How long might it take me to enlist as prior service?

2018-07-19T02:19:29-04:00

I have been working with an Army recruiter for a few months now. We have submitted all documents and I believe we are just waiting on Navy Ops to SPF some of my original recruit documents to Army OPS at MEPS. I was told this is the final step and that after the SPF documents are received, my prescreen just needs to be approved. It has been almost 4 weeks since the SPF request. Has anyone done this before? I am trying to stay motivated. The process is taking longer than I had previously Experienced. Can anyone give any insight? Thank you.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2018 9:37 AM

2018-07-19T09:37:46-04:00

A SPF can unfortunately take up to a month or more simply because you are waiting on the other MEPS to release their “ownership” of your records and although it generally takes about a month it could take longer because sometimes the MEPS are not in a hurry to release your records.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Jul 19 at 2018 6:44 PM

2018-07-19T18:44:26-04:00

OK enlisting as Prior Service a couple of things you need to realize.
1. They do not want to ship you from the MEPS until at least all your records are in order and they can put together an electronic Ship Packet. This is mainly for your protection but also eliminates massive headaches later on. From your description, that is what is going on with you now.
2. They would rather not ship you until there is a slot open in your MOS that you can be assigned to, if you need to attend BCT again think about lining up a BCT date with AIT with arrival at your first unit. Sometimes that takes time to align. When I enlisted as PS in 1984 they shipped me to a transition point for several weeks until a slot opened in Europe that also lined up with a flight from CONUS to Europe (thankfully I did not need additional training and I was a direct ship) That took them three weeks after I enlisted and it was three weeks at Ft Dix mowing the grass, guard duty and other nonsense. I had to wait another three days in Germany for the space on the train to Northern Germany so I could ship to my future unit. That sucked as well.

Response by SSG Dennis O'Connor Jr. made Jul 22 at 2018 2:00 PM

2018-07-22T14:00:44-04:00

I was prior service as well (army enlisting for army) so my situation is slightly different then yours. My process took almost four months although half that was due to some idiot in S1 "losing" my packet for about two months. I called my recruiter every day for a couple months until action was taken and the process picked up speed. Ultimately the recruiting BN CSM personally walked my packet through its path at the BN. My advice? Keep the faith, stay motivated, stay fit, and prepare. I can only imagine army basic training is different from navy so get prepared

Response by PFC Anthony Larson made Oct 5 at 2018 9:14 AM

2018-10-05T09:14:26-04:00

Qhat documents did your recruiter expect from you when you went back to visit him. High school diploma, dd 214 I'm I responsible for my medical records, and anything else?

Response by LTC Charles T Dalbec made May 23 at 2019 10:03 AM

2019-05-23T10:03:54-04:00

Documentation at times maybe list and hard to find. Thus be patient!!