Posted on Feb 14, 2019
How should I go about the waiver statement so that I can rejoin the military?
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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?
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?
Waivers
Posted 5 y ago
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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.
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.
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Austin Maier
Thank you so much 1SG! I've truly learned my lesson and I have spent the last several weeks in the gym busting my butt to make the cut! I was over weight when I went in last time I won't be this time. Even if I'm denied this time, I plan to keep fighting until I get in! I won't give up!
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Austin Maier
Yes SGT! I don’t deny what I did and I truly have learned my lesson. 1SG said to state the reason that supports my assertion I won’t fail again and the answer is because I now have hit rock bottom and I will do whatever it takes to not be here again! My cousin is a O-2 in the Air Force and he said failure is only acceptable if you learn from it and don’t repeat your failures. I won’t repeat my failures. SGT Eric Davis
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Austin Maier
Chief for awhile there I did. I went in there thinking I knew something when I didn’t know jack. Red Phase was a BIG eye opener for me. At one point I did something that was right but I knew I shouldn’t have and that was when it clicked. But, too little too late. I won’t go in with that mindset again. I’m determined to make it through and be a soldier. CW4 Craig Urban
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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?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Incidentally, here's one of my favorite adages, one I coined, I think: I've rarely learned from those who succeeded; I most often learned from those who failed, and failed, and failed. Failure is truly the greatest teacher...I'll tell you a couple of funny true stories, OK? My Dad had wanted to be a linotype operator as a kid, he loved printing, that was state of the art back then...there was a linotype place near him and his family, he got work there...one day, the owner said, "Charlie, there's some snow falling outside, get a broom and dust it off, will ya?" Now my Dad, not being any too bright that day, instead of being a good little munchkin, and just doing that trivial, piddling little chore, chimed right back, "I'm here to be a printer, not a snow shoveler" (great quip, no?) Anyway, the owner, totally nonplussed by that genius remark on my Dad's part, chimed right back with equal fervor, "You're not a snow shoveler, you're not a printer, you're fired" Needless to say, that positively made my Dad's day, you understand...Another time, he'd been with TWA back when it existed, he was one day away from being put on the union rolls permanently as an aircraft mechanic, after 4 yrs Navy...anyway, he had to take off that day, or, rather, he didn't really had to, however, he'd had something to do, and figured it was not big deal...the next day, he walked in, and was something like 4 hrs away from finishing, and getting on the permanent union rolls, when he got laid off...obviously, he was as equally unthrilled as he was with the whole linotype episode, you understand...I think I also related already that he'd walked away from Navy observer flight training which existed when he'd been in, which ALWAYS bugged him, DEFINITELY...one day, my uncle, a brilliant guy who'd been a SSgt radio operator for Gen Eisenhower at SHAEF during WW2, called my Dad, and cried into the phone, "Charlie, I've been fired, what am I gonna tell Ruth?" (my aunt, my second Mom, basically). My Dad very wisely said to my uncle, "Abe, you're the luckiest guy in the world"...my uncle stopped, dead silent on the phone, and, after a few seconds, rather impolitely asked my Dad if he was crazy...my Dad, for his part, said no, he wasn't, and here was why: My uncle, like my Dad, was now one of those lucky few who'd known exactly where bottom was...so, my Dad said to my Uncle, "Abe, at least you've hit bottom, at the moment, that might positively suck, of course, however, at least you have the rather mixed satisfaction of knowing it can't get any worse, you know?" My Dad then said, "Abe, everybody needs to be fired, just at least once, just to take the wind out of their sails, honest...trust me, you'll hate me today for telling you that, but you'll agree with me in years to come"...now, my Uncle eventually finished as VP of a drapery company for home furnishing stuff, so, while he didn't eventually become CEO of GM, which he most definitely had the talent to do, the world didn't go crashing down around his head forever, OK? I just figured I'd relate those little anecdotes, if only to give you some measure of perspective...if you wanna yak more, as I'd said, just ask, I'm here, OK?
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Austin Maier
Thank you so much for your words of wisdom and encouragement, Sir! You have no clue how much they mean to me! Being in the service has been a dream of mine since I was 5! Recruiter has told me that this process is a long one but I’m in it for the long haul. I will most definitely reach out and keep you in the loop for things!Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
It's fine, I saw that other thing you'd sent, I sent something short back...if you can, elaborate, school, goals, aspirations, associates, bachelor's, grad school, grades, GPAs, majors in undergrad, what you ultimately would want, senior enlisted, warrant, commissioned active duty for the full 20 yrs, Guard, Reserve, AGR, Guard Tech, Reserve Tech, where you're dual jat, state or Federal civil servant, wearing the uniform yet being civil servant during the week, drilling on weekends for the other two...if you'd want help on military schools, depending on what state you're in, look up the state maritime colleges, also junior military colleges, VMI, the Citadel, also, the academy prep schools for Army, Navy, and USAF, how much STEM coursework you've had, AP credits in high school, hobbies, interests, reading, sports, incl any martial arts, the more you gave all of is, the more we can suggest., comp sci (CS), IT, cyber, math, physics, engineering, chem, bio, be exact and as specific as possible, rememner, in doing a biosketch, treat it as a verbal resume, civilian work, your level, how many years, whether you've supervised, whether you can get decent recommends, charity do holder stuff you've done, incl church type groups, whatever you can give to allow a decent framing of your mind, personality, and background, you don't need to go into specifics, you can keep it quite general, leaving out where, who, when, so forth, the main things are the what and the why, what svcs you've looked at, which ones interest you most, specific programs in each that esp interest you, mainly, your preferences so far as you can make a wish list, getting any of it is a different matter, obv, for now, just explain all that, I'll try to give you some thoughts as to how to try to get there, others on here would have an easier time trying to do likewise, as well, no rush, type it out on a word processor, then paste it in here, or send it as you did the other thing, as a link, OK? Hopefully, that should give you a fairly decent clue of what might help all of us try to help you, OK?
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