How long does it take MEPS to process medical documents?

Callie Campbell — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 23:50:02 -0400

I made the decision to join the US AF I’m excited and ready to go but I’m playing a waiting game right now. I had a bad accident when I was 10(20 now) and broke both of my legs. I have no problems with them now, no limitations and have been cleared by doctors. I retrieved ALL of my medical documents from the hospital and physical therapy which ended up being over 2,000 pages. My recruiter has to send them to MEPS and they have to review and process them. I asked her about how long it would take and the only answer I got was “a while”. I want a little more specifics on what “a while” is. I’ve already taken my ASVAB and scored well on it and my recruiter said that I can’t go to MEPS and get my physical until they’ve processed those records. Any advice, comments, or experience with a similar situation would be greatly appreciated.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 7 at 2019 2:37 AM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 02:37:44 -0400

177 pages or more which is 30 days or greater.

Response by James Stroup made Oct 7 at 2019 3:25 AM

James Stroup — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 03:25:07 -0400

It is probably going to take several weeks. I had a brain surgery in 2011 for a symptomless mass, had no neurological problems before or after the surgery. Took about 6-7 weeks for them to clear me to even go to MEPS this summer. Passed MEPS on everything except the surgery history, so now I need a medical waiver. Been waiting on an official med waiver since mid-August. No one can really give a definitive answer on how long it will take. My understanding is that the OTSG has to go through all waiver requests for everyone in the country and in the order that they come in, so it can take a while. My experience with the recruitment process has been a lot of "hurry up and wait," so just be patient. (Also, not sure how different USAF would be, but I'm going Army officer route).

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Oct 7 at 2019 10:57 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 10:57:17 -0400

As long as it takes. You are one of 100+ or even 1k+ waiting on waivers/reviews. The service will never march to your time line, but you will march to theirs.

Response by Kiersten Childs made Oct 17 at 2019 4:36 PM

Kiersten Childs — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:36:05 -0400

It depends. I have screws in my ankle from an injury when I was twelve and it took me five months to get my medical records approved. I'm finally going to MEPS next week. The more up-to-date and detailed records you provide the better. Your ASVAB score doesn't matter when it comes to getting medical records approved. The ASVAB only helps you when it comes to choosing your actual job.

Response by Christian McCormick made Nov 24 at 2020 12:16 PM

Christian McCormick — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 12:16:13 -0500

Hey I’m in the same boat I see you posted this a year ago any updates ??