FORT LEE, Va. (Oct. 11, 2012) -- Most of us can recall movies in which timid military recruits pour out of buses at the forceful urging of drill sergeants, and over the period of several weeks, overcome the series of physical and mental challenges known as basic training. It's a dramatic notion often played up in the popular media due to its inherent challenge and conflict.
Conversely, the operation that prepares recruits for such a scene hardly ever gets a mention. The Military Entrance Processing Stations, or MEPS as they're widely known, are akin to the casting crew behind the cameras -- a team of many that fulfills a plethora of requirements to ready America's future service men and women for arguably one of the most important roles of their lives.
"We are the gateway for all men and women who decide to serve in the military," said Army 1st Sgt. Troy Grogans, the Fort Lee MEPS senior enlisted adviser. "We are responsible for the quality control and checks to ensure they are qualified to enlist and get them through the process so that they can continue on their journeys to serve."
Grogans admitted the MEPS mission doesn't get the attention basic training does but said it's undoubtedly an important and substantial one.
"What we do is very significant," he said, "because the quality of applicants that we send to the training centers has a direct effect on the fighting force."
That fighting force is paramount to the country's ability to wage battle against its enemies and defend its interests in places such as Southwest Asia, where it recently ended one war and is waging another, and South Korea, where it has been a deterrent for more than 50 years.
According to the MEPS Command website, more than 310,000 recruits were administered medical examinations in fiscal 2011 at the 65 MEPS facilities located around the country. Roughly 277,000 met the qualifications required for military service.
The Fort Lee MEPS, located at the corner of Mahone and A avenues, is only one of three MEPS that are located on active Army installations. It ran more than 6,000 recruits through the applicant process last year. That's an average of roughly 25-30 applicants for a day that starts at 6 a.m. and concludes 12 hours later. For most of its 30 civilian employees and military personnel, it is more than a job; it's a commitment in which they have personal stakes.
"What I like about it is when I cut off the lights and go home at night," said retired Sailor Dr. Robert Fraker, "I know I've done something worthwhile for the country. Putting qualified applicants into the military is one of the most rewarding things I can do with my life today because I got so much out of my military experience. I'm using the skills that were developed (in the Navy) and God-given gifts to perform a job that needs to be done."
Fraker, the MEPS chief medical officer, has arguably the toughest job in the station: overseeing the screening and physical examinations of every applicant who comes through the doors.
"We work just like your local retail shop," he said. "In other words, we take care of what comes through the door and try to give them a product, which is a thorough medical evaluation, to be fit for military service and give them the best shot at the job they may want. It's up to the recruiting command to get them in the door, and it's up to us to process them."
The medical process is critical. It will not only determine if applicants are fit for military service but also whether they meet the standards for certain lines of work. The weightiness of the situation is evident from the moment the applicants file into the clinic.They carry looks of uneasiness mixed with a tad of anticipation, decidedly keeping talk to a minimum. Grogans said the mood fits the script.
"The medical screening is the first step in the entire process, so it's natural to be a little nervous and apprehensive about the unknown," he said, "but I think my folks do a good job of explaining the process to them to make them feel comfortable and letting them know exactly what they'll be going through."
The MEPS employees and military members call that the Red Carpet Treatment, a customer support initiative that keeps applicants informed throughout the process and makes them as comfortable as possible in a roughly two-day processing experience that outsiders might interpret as tiresome and lengthy. MEPS Commander Maj. Darrel Johnson said RCT helps MEPS personnel guard against the assembly-line/factory worker syndrome.
"Honestly, it's still comparable to herding cows," he said, referring to the sheer numbers processed. "We're trying to change our process. We've drastically reduced the times applicants visit the MEPS from five or six times down to two. That's due to the employees. You'll find that some of the employees will treat them like their own kids. That's how you do it -- treat them like family."
Air Force applicant Walter Nadeau seemed to notice the customer-service aspect of his experience.
"The people here are great," he said. "Everything was professional. I have no complaints."
Although Nadeau said he went through the process rather smoothly, it was still in the early stages for a number of the applicants on Sept. 13. Many of them showed signs of anxiety as they gradually moved from the medical clinic to the liaison offices, comprised of military and civilian personnel responsible for helping them find an occupation. Master Sgt. John Hunn, an Army liaison NCO, said counselors try to marry applicant desires with the needs of the services.
"They sit down with them and take the time to understand their needs, understand what their goals are, and they take that information and go into the system and try to find them the job that will fulfill that passion," he said.
The counselors also have to screen the applicants for information they did not disclose earlier in the process such as a pre-existing medical conditions, previously undocumented children and criminal records. MEPS medical personnel perform a similar screening that is repeated every step in the four-stage process. Hunn said the practice requires counselors to have a certain degree of intuition.
"A lot of the applicants aren't forthright and honest during the application process," he said, "so what happens is that they spend all that time with the paperwork but they'll get up here and suddenly remember something else or they'll forget that they have a kid or a baby. Anything that they suddenly remember can stop them from joining the Army that day. The liaison has to be very interpersonal and has to have great people skills and be able to read body language. We have to be able to tell when someone is lying to us. I like to think of us as interrogators."
After meeting with the liaisons, the applicants are in a considerably lighter mood. There are smiles and even some laughter.
There is also some frustration.
Ryan Fair, an 18-year-old from Fredericksburg, said he was told on his first visit two months ago that he would be qualified for a job working with computers. After speaking with a liaison, he was told he wasn't qualified for the job due to a misdemeanor conviction.
"It makes it seem like they don't want a young man to do something positive with his life," he said in aggravation. "Why do I have to jump through all these hoops to serve my country?"
Fair did find another occupation and was allowed to enlist, however, his case illustrates what the processing system is supposed to do: ensure the applicants are fully qualified for military service and the line of work and flag those who are not. Along those lines, there are episodes of frustration, aggravation and anger that routinely occur in the MEPS because expectations are sometimes diminished like in Fair's case or destroyed when applicants are rejected.
"It happens on occasion," said liaison and retired Army Master Sgt. Derrick Thompson. "But that is our job. Personally, I don't like it because anybody who wants to serve the country should have the opportunity to do so."
Once the applicants are counseled by the liaisons, they undergo a background check and fingerprinting in the operations section. The fingerprints are sent to the FBI, and the results of the background check takes 24-48 hours to complete. Once the results are sent back, a human resources assistant sits down with each applicant to discuss the findings and complete the final batch of paperwork. Here, the applicant has yet another opportunity to inform personnel about something that wasn't previously disclosed.
"We ask them a series of questions about their medical history," said Terrie Townsend, lead HR assistant, "and at the same time, when we interview them about the medical history, we have their medical history in front of us. So if there's anything not listed on the medical record that they haven't told the doctor, we have to send them back to medical and the doctor has to determine whether they are medically qualified to enlist."
The operations section is essentially the last step in the process. What remains is the oath of enlistment. The MEPS holds five to six such ceremonies each day in a room dedicated to Marine Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a native Virginian. Four applicants recited the oath of enlistment during the late morning hours of Sept. 13. Lawrence Green, 21, was one of them, and he was visibly relieved.
"I finally did it, and I'm done with all the waiting," said the new Soldier, making note of the long process. Green said an interest in military service has been with him since "he started walking," saying that his grandfather was a World War II veteran and his father a former Marine.
Eric Lamont Edwards, 19, a Richmond native, was also glad his MEPS experience had come to an end. He said he had taken the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery on several occasions and finally passed it. He signed up as a food service specialist and can't wait to exercise his bragging rights.
"My sister joined in 2010 and that made me want to join even more," he said. "I finally fulfilled my dream of being in the military, and I can't wait to wear the uniform."
The same goes for Jason Beuchert, a 20-year-old from Winchester who said he finally had the gumption to step forward to join something that has been on his mind since high school.
"It's been something I've been contemplating a long time," said the new Sailor. "I've always made excuses not to do it, and I'm finally gung ho to make something of myself and do something for my country."
Fair, Green, Edwards and Beuchert are now a part of America's 1 percent club -- the relatively small fraction of the country's populace willing to raise their hands in honor and pledge to defend the other 99 percent. For Johnson, having a hand in that process is something to take pride in.
"I feel like I'm making a difference every single day," he said. "I can feel good that we are putting the right people in uniform to serve this country."
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