MEPS and DEP - Two of our First Navy Acronyms

Not long after our intial meeting with the recruiter, our son had his appointment at MEPS. MEPS is the Military Entrance and Processing Station. MEPS is where an applicant is screened to determine whether he or she is eligible to enlist in the United States Armed Services. All branches of the military are represented in each MEPS building. There are 65 MEPS in the United States and its territories.

Our son was told that he would be taken to the nearest MEPS, which was an hour away from our home. He would be given dinner, a hotel room, then awakened early the next morning for a day that would include testing, interviews, a job assignment, and an enlistment oath. The recruiter encouraged us to come for the enlistment ceremony so we could see our son swear in. He also assured us that our son would be safe at the MEPS hotel. We found this amusing. fter all, he was going to join the Navy, which by definition is not a safe job...

We've always made an effort to be present for our boys' activities and awards ceremony. For a time in our life, it seemed like every day we had a game, an awards ceremony, or a field trip. So it was sad for us when we discovered that our son's MEPS visit would take place while Mr. Dasch was out of the country with another of our sons. The most important day of his life, and only mom would be there.

But I was going to be there. The recruiter told me to be there at 9:30.

The afternoon before the visit, our son left for the recruiter's office. In about 30 minutes, he was back home. He had forgotten his clothes. Panicked, he drove back to the office, where his amused recruiter took him to MEPS to begin initial processing. He checked him into a hotel, and our son had a roommate for the evening. They both woke up at 3:30, and ate breakfast.

Our son has always been an unusually healthy eater. This morning, he drank several glasses of juice, instead of the coffee and soda that some of the other boys were drinking. For once, that was the wrong thing to do. When I got to MEPS at 9:30, our boy was waiting to have a second sugar test done; the juice made his sugar high - something that had never happened to him before.

And I had forgotten a book. After reading all the military reading material in the waiting room, I watched a Lifetime movie with all the other bored individuals waiting with me. Just when it was getting really interesting - and rather explicit - the MEPS receptionist came and changed the channel.

Finally, our son was cleared to proceed. He went back to meet with a Navy job counselor. She matched his ASVAB scores to the jobs that were available at the time, and gave a choice. Our son chose CE - Construction Electrician. He was going to be a Seabee!

In a bit, they invited me back to review the contract. I took a video of our son signing his life over to the Navy. The I took a picture of the recruiters and our son. And then our camera died! The swearing in ceremony was next, and I was really sad that I wasn't going to be able to take pictures.

There were only two recruits with family at the swearing in. I was there with a grandfather - a Veteran - and his wife. They had come to see their grandson swear in to the Marines. After a very inspirational and well delivered speech by a young Army officer that I declare was only 12 years old, the recruits were asked to raise their right hands and swear. The grandfather cried during the oath; it truly was a moving moment.

The good news is that pictures can only be taken after the actual swearing in, and that kind grandmother (with her old fashioned disposible camera), offered to take our pictures and send them to me. Which she did.

Unlike some of the recruits at MEPS, our son didn't ship the same day he swore in. He entered what is known as DEP, the Delayed Entry Program. His 'ship' date was still seven months away. Until that time, he would attend bi-weekly DEP meetings and keep his nose clean.

But driving away from MEPS it hit me. My son had joined the Navy. He really was going to leave us.

And I began to learn that Navy pride hurts.