My experience losing my job 4 days before my ship date
I'm making this post because I used to watch this subreddit obsessively while I was in the DEP, and I wanted to make a post when I got out of MEPS, but that ended up not happening. This post isn't meant as a warning; I just wanted to talk about my experience.
I was first interested in joining the AF after my junior year of high school. After I ended up failing my second semester, I was looking for ways to still be able to chase my dream of computer science despite my college admissions failures. After doing a lot of research, I was set on enlisting and trying for a Cyber job.
I drove myself to my local recruiting station, and two months later, I was at home taking the PICAT. Despite guessing on half of the engineering section, I managed to get a 99/99, and I had to spend 10 minutes convincing my recruiter I didn't cheat. MEPS went well until I sat down with the doctor, and the system flagged me for ADHD(which I had been expecting) and a voluntary survey I took during a particularly shitty time in high school. I tried to argue my case, but she told me I’d still need a waiver for the ADHD diagnosis I had. After getting a waiver and a second round at MEPS, I was through, and it was just a matter of waiting for a call.
Out of the top jobs I put down, there was one that stood out to me(1B4X1), but from what I could see, the chances of getting it were a long shot. For some reason, it required a specific test(EDPT) that was described to me as an “IQ test, but easier.” It was confusing at first, and I was convinced I had put up an abysmal performance. When the result came back as a 76(I had needed a 75), I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and try not to think about what that said about my intelligence. You can imagine my shock when I got a call on a random Tuesday evening that I had been picked up for cyber warfare operations in the Space Force. My ship date was set for the Summer I graduated from high school.
I spent the remainder of my Senior year coasting as I waited. I had to get interviewed for a security clearance, but other than some questions about my ADHD(which I already had a waiver for), it was smooth sailing. Fast forward to three weeks before I was supposed to ship out, and my plans were completely upended. After a night of partying, I was walking home from my friend's house, and in the darkness, I tripped and sprained my ankle. I didn't even realize it at first, and I limped myself home, but the next day, to my horror, I realized my ankle was massively swollen. I was convinced I had ruined my life. I spent the next two weeks frantically doing everything I could to make the swelling go down. I had it constantly iced and elevated, and I even started going to a PT out of desperation.
Four days before my ship date, I got hit with a sucker punch of a call that made the stress of the past 3 weeks feel like a weekend vacation. My recruiter unceremoniously informed me that due to my Security Clearance not clearing(because of Adhd medication that was on my prescription records from a few months in High School), I was no longer eligible for my job, and my ship date was canceled. This ended up upending my life pretty hard, and I was left scrambling and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.
I’m not posting this to complain about what happened. The needs of the Air Force and all that. I’ve been at community college for two years now, and things are no longer as depressing(I’m writing this post after all). However, to people who are planning their life around the Air Force, I'm hoping this emphasizes the importance of having a backup plan and not letting something like this ruin your life.