Flight Physical

Here is my experience with the Flight Physical:

Introduction

First off, if you wear contacts/glasses make sure you bring them with you!  I'm glad I did.  Also, buy a Cliff or Power bar so that after you get all your lab work done you can chow down on some calories.  I got up at 3:30 to get on base by 6:30.  My flight physical wasn't scheduled until 7:30, but I'm glad I got there early.  The guard at the gate basically told me I was allowed to come onto base, but didn't know where exactly I should go.  I had plenty of time to look around and find the aerospace clinic.  I was so early that I decided to drive around and see what an AF base was like.  I hadn't been on a military base since I was 12 so it was nice to see it from a different (older) perspective.  I felt at home and comfortable driving around.  I even recognized some smells from different parts of the clinic building.  Anyways, I ended up standing at the Aerospace Medicine door at 7:15 waiting for it to open.

Initial Vision Check

After I signed in I was taken to a room to do some vision test.  They were similar to those at MEPS, but much less hurried and more extensive.  The circle tests was rough, but I passed it this time because I remembered to bring my glasses.  If I hadn't I might very well be DQ'd right now.  They also did the Senellen test, color blind test, all that good stuff.  After I was done with that they handed me a form that I had to take with me everywhere.  They told me I would eventually come back to them at the end of day with that form entirely filled out.

Optometry

Optometry was pretty extensive.  All the near/far distance vision tests, puff test, and DILATION!  A word of caution about dilating your eyes.  I wish I could have done it as the last thing for the day, but I couldn't help when my appointment was.  Through out the rest of the day I had to ask someone to help me fill out every form because I could not read ANYTHING!  It was a very weird experience to be so powerless with my vision.  After the dilation drops were put in they told me to get other things done and come back in about 2 hours.

Various Tests

Lab Work

After I left optometry I walked over to the lab to get my blood and urine checked.  I knew from other others' experiences that they take a lot of blood so I was mentally ready for that; or at least I thought I was.  You get to give the urine sample in the bathroom (!), and then they take you back for blood work.  Around the time I was filling out a DNA card my eyesight started to change due to the dilation.  I had to ask the front desk for help in filling it out.  They took about 8 vials of blood from me and I thought I did well, but all of the sudden my stomach started to clench very hard, I got tunnel vision, and started to get cold sweats.  I had to look down and close my eyes and eventually lay down on a recliner chair.  After 5 or so minutes and some water I felt better and went on my way.

Radiology

Checked in, went to a back room, took off my shirt, got a few good x-rays of my chest, put my shirt back on, and left.

Hearing

Same as MEPS

Optometry (Again)

I found my way back to optometry for my 2nd appointment.  The doc checked my eyes with different machines and lights then let me go.

Lunch Break

I didn't have to be at my dentist appointment until 1330 so I had plenty of time to get some real lunch and explore.  After I ate I went into the BX (Base Exchange [a shopping center]) to look around.  Then I drove around the residential and PT areas.

Dentistry

After a couple of hours I was back at Dentistry.  Again, I had to have help with filling out the forms.  I thought for sure I was going to be DQ'd for my teeth since I was told I had cavities in my last dentist appointment, but apparently they were wrong.  The AF dentist said all was good and I didn't need any waivers.

Final Aerospace Visit

After Dentistry I went back to Aerospace Medicine for my final flight doctor exam.  They first checked my height, weight, and all other measurements (sitting height, back to knee, etc...).  Next I had an EKG (checks your heart rhythm).  Then I went into the exam room where a flight doctor asked me a ton of questions and then started examining me.  They basically check your reflexes, ears, nose, sinuses, throat, feet, abdominal cavity, kidneys, breathing, temperature, heart beat, blood pressure, your bum (for hemorrhoids), and (at least for guys) you genitals for any abnormalities and the hernia cough test.  Then you're done.  After I sat in the waiting room for about 5 minutes I was cleared to go and went on my 2.5 hour drive home.

Now I will wait about 1.5-3 months for the head doctor of that base, and then the headquarters (AFRS) doc to approve my physical.

DEP (Swear-In at MEPS)

Today I swore in at MEPS.  I was there all day (5am-4pm), and most of it was spent waiting.  Got my body, height and weight checked (in my underwear, again).  Waited for about 2 hours, ate lunch (a sub sandwich that was provided), waited 2 more hours, got my fingerprints done, and then said the oath and swore in.  Today was a "Ship Out" day so there were LOTS of enlisted folks with bags headed out to basic.  Not much of an exciting day.  Next stop is the flight physical.

*My Flight Physical Experience*

Select!

I was informed on September 10 2012 by my recruiter that I was the only Pilot Select in the 344th Recruiting Squadron.  The news was supposed to come on Wednesday September 5th, but it got delayed.  Yeah, that was a tough wait.  Happiness, shock, excitement; all words I experienced in that moment I got the call.  I really didn't hear much after she told me the news;  It was hard to finish the day.

I can't believe my life has changed so quickly, at least it feels as though it's been quick.  In reality I have been waiting on this decision for almost a year.  It's hard to really think about how much me and my family's life will change in the next year and beyond.

I honestly thought I would be selected as a CSO.  I thought I had a pretty good package but it's easy to second guess yourself when a majority of the graded measures are dependent on subjective factors (LORs, Resume, PS, etc...).  I am more than humbled by the fact that I will be a pilot in the US Air Force.  I remember visiting my father in Colorado Springs and how he would tell me that all the "Hot Shots" went "there", as he pointed to the Air Force Academy's Chapel.  The feeling of seeing those cadets march, to see the pride and discipline; even at age 11 that had a big impact on me.

I didn't live my teenage and adult life focused on becoming an Air Force Officer, but it was always in the back of my mind.  Having kids tends to make you stick to something and get it done for your family, but as my wife can attest to, I contemplated, more than once, going enlisted; it was just never the right decision for our family.

Now that I'm (almost) in, I am more than looking forward to the challenge of OTS, IFS, UPT, etc, etc...  I'm ready to leave a legacy for my family and am honored to be given the opportunity to serve and protect not only them, but the entire nation.

I think I want to continue this blog as far as I can through my experiences of OTS, IFS, and UPT.  I'm looking forward to this life changing opportunity.

Application Soon to be Reviewed by OTS Board

My package has been gone for a few months now just sitting somewhere waiting to get reviewed by a few colonels.  The OTS board will be meeting in about 12 days to decide our fates (August 13-17).  By the time I find out if I was selected or not it will have been almost a year since I first talked to my recruiter.  That's why this wait has been easy for me.  There is nothing I can do to better my chances now anyway.

I got a summer job as a pizza delivery guy so that has made time really fly by for me.  My next post will  either be titled "Select!" or "Non-Select...".  See you on the other side.

Interview Complete

I had my interview yesterday and it went well.  I met with both a 1st Lt. and the Commander of the recruiting squadron.  They were very adamant about me talking to my wife about what time away is going to be like in the Air Force.  Since then I have been researching TDYs, Deployments, and PCSs.  It is quite a lot to take in.

The best part of the interview was the questions I asked.  This so-called interview was really a review of my application to give me tips on how to make it stand out.  I made sure to do all the things I was supposed to (like dress to impress, shave, etc...) and I think it went very well.

Next stop is to finish tying up the loose ends of my package and submitting it to the board.

MEPS Physical

I finished my MEPS physical on Wednesday 3-7-12.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be.  Yes, all of us were herded like cattle.  Yes, it was very bureaucratic.  However, they all have a stressful job to do funneling tons of 17 and 18 year olds through a series of many medical exercises and tests.  Here is a brief rundown of what happened that day:

Check-In: I showed up in Dallas at 4:45.  Before I got out of my car I drank SO much water because I knew that I would have to pee in a cup and I didn't want to be the poor soul that had to come back another day because I couldn't pee in a cup.  The check-in was a bit different than when I took the AFOQT.  There was a very nice Captain that greeted us and gave us all the instructions.  I was one of the first ones to arrive because I drove myself from my house.  He instructed us to stand in rows of 4 shoulder to shoulder and for all the "physical only" people to get up front.  So I was about 5th in line.  Then the first 8 were instructed to go up the elevator.  When we got there we were told to go to our branch liaison (Air Force for me) and then to the cafeteria.  Then we were given our medical files and told to go to the front desk.  The guy at the desk was really pissed because apparently my file wasn't ready.  I had no idea what was going on but he was angrily shuffling papers around and stapling stuff.  After a few minutes he handed me my file and instructed me to get in line for medical.

Medical Stuff:  There are plenty of sites that give the specifics on each department and test they do in medical so I'm just going to lay out a brief overview of what happened to me.

Hearing Test:  I was ushered into the back part of the facility.  I got in line to get my fingerprint scanned and medical file reviewed.  Then I was told to go to the first room which was a small sound-proof booth with 10 stools.  I was number 4.  We wore some headphones and used a Jeopardy clicker to record our results.  The only thing I have to say about this is that they should get clickers that don't make noise.  I mean I felt like that was all I could hear most of the time.  10 guys clicking at a furious rate.  The headphones were definitively not sound proof...I passed with a very minimal (5 dec.?) hearing loss in the extreme high and low ranges.

Side Note:  After we were done all ten of us got a dot sticker.  I have no idea why, but it ended up being the most awesome thing ever.

Briefing:  We were told to wait in a chair for our eye exams, but ended up being told to cram into a room with a projector to be briefed.  By this time I was starting to feel that water I had drunk earlier...So basically the guy just read off a bunch of laws verbatim about falsifying records.  I thought this is going to go by so fast, but then he said "this will take about an hour"...nice.

"Are You Drunk?" and Private (butt) Exam:  When we were finally finished with signing and bubbling in all those papers one of the proctors said "Congratulations to those of you with a dot.  You've just won the lottery".  I still have no idea why, but if you had a dot on that day you were always the next person to go in and get your stuff done no matter how many people were in line ahead of you. Pretty cool for me because I had a dot.  Anyway, by this time my bladder was about to explode.  I could barley get out of the chair.  We were told to line up (dots first) and do a Breathalyzer test.  After that I was the first person to get my private consultation and exam.  The doctor was very nice and she asked me a bunch of different medical questions.  After that she checked my ears (Valsalva maneuver), throat, teeth, and eyes.  Next was the rectal exam and hernia exam.  I had to go SO bad that I asked if I could go ahead and do the urinalysis.  They said that I might as well wait if I can, so I said I would if I could make it.  There was another military guy in there to make sure there was no funny business.  Yeah it was awkward, but I think people make it out to be WAY worse than it really is.  The docs know it is awkward and so the do a good job of getting it over with.  THERE IS NO INSERTION, WEIRDOS!

Urinalysis:  When we got in there the guy said "How you guys doing?" then the guy next to me said "Fine, how are you?"  the other guy looks at him with a raised eyebrow and says "Really?  I'm watching guys pee all day".  So yeah you step on these squares in front of a urinal and pee in a cup in front of a dude.  3 of us did it at the same time so that was better than that poor soul that had to do it by himself.

Blood Work:  Self explanatory.  I was in and out with my dot.

Eye Exam:  I forgot to wear my contacts because I never wear them anymore.  My vision isn't bad so I wasn't concerned about this.  However the damn Depth Perception (Circle Test) was horrible!  I never did get how to see the circles that pop out.  I guessed on all of the B section and ended up failing.  I'm not worried thought because I saw my civilian eye doc  right after I got out of MEPS and he gave me a much better DP test with special 3D glasses and I aced it.  They said I have 20/20 vision when I know I don't...

Exercises:  This was the final exercise.  We had to get in our underwear and stand with a bunch of other dudes as we got examined by a doc, weighted, measured, and told to do lots of really silly exercises.  One guy fainted (I think he locked his knees).  We had to stop the process but the proctor was determined to finish as fast as possible so he told us all to do the rest of the exercises using only half the room.  5 minutes later I was dressed with medical file in hand.  I was told "Mr. Smith you are fit for service in the US Air Force", and with that I was almost done.  Just had to turn all my stuff into the medical counter and that was that.  I was done by 10am.  Their parting words were "You're a teacher?  So then you know what we go through everyday.".  Too true, too true.

*My Interview Experience*

Scores and What's Left

I got all of my scores back and here they are:

AFOQT:  98 Pilot, 98 Navigator, 98 Academic Aptitude, 92 Verbal, 96 Quantitative (98/98/98/92/96)

PCSM:84

I am definitely disappointed in my PCSM score.  I was hoping for a 90 or above.  The TBAS kicked my butt.  I will definitely retake if I don't get selected. 

Waiting on my recruiter to confirm my MEPS date for Feb. 14th.  I'll update when I know more.

*My MEPS Experience*

Running

Today I ran my first "all out" mile and a half since November...It wasn't very good.  You lose a lot after being away from running for a couple months.  You can follow my running activities on Runkeeper.

When I was in high school my best sport was track.  I grew up on a farm and so I grew up in a small school.  Of course there are pros and cons to that, but one of the greatest things for me was that I was able to be in EVERYTHING!  I played football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and track.  I'm not athletically built (short and a little on the puny side), so I had a hard time being the star of any team sport.  Track was different.  I was able to make Varsity my sophomore year in the 400m, 800m, and 4X400m.

So I'm not bad at short/middle distances.  Running a 1.5 mile is a bit of a long distance run for me.  I'm trying to keep it at a good pace, though, so that I can be in the 8 minute club one day.

Today I ran a 1.5 mile in 10:53.  My best was a 9:51 a few months ago.  My 1st goal is to get back to under 10 minutes.  My ultimate goal is to be under 9 minutes...Here's to wishful thinking.

AFOQT = Done

I took the AFOQT on a Friday morning at MEPS.  This was my first time to go to MEPS and, for the most part, the experience wasn't bad.  To me, the DMV is worse...

Here is an explanation of how the day went, as best as I can remember:

Hotel Experience Before MEPS

I decided to get the hotel that the DoD offers instead of driving so 1) I could have some time to get to know other applicants and 2) make sure that I got there on time.

I arrived at the hotel around 5:30pm, signed in, and went to my room.  The company that the DoD hired to take care of us was excellent, and the room was pretty nice!

I decided it would be a good idea to go check out the area where MEPS is to get a feel for it and know where I would be going tomorrow.  I wish I had shown up a lot sooner to do that.  I was in horrendous traffic!  It took me 30 minutes to get there when it should have only taken 5.

When I finally got there I found the parking area where I was going to have to leave my car, and what direction I needed to walk to get to MEPS so I headed back to the hotel.

I set all my stuff up in my hotel and headed down the the hotel restaurant for some dinner.  The food wasn't very good, but seeing as how it was free, I can't complain.  I didn't know anybody there, and since people seemed to be in conversations already, I decided to sit by myself.

As I was eating someone sat at my table (probably because there were no seats left anywhere else), and we got to talking.  I found out he was an enlisted applicant who was going to MEPS for his second time to finish up some left over business because he forgot his contact lenses case last time.  I was really surprised to talk to so many enlisted guys who were in their early 20s.  The main thing they seemed to have in common was the fact that they had dropped out of college, for whatever reason, and were looking for a way to make a career.

After dinner I went back to my room, showered, read a little, and went to the security briefing.  If it wasn't for that briefing I would have been in bed an hour and a half earlier.  After the briefing I went straight to my room and got set for bed.  I told myself I wouldn't study, but I broke that promise and did a few math practice problems and looked up some aviation stuff on YouTube.

By the time I was ready to go to sleep it was around 9:30pm.  With a 3:30 wake up call I wasn't looking to get my normal amount of sleep.

I couldn't sleep for 2 hours.

I usually get to sleep very quickly, but not this night. Part of the reason was because I was excited about the test.  Another part was because my roommate decided to turn on the TV at 10:15.  Either way, I think I finally fell asleep at around 11:30.

4 hours later the wake up call was in.  Both of us got up and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast.  Since I wasn't taking the bus like most people I wanted to get a head start and leave the hotel  at 4:20.  The person in charge of us wouldn't let me (or anyone else who was driving) go quite yet (he said it would be too early).  So we waited until 4:40 and all left together.

At MEPS

Like everyone else says, it was a lot of hurry up and wait.  We were briefed and told to go to our perspective branch offices.  That's when I realized something...I had forgotten my testing document!  Here I was, a potential officer and I didn't have this required document.  I was thinking "Great! Now they're going to send me home and I'll have to come back in a couple of weeks.  How embarrassing!"  Luckily the AF guy was nice and printed out a duplicate for me.

To say that I was unprepared for the formalities was an understatement.  If it wasn't for the grace of God I would have forgotten my SS card, too.  Thankfully, I had it in my wallet (I know not a good place to be keeping it), and was able to proceed with processing.

After we were all processed we waited for about 30 minutes and then were told to go to the testing room.  From there it was easy.

The Test

Like I said before, I had been studying for this test for about 3 months.  I feel like an idiot compared to all the 99ers on the message boards because I still did not feel comfortable with all the concepts of the test.  The last practice test I took out of Barron's was excellent,  so I was feeling pretty confident about this.

There were 5 of us total who were taking the test: 3 teachers (me included), an accountant, and a college student.  If you are reading this you probably won't have this problem, but, for your own sake, don't be like the college student!  When we had a break and were all talking about the test he said "Wrong answers count against you, right? 'Cause I left about half of my answers blank."

Of course, those kind of test takers are the ones that help those of us who study make higher percentages...

Anyway, here is how the test went for me:

The entire test was very similar to the practice tests.  The Arco/Peterson and Barron's books are relatively more difficult on both math and verbal, in my opinion.  Without going into much detail about the test itself I will give you an overview of how I felt I did and break down each section:

Overall I feel like my most disappointing sections were Math Knowledge and Aviation.  I studied the most on Arithmetic Reasoning and Aviation only to do bad on MK and AV...

Verbal Analogies (VA):  Much better than I have felt about any verbal section in a long time.  I felt like the words were much easier and I think I only guessed on a couple.  I had plenty of time left over to check 4 or 5 answers.

Arithmetic Reasoning (AR):  No questions really exploited my weak area (which was multi-step word problems).  The word problems they did have were not too intensive.  I probably only guessed on a couple of these as well.  I also had a little bit of time left over to check my other answers.  I might have missed 2 or 3 in this section.

Word Knowledge (WK):  I actually knew many of these words!  I was looking to bomb this particular section of the test.  I'm quite sure that I didn't.  I probably guessed on 2 or 3 in this section.  I didn't have a whole lot of time to look over but 1 or 2 problems.  I probably missed 2 or 3 in this section.

Math Knowledge (MK):  I thought I would do very well on this one, but I feel like I didn't do my best.  I had trouble with about 6 problems, and I think I guessed on about 4 of those.  After I started having trouble with a couple of them I started to get flustered (which is what they are looking to see if you do, and why the test are timed).  I was mad at myself for not being able to nail that section.  I missed anywhere from 2-4 in this section.

Instrument Comp. (IC):  This was always an easy section for me on all the practice tests.  This test was no different.  The drawings were acceptable and not bad.  The only hard part is making sure you don't confuse the front for being the back.  The inlets' color (or shade) helped me out.  I had enough time to go over almost all the questions to review.  I don't think I missed any in this section.

Block Counting (BC):  I was slightly disappointed with myself in this test.  I answered all the questions with a few (10-15) seconds to spare, but it felt a little more difficult than when I took the practice tests.  I just attribute it to ACTUAL test anxiety.  I might have missed one in this section.

Table Reading (TR):  I was slightly disappointed in myself with this test as well.  In all but my first practice test I scored a 100% on this test and always finished with at least 5 seconds left.  This time I did not...I spent too much time on each question as was over confident.  The last 5-6 were Christmas Treed...

Science (SC): I was pleasantly surprised with how I think I did on this test.  I knew at least a little bit about every question.  I think I missed up to 2 or 3.

Aviation (AV):  Very disappointed in myself.  I studied EVERYTHING I could for this test without actually getting in a plane.  I had 0 flight experience so I really wanted to do well on this thing...I think I did OK.  Out of the 20 questions there were  5 I had to go back and think about.  Of those 5 there were 3 I was familiar with the concept they were talking about, but failed to understand the specifics of the answer.  I know I missed a least 1 of those questions.  The other 2 I had no idea what they were talking about, but I know I guessed right for at least one of those.  At most I missed 4 of these questions.

Rotating Blocks (RB):  This one was always too easy for me.  I had time to go back and look over every single question very thoroughly.  I don't think I missed any of these.

Hidden Figures (HF):  This one was always hard for me.  I guessed on about 3 or 4 questions.  I probably missed as much.

Self Dis. Inventory:  Long and Boring.

We'll see how accurate my memory was when I get my scores back.  My goal was to get at least 85s across the board, but I highly doubt that now.  I will consider retesting if I get anything in the low 70s (except maybe Verbal).  I feel like I did the best I could, and in order for me to get any significant gains in my score I would have to take some flight classes and maybe some math tutoring.

My only advice is to control what you can control and do your absolute best.  For me, that was studying for 3 months.  It was hard to balance being a father, husband, teacher, and extreme studier, but I did it in college and I know I'm going to have to do it in the future (if I get selected).  Bottom Line: Do what you need to do to get the job done and ace that beast of a test.

*My Scores*