DEP & Beyond

As there is a waiting period between the time you sign your contract and leave for Basic Training, the military has what is called the Delayed Entry Program. There doesn't appear to be much standardization in how DEP is run as it is mainly up to the individual recruiters. In my DEP group we didn't do a whole lot.

Normally every two weeks we would be given a day and time span during which we were expected to show up. Before signing in we would step on the scale to ensure we were within the weight requirements as set forth by the Air Force. Often the concern is not to exceed the maximum weight, but for skinny people like me we had to make sure we didn't drop below the minimum weight. If there was any additional paperwork that was required, we would take care of it during the meeting. Several times during the meetings, Airmen who recently completed Basic Training and Tech School would show up to give us advice on what to expect. On top of that, they would also tell tall tales regarding Basic Training.

In January 2012, I signed my second contract which told me what job I had been assigned and when I was leaving for BMT. I was supposed to leave on April 10, 2102 and after BMT would be going to Goodfellow Air Force Base for Tech School to learn how to do Operations Intelligence. I had a hard time finding information about the job as a lot of the information is classified. It was scary and exciting when I realized in 2.5 months I would be leaving for Basic.

However, in the end of February those plans came to an abrupt halt. The Air Force ran a second credit check and realized that I had student loans from college. It wasn't that I was delinquent on my loans, rather it was simply the amount of loans that was the issue. Turns out the Active Duty Air Force has restrictions on an applicant's income/debt ratio. After spending 2 months trying to find a way around this restriction, and failing, I was released from my contract with Active Duty. After doing some research into both the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, I decided to join the Air Force Reserve. It wasn’t' my first choice, but hopefully it will allow me to switch to Active Duty in a few years.