the status. It's not a mystery, the answer is in GEMR. One quick phone call (or visit) to MEPS answers the question.
If you have no resolution after 30 days, be very concerned. You may wish to get your recruiter's supervisor (NCOIC) involved. This is not so you can throw your recruiter under the bus, but because your recruiter may need technical training on the waiver procedures -- or he may need a kick in the rump, both of which an E8 is qualified to administer.


Remember, this is your life, and you can't expect anyone to work harder on it than you do.

[tallone]

Thank you Major for this, and the other advice you have provided. I am actually going to call my recruiter and read this to him verbatim.