What is your 'favorite' memory from MEPS?

September, 1969, and I was enlisting in the Marine Corps. The Army Staff Sergeant who was telling everyone how to fill out their paper work made this announcement:
"Listen up! The Marines are taking draftees this month. How do we select those going to the Marine Corps? Mess up anything on this paperwork, and you'd better start learning the words to the Marine Corps Hymn!"

On my very first visit/physical for the Army, the doctor was clicking a flashlight on and off, he said to me "bend over and spread the cheeks."

My favorite memory was leaving MEPS. My second favorite memory was leaving the Reception Station at Ft Jackson.

ooh, ooh, ooh! I got one.

We had this really intense Naval Officer monitoring the "Whiz Quiz" that a bunch of us had to take. Now, I've done that rather unpleasant task for urinalysis testing in the years since, but never was I so engrossed in the process. Never had I know ANYONE so engrossed in the gross.

This guy was at business level (you know what I mean), and so damn close to the guy at the far end, that his "pornstache" HAD to be in danger of brushing the trainee's leg. Thank God it wasn't me on that end, but here he was, fists on hips, doubled over at the waste, furrowed brow and a look of pure zealous determination in his eye. It's a wonder we all didn't get stage fright for this singular audience!

Talk about Danger Close! One sneeze; one shoulder bump from the Number 2 guy in line; one minor distraction by the pee-shooter on the firing line, and this Naval officer's face would get washed.

This was a man born to take his job too seriously. I have to believe this; that or he either did something really bad once or was bucking for something much bigger in the future to take this crappy task to new heights of seriousness. It's one thing to do the task correctly, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, but its another to go to his extreme. I don't know if I can convey just how intense his meat-gaze really was, but it's about the only thing I remember from MEPS.

As an Army recruiter, a high school senior walked up to me at school and said something like--you recruited my cousin. He said everything you told him about the Army was true. I'm a senior and I want to sign up with you. Fast forward, we're at the MEPs, this athletic kid who just might be capable of becoming a rocket-scientist because he's that smart, said, "I'm not sure I want to join."

Okay, let's go home. You can come back another time if you change your mind."
Then he said, "Arent' you gonna talk me into joining?"
"No, if you don't want to be in the Army, I don't want you in a foxhole next to me someday."

This was my constant philosophy during my three years on recruiting duty. I was determined to never recruit anybody that I wouldn't want to serve with in the future. I turned to walk away but the kid didn't follow me. So, I walk back and say.

"Now what's the matter?"
"I'm trying to decide if I'm gonna join or not."
Well, I was snacking on some M&Ms because my lunch was interrupted when the MEPs called me to come talk this kid. I had a handful of M&Ms in the little slit of a pocket of my Army skirt. Without saying a word to the kid I slowly fished around in my pocket--making a show of it to the kid. Then I pulled out two M&Ms.

"Hold out your hand." I slapped the two M&Ms into his hands without saying a word.
"What's this for?" He asked.
"They're the balls you forgot when you left home this morning son--make a damn decision. Are you joining or not? Stop wasting my time. I'm not your mother and I'm not holding your hand."
Then I walked away.

He enlisted and I ran into him a few years later at a gym on Fort Bragg. We laughed about that day in the MEPS.

I went to MEPS to take the ASVAB. Got a good score. The kid sitting next to me was straight out of high school. He kept telling his buddy how relieved and proud he was after taking the ASVAB for the third time. It was his highest score ever.
He had a 35.

After We took the oath all those that enlisted in the Marine's were put in a formation right away and right there a Gunnery Sergeant went to work on them. One recruit turned around to look at the gunny and He gave him a quick kick in the butt and responded with the phrase, "What are You looking at Boy ?" Right away at that point I was glad I enlisted in the Air Force. They gave one of our guys the records to carry, each of us got a token to take the subway to the airport and a ticket for a free meal at a restaurant at the airport. We were free until one hour before departure we had to be at the gate.

My MEPS story... I think my favorite part about the whole MEPS experience was when they were trying to take my biometrics. Emphasis on trying. They were scanning every finger and they couldn't get a useable print. The Marine trying to get my prints literally told me that if I wasn't joining the military, I might make a decent bankrobber because I wouldn't leave any fingerprints behind. It was one of those moments that kinda blew me away because I couldn't tell if they were just messing with me or not.

I was pulled out of the ASVAB testing two times to have a chest x-ray done. The first two times the x-ray tech thought he'd botched the thing. On the last one, they finally figured out my L4 and L5 vertebrae were fused from birth. I had to do tons of different exercises to prove I would be okay in Boot Camp. Then I went back to finishing the ASVAB.

Wait! There was good memories at MEPS???!!! Which one did you go to hahahaha