Before the Navy

Congratulations — you’ve made the cut. You’re off to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Sharpen your mind — if you’ve not already taken it, there will be an aptitude test, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). And to ensure you’re in shipshape condition, there’s a physical exam. Don’t sweat it. The Navy just needs to know you’ve got what it takes — mentally and physically. After all, you are seeking to join the most powerful Navy on the planet.

Click on these links to see what you can expect at MEPS:

• Prescreening With Your Recruiter
• Your Arrival at MEPS
• Medical History and Physical Exam
• Career Classifier
• The Pre-Enlistment Interview
• Oath of Enlistment Ceremony

Prescreening With Your Recruiter

Before arriving at MEPS, your recruiter will fill out a medical prescreening report and forward it to the medical personnel at MEPS for review. After it is reviewed, they will give your recruiter the thumbs-up to schedule your first visit to MEPS.

Your Arrival at MEPS

If you have not already done so, you will take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) to determine, among other things, which careers you qualify for based on your aptitude to be trained for those careers. There are commercially-produced ASVAB information/study guides available at book/computer stores and on line.

You might want to bring something to read when you go to MEPS because you’ll probably have some downtime.

You’ll also have to bring several items with you to MEPS. Here is a list of items to bring.

Medical History and Physical Exam

Your MEPS physical will begin with the Report of Medical History — information about your current or past medical conditions (if any). The next thing you’ll do is undergo lab work (basic blood and urinalysis testing) and hearing and vision exams. You’ll have your height and weight recorded, and you’ll perform some simple flexibility tests. Finally, you’ll talk to a doctor about your medical history.

Selecting Your Career

After you’ve completed your medical evaluation, you’ll be sent to your Career Classifier to select a Navy career. If you’re not sure what you want to do, take some time now, before seeing a recruiter, or going to MEPS, and visit the Life Accelerator™, where your interests will be matched to Navy careers. You can save the results to your account and print them out later. Whether or not you know what you want to do, your results will contain information that may point you toward careers you may not even know about.

The Pre-Enlistment Interview

You’re almost done. The next-to-last step at MEPS is the Pre-Enlistment Interview, where you will be asked questions about your background. If any additional testing is required for your career selection, this is when it will be performed.

After you are finished with your interview, you and your Navy counselor will review and sign your enlistment contract before you take the Oath of Enlistment.

Oath of Enlistment Ceremony

The final step is the Oath of Enlistment ceremony. This is the fun part — you’re swearing in to the U.S. Navy. Invite your family and friends, and tell them to bring cameras and plenty of film. While waiting for the ceremony to begin, you’ll be shown how to stand at attention and versed on the Oath of Enlistment. Once you’re ready, you’ll be taken to the MEPS ceremony room, where a commissioned Officer will conduct the Oath of Enlistment. When you’ve finished, you’ll be that much closer to becoming a Sailor. Next stop, Recruit Training.