What is in The Army Enrollment Process

Signing up to join the Army is a long, involved process that can take weeks or even months to complete. If you are signing up for the Army because you are running away from something or someone, or if you are in dire financial straits and are joining to start earning money quickly, then you might want to rethink your options. You must take the process seriously, do your research, and ask questions! Keep in mind, however, that the information contained here is only to give you an idea of what to expect from your first step in getting that Army career. The process changes often and can vary according to the location, time, and the specific circumstances of the potential Army recruit.

First and foremost, you need to do your research. Talk to those that have been through the process to get a better understanding of what will happen. Keep in mind though, that each person’s experience will be different and that someone who joined the Army 20 years ago will have had a different experience than someone who joined 10 years ago and their experience will be different than someone who joined last year (you see where I’m going with this?). So, even though you want to get information from a variety of sources, you want to make sure that your information is up to date. The internet is full of resources for potential recruits, so use that to your advantage. Also, ask your recruiter plenty of questions. They may not always be up front with you, as they are trying to “sell” you on the Army, but they can answer your questions more directly than a website can, and they can give you additional resources to study. Among the things you’ll need to research ahead of time are; which MOS (Military Occupational Specialty, i.e. job) you want, the level of physical fitness you will need in the Army and what you can do to prepare for that, and the documents that you will be required to have in order to sign up.

Once you have done your research and have an idea what you want to do, then you can talk seriously with your recruiter about getting things done, rather than simply gathering information. The recruiter will lead you through this process, so there shouldn’t be too many surprises for you at this point. You will need to take some tests, with the most important one being the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). Your score on this test will determine what MOS you are eligible for. There is also a minimum score you must attain simply to join in any MOS. This isn’t just a test of your intelligence, but a test of simple skills and comprehension. If you wish to prepare before taking the real thing there are plenty of study guides out there. Your recruiter will also likely give you a practice ASVAB to get an idea of what your score will be and if you will need any assistance improving your score. If you are interested in an MOS that includes language training, you will also take the DLAB (Defense Language Aptitude Battery), but there is really no way to study for this test. There are practice tests out there if you want to see what it’s like, but it doesn’t measure your ability at languages but rather your ability to learn new languages (they use their own made-up language for the test). Your score on the DLAB will determine which difficulty level of foreign languages you are qualified to learn. In the end, however, it is up to the recruiter to ensure that you are sufficiently prepared for any tests you will have to take.

It is also up to the recruiter to make sure that there aren’t any extenuating circumstances that could prevent you from being eligible to join the Army or will negatively affect your performance. However, you should be up front with your recruiter about anything that could cause problems later. You don’t want to be six months into the process only to find out that you aren’t eligible because of something you should have brought up earlier. All of your official tests and exams and paperwork will be completed at your nearest MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station), which is used by all branches of the Military. You may have to make several trips to MEPS to complete the entry process, so don’t be surprised if this happens. At MEPS they will also conduct your medical and psychological examinations. These are extremely in-depth and invasive so be prepared to cast aside your modesty and answer all their questions truthfully. Trust me, it’s in your best interest to be honest with them, even if it means you will be turned down for admission into the Army. There is a reason for the standards, so don’t take them lightly. There will also be a Urinalysis (drug test) at MEPS, so if this may be a problem for you, stop doing drugs now. If you can’t pass the Urinalysis, you don’t get into the Army. MEPS is also where your paperwork is finalized and you sign that all-important contract and you are officially sworn into the Army. At any point before this you can back out (regardless of what your recruiter might tell you), but once you have signed your contract you cannot simply quit. So you need to make sure that everything you want is in that contract and that you are sure of your decision before you sign.

It goes without saying that once you ship off to Basic Training, you won’t have regular access to phones, internet, and the like. If you have family or friends that depend upon you, you must make sure that their needs are met prior to shipping out. You will get your date for Basic Training far enough in advance to take care of your personal affairs, so make good use of this time. Make sure your family and friends know what to expect as well. If there are no slots available for your particular MOS right away (as will most likely be the case) you will be enrolled into DEP (Delayed Entry Program) which is basically just a pre-training program to get you prepared for the Army. Your recruiter may set up regular “training sessions” for you during your DEP time, or he may allow you to train at your own pace. It really just depends on how involved the recruiter wants to get in preparing you.

Once you ship off to Basic Training, your life will get a lot more interesting. Basic Training lasts 9 weeks, unless your MOS uses OSUT (One Station Unit Training). OSUT incorporates Basic Training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) into one, so check to see if your MOS utilizes OSUT training or not. Following Basic Training you will be transferred to AIT, which is usually on an entirely different base. This AIT training is specific to your MOS and is where you learn the skills necessary to do your job while also re-emphasizing basic Soldier skills learned during Basic Training. The length of AIT can vary according to MOS from just a few weeks training to as much as a year or more so do your research on this. Your training will start out with your drill sergeants exerting complete control over you, but you will gradually be allowed more freedoms as you progress through different phases of Basic Training and then AIT. Once you finish AIT you are ready to join the “real Army” at your first duty station. At this point, it’s all in the hands of you and your new Unit to make sure you are prepared to do your job and do it well.