RE Waiver?

8,923 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Rabid Cougar
fighterpilot
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S
Who do I need to contact or what do we need to do?

Son's RE code was 3. (Army)

Made it to the 10th week of basic and fell just short on APFT for the 3rd time.

Descriptor for code 3 says it can be waived and he can be made eligible again.

He wants to try again.

Recruiters aren't being much help.

Any suggestions?
Ulysses90
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I can't speak for the Army but in similar cases for Marine recruits who were dropped from boot camp for failing physical fitness standards there was almost no redemption. Recruits are supposed to arrive at boot/basic able to pass the minimum standards for the physical fitness test. For those who cannot pass the test after 10 weeks (assuming that there was no documented orthopedic reason why they could not pass) there is little reason to invest the money on the same individual a second time.

Having said that, I did get an entry level separation waiver for a guy who could not do pushups and it was discovered while at boot camp that he had no left pectoralis minor muscle (somehow overlooked). He trained for a year after being discharged and developed other muscles to compensate for it. The one argument that sealed the deal is that he could do 50 pushups (which are not a component of the Marine Corps PFT) and also score 285 on the PFT including 20 pull ups.

If your son really wants to be a Soldier he needs to start by getting himself in shape to pass the PFT with a near perfect score (not a barely passing score). The Army's position is going to be that the taxpayers took a chance on him this first time and it did not pay off. If he wants a second chance it had better be a sure thing.

edit: The RE 3 can be waived but unless it is shown to have been assigned erroneously it will not be changed by the Board for Correction of Military Records.

[This message has been edited by Ulysses90 (edited 6/6/2011 7:15p).]
CGSC Lobotomy
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quote:
Son's RE code was 3. (Army)


Sorry to be bluntly honest, but he's not getting back in unless the economy improves drastically.

Before I left my Recruiting Company in 2009, the Army stopped considering waivers for RE codes 3 and 4, marijuana possession, and stopped admitting anyone without at least a high school diploma or on track to get one (current senior).

When RE3 waivers for performance do open up again, he will have to pass two consecutive APFTs within a 3 month span for consideration.

quote:
Recruiters aren't being much help.


Recruiters don't set USAREC policy. If Knox says that they are not accepting RE-Code waivers, a Recruiter is not going to put more than a token effort into an applicant he knows isn't qualified to enlist. He'll keep your son's information on file for when his code is eligible for a waiver again, but don't expect anything else.

[This message has been edited by CGSC Lobotomy (edited 6/7/2011 1:35a).]
HollywoodBQ
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This is fascinating stuff. I recall when I started out as a 2LT in FY94 the economy was pretty bad. We were at a point where the Army wasn't accepting HS dropouts. What was interesting to me was that the newly enlisted guys were smarter and more capable than some of the HS dropouts who had already been enlisted for a few years. I guess it's all about supply and demand and that's driven by the economy and civilian job opportunities.
Ulysses90
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quote:
I guess it's all about supply and demand and that's driven by the economy and civilian job opportunities.


Indeed it is. With Congress cutting the active duty strength of the Marine Corps by 5%, the economy in the toilet, and a better advertising campaign than J. Walter Thompson had done in the previous 20 years the Marine Corps is "pooled out" for about seven months i.e. if a highly qualified (mental/moral/physical/academic) individual walks into a recruiter's office today and wants to ship to boot camp as soon as possible he's a about a seven month wait unless someone ahead of him drops for some reason and he's ready to go on a moment's notice. Back in the mid 1990s losing a shipper could be a catastrophe because the poor was only about two weeks deep at the recruiting station where I was assigned and getting quality applicants was a real challenge.

Consequent to the extremely strong recruiting market (the best since the all volunteer force began in 1978) enlistment waivers are not necessary for the armed forces to obtain the enlistees that they need and the quality indicators (ASVAB, physical fitness, etc) have never been better. No longer do Marine recruiters worry about getting a poolee to do three pull-ups before he ships to boot camp. They have the luxury of telling poolees who can't do 10 pull ups that they are at risk of getting bumped back until they are stronger or faster.

Within the Marine Corps the strong recruiting market has also made the former Commandant's crackdown on tattoos easy to enforce. No applicant with ink on his or her skin that is visible in PT gear will be allowed to enlist. The pop culture trend of sleeve tattoos had a very short life in the Marine Corps because those who had already had them were prohibited from getting any more on penalty of a discharge for the"convenience of the government" and their current tattoos were photographed and archived so that if they continued the nasty habit of inking every square inch of exposed skin they were discharged. Even those Marines who have been grandfathered for tattoos are restricted from the special duty assignments (drill field, recruiting duty, MSG) that assist one in being competitive for promotion beyond SSgt.

The same is true of the Commandant's crackdown on Marines who exceed height/weight standards (even by a pound). There used to be a lot of leeway given for a Marine to lose a few pounds and get back within standards without a long term impact to his or her career. Now, one weigh-in above the weight limit where the body fat computation by the neck-waist tape measurement method indicates an excessive percentage of body fat is nearly a career ender because it requires an immediate adverse counseling entry by the commander. Woe be to the commander or 1stSgt who tries to hide a good Marine with a few extra pounds because the IG or commanding general's inspection program usually finds the overweight Marine and it reflects very poorly on the commander.

Had the recruiting market not been so strong there is no way that these policies could have been enforced to strictly without adversely impacting our end strength (total number on duty on the last day of the fiscal year). It's a good time to be a recruiter and a bad time to be a marginally qualified applicant or Marine.
Say Chowdah
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Not to make light of a situation, but has he looked at the Air Force? The Air Force PFT isn't the same as the Army or the Marines because they don't endure the same physical requirements to be of service.

Did your son have decent grades? If so the AF or the Navy may have use for him that doesn't necessarily require him being a PT stud.

This isn't a knock on any service. I was Army, I understand why the Army PT is what it is. But I understand why the Navy and AF may have other ideas on the subject.
Lee72
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You might think about going to Reserve recruiters; getting in the door that way...then, after proving himself and getting into shape enough to pass the PFT, he can apply to go back onto active duty especially if he's not too old.
The Navy PFT only requires 1 1/2 mile run, situps and pushups...not sure of the USAF PFT requirements as they recently changed them but I think they went back to the 1 1/2 mile run, situps and pushups thing, too.

Thing is, he'll have to WANT to be successful and PROVE it to whichever service he can get to accept him. I know that often one service will look at the other service's RE Codes; poo poo them and enlist the person anyway if they have a quota to fill and the person has qualities they want. Go for it...worst that they can do is say no.

Get some reference letters of support from some senior officers who know your son to go along with his application for re-enlistment. May not help but definitely won't hurt. And he should be ready to go out and run the PFT right then and there just in case the recruiters want to before going out on a limb for him.

Gig 'em,
CAPT USN (Ret)

[This message has been edited by Lee72 (edited 6/7/2011 9:41p).]
perryb
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I work for the Houston Recruiting Battalion and yes your son can get back in the Army with a waiver. He may have up to a 6 month waiting period. I would need to see his DD 214. He would have to pass a APFT again before the waiver is approved. Since he is not a full prior service (less than 180 days) it is possible. A waiver like PT failure is not that big of a deal provided he can show improvement. email me at perry.baumann@usarec.army.mil
CGSC Lobotomy
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So they opened RE admin waivers back up? (keep in mind I left 3rd Brigade in summer 2009)

In my 22 months in command, we only had one RE3 waiver for failed APFT approved, and it took 4 attempts.

quote:
Did your son have decent grades? If so the AF or the Navy may have use for him that doesn't necessarily require him being a PT stud.


The AF and Navy are more strict on RE-Code waivers than the Army is, regardless of circumstances.

[This message has been edited by CGSC Lobotomy (edited 6/8/2011 12:26a).]
perryb
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Yes they will process admin waivers for prior service. Prior service are very limited in to what MOS they can enlist into. Unless they are already airborne qualified about the only mos that is open is 18X. Now in the start of this thread the OP was asking about his son and since he is not mosq or a prior service he should be able to get a waiver. Here in Houston we have a really great waivers clerk and our BN Commander (an aggie) will interview the kid and make a recommendation.
CGSC Lobotomy
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Since he never completed IET, would he be condidered "prior service" or "grad"?
perryb
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He would be considered a DOS (days of service) kind of between a Grad and a Prior Service.
CGSC Lobotomy
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Did they ever fix that absurd policy that allows USARC to make it insanely difficult to get out of a reserve contract due to automatic accession...but wants to make USAREC take the blame if the Soldier doesn't ship to basic?
perryb
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NO way! It is still a pain in the a** to get a USAR soldier discharged. I avoid USAR issues at all cost.
CGSC Lobotomy
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Not only that, but we had several units who made absolutely no effort to assist future soldiers in getting to their unit for drill (some who were up to 50+ miles away from the unit) but had no problem charging them for SGLI after the signed in...
Foxtrot21
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Sir I have a question closely related to the one asked on the past question. I was a 19D OSUT trainee. I was separated under UCMJ uniform code of military justice Chapter 11 failure to adapt JGA . I will be honest with separation was caused due enability to get along with my peers. Which lead to many counselling and unsatisfactory peer evaluations. My Resort code is three. I am willing to anything I can to get back into the US Army. I honestly just want to prove to my country that I was not just a waste of time and money. That if given a second opportunity I can make my country proud of my service and that I am willing to give life and lim to prove it.
Rabid Cougar
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