Just some advice

The following is a response to a question that someone asked and I figured I'd post it here, in case others had similar questions or wanted some extra information.

Most of us are out of shape but nobody has been refrad'ed (released from active duty) for height/weight standards yet. According to some cadre, we are entitled to 6 months of time to get back into shape once activated for active duty. Essentially, no APFTs until we are 6 months into our mobilization. However, there is one IRR guy who is here for the second time (unlucky I guess) and he said he never took a PT last time he got mobilized for Iraq. I did see one really fat SSG though. He was easily 6' 300 (at least) and as far as I know, he wasn't going home anytime soon. Yes, I did bring a laptop and there is wifi. It is spotty and really slow at times, but its enough to get by on. Also, there is a computer lab that can be utilized for those soldiers who didn't bring or own laptops. The DS here are really good. They take care of ya and they know what the deal is. They treat you like adults and there is no hand holding here. There's a lot of hurry up and wait but overall, it's not that bad here.

Oh, also, there was one female PA who was really good about working with people. Essentially, if you have some sort of legitimate medical/psychological condition and don't want to deploy, she will work with you to try to send you home. I almost had to beg her to clear me to deploy. Instead, she just referred me to a bunch of specialists/physicians to make sure that I was good to go. She actually wanted to REFRAD me on the spot, but I had to convince her not to. Instead, she dug around through my medical history and found really small problems here and there to bust me. I appreciate it though because it shows how much she is concerned about my health and well being. Make sure it is a legitimate issue that can be confirmed with medical tests or consultations though (ie. either have documentation of it in your medical chart, collect disability benefits from the VA along with the award letter and other documentation, or have a valid doctors note with supporting documents).

Oh, if you have a VA disability of 30% or more (for one particular issue though, not total percentage. For example 30% for a back injury is 30%, while 10% for A, 10% for B, and 10% for C don't add up to 30%) you will probably need a waiver or some sort of medical followup to get the PA or Physician to clear you for SRP. Basically, if you have a VA disability rating of 30% or more for one specific condition, you have a really good chance of going home if you really ask and make a deal about it. On the flip side, if you have a rating of 30% or more and want to deploy, you have to jump through hoops to prove to the PAs that you are really clear to deploy and won't be in any immediate medical danger. If you have questions, feel free to ask. I've got some free time in the evenings here at McCrady.