Timeline

There have been many times in the past when I have sat down to write a post and then, mid-post, something has happened that created a bigger story that needed to play out before I could write anything. It's sort of like Lost or most formulaic single-plot shows that last beyond one season. You know- you start with "we've got to get off the island and not let nature kill us!" and then suddenly "there are other people on the island who want to kill us!" and then "there's a conspiracy bigger than the other people and THOSE people want to kill us!" etc.... There's always something bigger just around the corner that is teased in the final few seconds of each episode. So that's why I haven't blogged about certain things in a while- the story kept changing too quickly.

Though I have kept track of much of my fun experience in attempting to become a JAG, I haven't posted everything. For my future reference, I decided to make a timeline:

July 15, 2013:
I go to MEPS (military entrance processing station). Fail hearing test. Am told to get a waiver and there will be no problem whatsoever.

August 12, 2013:
Waiver denied. Am told there are no waivers for hearing being granted. Am told this is pretty much the end of the line.

August 20, 2013:
Request to retake hearing test denied. Am told this is pretty much the end of the line.

October 14, 2013:
Earliest appointment I could get with an ENT in the city. ENT thinks I could probably pass the test if given another chance and writes a letter to the Navy.

December 18, 2013:
Request to retake hearing test denied. Am told this is pretty much the end of the line. Also, my original recruiter is transferring and I get a new recruiter.

December 31, 2013:
Ear surgery. Tiny bones are superglued together.

February 24, 2014:
I find out the ear surgery actually improved my hearing by about 10 decibels in the appropriate range.

March 5, 2014:
New waiver consideration package sent in with results from surgery.

March 11, 2014:
I receive an e-mail telling me that my new waiver was denied because I failed the hearing test. Am told this is absolutely the end of the line.

March 11, 2014:
I question why my having failed the hearing test previously would result in a denial following a surgery to correct the hearing.

March 11, 2014:
I am told that I failed the hearing test twice and that's why I can't take it again. Am told my only resort is to complain to my congressman.

March 11, 2014:
I respond that I am aware I took the hearing test twice because both tests were done on the same day. I ask whether it is official policy that having ever failed a test means you can never take that test again even if the underlying condition is corrected. I point out that I am asking because such information goes against everything anyone in the Navy has ever told me, ever.

March 11, 2014:
A new recruiter calls me and says he is taking over my case. Also, my original recruiter comes back and starts working with me again.

March 12, 2014:
The hospital says they will mail me my records.

March 19, 2014:
The hospital apologizes for having said they will mail me my records without actually mailing me my records. They say they will mail me my records.

March 24, 2014:
I go to the hospital. I take my records. The hospital apologizes for having told me that they would mail me my records twice and then losing all my paperwork. They helpfully point out that I have a very common name and that my paperwork would be easy to misfile.

March 25, 2014:
The appropriate paperwork is sent for another waiver.

April 10, 2014:
I receive my files from the hospital along with a bill for $11.04 for copying fees. I write them a message that includes the phrase "reasonable reliance." They apologize and waive the fee.

April 11, 2014:
I am told to go back to MEPS for another hearing test.

April 16, 2014 (5AM-11AM):
I go back to MEPS. As always, the Navy covered my hotel room and food. What they may not have covered was the communication between the people who told me to go back to MEPS and the people at MEPS, because when I was finally called in to do the test the doctor (who was the same doctor who saw me a year ago) was very confused as to why I was back there. He said that I needed a waiver for the surgery before I could retake the hearing test. I started to explain that someone at MEPS had authorized my return because I had a letter from them saying as much, and he told me to stop acting like a lawyer. While he was trying to sort out what to do with me, another doctor told me to go take the hearing test, so I went ahead and did that and passed the test.

After passing the test, I went to turn in that paperwork in order to apply for a waiver for my surgery. I expected this process to take a minimum of three weeks, as usual.

April 16, 2014 (3PM):
I make it back to DC and am on my way to give Kelsey her car back and go to a class. My recruiter calls and tells me that my waiver has gone through (in record time- I imagine someone sitting in the waiver office just saw my name one too many times and said "not him again!"). So - I now have hearing within range and the surgery that I got in order to get my hearing in range has been given a seal of semi-approval.

April 17-18, 2014:
I turn in what should be the last of my paperwork to an officer in DC. This brings the my total number of recruiters/processors/people assigned to my case to something like eight. Well, the more the merrier.

At this point I am just waiting for the paperwork to process and, according to everyone, I am back on for Navy JAG and should be able to commission whenever all of that paperwork comes back. I was going to delay posting this until that actually happens, since I am now very wary about counting chickens before they hatch, but since Kels posted a new blog mentioning it, I figured I had to put something out there.

Just two exams stand between me and an entire summer of preparing for another giant exam. And then maybe after that I will have the job that I thought I had a year ago and then was certain that I had lost up until a week ago. Yay!