How should I go about the waiver statement so that I can rejoin the military?

Austin Maier — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 16:49:10 -0500

So I just began the waiver process to get in again and my recruiter just told me that I have to write a statement explaining what I did and why. Now, my Drill Sergeant put in the counseling that I refused to train and quit but that wasn't the case and I don't know whether I should just go with it and own the statement or tell the truth which is that I got kicked out for something I did.. I know that it's his word versus mine, I just kind of want to get perspective on what I should say. The truth is that I failed my PT, broke a piece of equipment and got chaptered out. The counseling says I broke a piece of equipment, then refused to train and quit. Is it better for me to just say I refused to train and quit or to say what really happened? I'm not looking to cause any problems, I know I was a shitbag of a recruit, I know what I did, I've owned it and want to do the right thing.

Also, do I make the letter short and to the point? I don't mean that in a lazy or "I don't really care" way, I mean do they want me to just get to the point or can I take a few pages to explain what I did, why I did it, why I want back in/why I think I should be allowed back in?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 14 at 2019 4:53 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 16:53:20 -0500

Why you failed.
Own why you failed.
What you've done since you failed.
Why you believe you won't fail again, and
What supports your assertion that you won't fail again.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Feb 14 at 2019 7:33 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 19:33:59 -0500

When I was Army ROTC, I wasn't able to finish the program...I submitted for everything I could after that, incl. USAF OTS...the Army ROTC faculty sent in really bad recommends saying to not let me go...I didn't handle the whole thing right, in any event, as things turned out, however, I was eager to try it again, not finishing was really gnawing at me, I'd been on 3-yr scholarship for the unit I was in, I'd passed my run time, then sprained my ankle, and couldn't run, the PMS had been willing to send me to the summer camp at Ft. Bragg, then they were all disappointed that my run time shot back up above the limit...so, when the USAF OTS board said no as a result, the recruiting staff let me appeal it...I wrote a quite detailed letter, though I went in for the wrong AFSC, as matters turned out (analogous to MOS), however, I did somehow, I never quite knew how, managed to convince them to let me attend, they were short on engineers then, so I suppose that helped...I had to go through the program twice, I got recycled once, I passed my run time at Lackland by one second, literally, I kid thee not, after that, that was when I was recycled, I made it quite literally by the skin of my teeth...the day I got back, I actually called my prior ROTC faculty, they were totally blown away, that was one of the best days I ever had...I also saw a high school voc-ed teacher I'd had for electronics, whom I gather had, I think, been USMC, he actually also let me speak with his class, that was the other one of the best days I ever had, I went to see him in uniform...so, all that being said, lemme offer you a few sage words of wisdom, quite painfully acquired over a quite protracted period...God knows, I've failed at more things than I can possibly even remotely recount for you...the sheer number of humans on this planet who'd basically like to heave a boot at my head, at the mere mention of my name positively surpasses description, defies human belief...all you can do, when you fail, is just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, say you screwed up (which, God knows, I did, in ways that also positively beggar description), admit you might've been a jerk, profusely and sincerely apologize, and just pray God is listening somehow...if I read you the litany of all the screwups I'd made over the past 35-40 yrs, we'd be on here till the next Ice Age, I assure you...believe me, I am a positive genius at screwing up, I quite literally invented new ways to do it, I'm actually quite gifted at it, so believe me, however bad you're describing was, and I'm in no way minimizing your story, by any means, if you want help to at least try to unscrew as much as possible, just ask, glad to try to suggest what I can, OK? I'm total perm disabled as a result of everything that happened, however, the sun still shines, the world revolves, continents aren't toppling into the sea, the Earth hasn't shifted off its axis, and no, Chicken Little, the sky ain't falling...so, all that again being said, give me more detail, so far as you can, elaborate so far as you're able, and I'll try to suggest what might occur to me...my Dad had a saying he was fond of..."The hardest work is looking for work"...that esp holds true for svc life, for the simple reason that it's not about what YOU want, it's about who wants YOU, honest...so, gimme whatever more info you can, school, associates, bachelors, grad school, grades, GPA, specific course titles, types of work you've done outside, levels you've been at, which svcs you've looked at thus far, what fields you'd want if you got back in, and I'll try to suggest what I can, as I'd said, OK? One good friend of mine had gone USMC enlisted, then got sent home from boot camp at Parris Island before finishing...he applied to do his bachelors at SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, and got as far as O-4 in USNR...another friend had gone Navy OCS, he was damage control on board a Perry-class fast frigate, got his captain agravated, and got sent home...another friend had been Navy 6-yr nuclear enlisted, had aggravation of his own making, and had to go electronics enlisted 6-yr instead...my Mom's Dad had been also sent home from Parris Island during WW2 just before Iwo Jima for maladjustment, he never spoke of it again, I only learned what happened much later...my Dad had a chance to go for Navy observer flight training, and passed on it, for what he thought were good reasons at the time, it gnawed at him forever, that was why he programmed myself and my next younger brother to go in (the brother had been USMMA Kings Point, I commissioned him when he finished, he had his own aggravations in the Marchant Marine, as well as while USNR)...and, my best friend from USAF, who'd been a VMI AFROTC grad, wasn't allowed to stay in, it didn't bother him, though, he'd had enough, and went back for his Ph.D....so, trust me, I haven't seen everything, however, I've seen a good deal, I've been around just about every single bureaucratic block this planet has to offer, and bollixed up more, as I'd said, than I can even recall...short of you destroying the universe, depending on what you want to accomplish, how realistic you are in your ambitions, and how much you're willing to work, you can always at least TRY to salvage a screwup, trust me, been there, done that (BTDT)...I hope that helps, at least, in any event, if you wanna chat, I'm here, just send me what you can, whenever you're able, and I'll try to give you my thoughts about it, OK? My Dad had a couple of other adages he was fond of: "The only mistakes you really learn from are the ones that cost you", and "The most valuable personality trait is persistence"...I could give you a virtual litany of other philosophical gems I've acquired, all equally pithy, however, hopefully, I at least basically conveyed my point...I'm here anytime if you wanna yak more, OK?

Response by CW4 Craig Urban made Feb 14 at 2019 11:21 PM

CW4 Craig Urban — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 23:21:18 -0500

You have a lack of discipline

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Feb 15 at 2019 2:07 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 14:07:36 -0500

http://www.vetadvocates.org

And look up these guys, NOVA, hey do mainly disability, however, hey might have ideas who does discharge review board (DRB) traveling team law, DRB is through VA, if you wamna try for a discharge mod or upgrade...here are also the Board for Correction of Mil/Naval Records, using DD Form 149, I've known about such things for a long time...look up also eVetRecs, the Natl Archives Java applet website for the Natl Personnel Records Ctr (NPRC) in St. Louis, fill out the site, print the form it gives you, don't lose it, sign and date of, add a cover letter of need be, store the ref nu!Ber somewhere, email, phone, wherever, and get all your records, admin as well as med/dental, so you actually have a copy of all of it, you'll need time for the request to be processed, you need to fax the form in signed and dated, or NPRC can't process you, if you haven't got your file stuff, trust me, get all of it, so you can show it to recruiters or anyone else needed, OK? The BCMR/BCNR thing takes a LONG, LONG time, DRB, I know it exists, I've just never used it, there's gonna be a VA form for it, search for it using Google, or call [login to see] , the main VA phone line, they do pick up, of just takes a fair while, follow the prompts, they're a pain, however, you'll eventually get an answer, ask the phone staff about the DRB form if need be, their traveling team will meet at the VA regional Ofc (VARO) NY you, get am attorney, and do it right, that stuff is most definitely NOT a!ateur night, you can also try the major vet groups, or law school vet law clinics, the vet groups are free, all are good, law school vet clinics don't always take everybody, that's up to the law school faculty, not the law students doing the legwork, obv, OK?

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