Hurry Up And Wait

“Hurry up and wait,” it’s the official unofficial motto of the United States Military. “Why?” you ask. Well one can’t simply walk into a recruiter’s office and declare that they want to go off and serve their country and one scene later you’re in basic. No that would be too easy. At least my experience wasn’t like that. After meeting with my new recruiter a few times and deciding to go the enlisted route as a Pararescue Jumper, I began the arduous process of compiling my packet. Providing my SS card, High School Diploma, College Transcripts, Driver’s License, my previous traffic accidents, prior hospital visits, etc, etc.

After that was done all that remained was getting my background check and credit check to come back clear. As if it would be that easy. My credit came back in a way to bite me in the… leg. Needless to say that stalled my processing and took a month to clear up. But eventually it did in fact clear up and I got the ball rolling again, except Special Forces candidates are held to a higher standard than other careers in the military. You have to physically qualify. The Air Force mandates that all Special Forces job candidates (Pararescue “PJ,” Combat Controller “CCT,” Tactical Air Control Party Specialist “TACP,” and Special Operations Weather Team Specialist “SOWT.”), must complete a Physical Ability and Stamina Test or PAST, with satisfactory scores in order to even qualify for their job.

Originally, this didn’t pose an issue for me except with regards to the swimming. I’m not a swimmer. I never have been and sincerely regret it. So with all the zeal I could muster I dove into the pool and began practicing and swimming lap, after lap, after lap. About three laps into my first pool session and I was dead in the water. I couldn’t believe the pain I was experiencing. If only I had gone out for the swim team in high school. All turned out well however, I ended up partnering up with another PJ candidate who soon after our countless training sessions became a close friend of mine.

With the countless hours of swimming 5 days a week and the motivation and support of another like-minded individual I was able to push through the pain and start swimming seriously.

My recruiter wished to administer a practice PAST test to the both of us and a couple other individuals who were interested in Pararescue. After a couple months of preparation we met our recruiter at the local YMCA and began the practice test, (To the few of us taking it, it felt like the real thing. We knew if we passed it that we were ready for the real thing and one step closer to getting our contract).

It got even better though, because accompanying our recruiter was an actual PJ fresh off the “pipeline,” (The pipeline, is the nickname for the two year training regimen PJ’s go through upon completing Indoctrination). Seeing this man and talking to him only served to boost my adrenaline and make me want to perform to a higher degree, and on a certain level it made me want to prove to him that I was worthy of accomplishing what he did.

After about an hour of waiting around in the lobby of the YMCA we were finally able to get enough open lanes in the swimming pool. The wait didn’t bother me at all, for the entire time I sat there picking the brain of PJ… (lets call him “Bob”) of PJ Bob. Every word he said I committed to memory, the stories he told the advice he gave I seared into my brain eager to hear more, to imagine these scenes in my head. Perhaps I will dedicate a future post solely to the stories he told me, and the advice he gave.

Needless to say it was time for the practice PAST to begin. Now for those of you who don’t know the PAST consists of six elements: two 25 meter underwater swims, a 500 meter surface swim, a 1.5 mile run, followed by pull-ups, sit-ups and concluding with push-ups. All of these evolutions have a minimum standard in which you must achieve a certain time or a set number of repetitions in order to pass with the exception of the underwater swim, which is entirely pass/fail.

I’m not going to go into detail about the actual results and how I tested because it isn’t important, I passed. However, it was just the practice test but I knew I was ready for the real deal. Looming on the horizon I knew lay the first official PAST followed by my visit to MEPS, (or Military Entrance Processing Command).

Unfortunately, some bad news did immediately follow, my training partner had just received word that his vision wasn’t on par with the qualifications of the job. Normally, that would be that for somebody but this 19-year old kid didn’t let that stop him. He immediately got a job and scheduled an appointment for eye corrective surgery. Now he has to wait for an entire year from the date of his surgery which was this past July, before he can even start his processing.

Hurry up and wait.