OML and the Scroll

June 2019 - What is OML?

OML is the Order of Merit List. Your recruiter should explain this to you when you submit your application. The recruits who submitted applications for the board are placed in order according to credentials, experience, recommendations, and certifications. The people who are chosen first are given a “spot” and told they are accepted, and the others who are “extra” applicants are placed on the OML list to wait for a spot. These people will be pulled if someone who has been chosen gets pregnant, becomes injured, or backs out of their commitment before the contract is signed. 


    I was placed on the OML list for about a week (in which I panicked like nobody’s business) and then promptly received a call from my recruiter about being pulled from the list anyway. So, accepted! WOOHOO! It’s happening! 


    Now wait. And wait. And wait. Freak out a little bit, have a few panic attacks, answer all your family’s questions and concerns with answers you’re not at all sure about. And then wait some more. Email your recruiter 124 times with questions, concerns, and renewed certifications. Then be prepared to wait. 


After all the waiting, a certain amount of times passes before anything “happens” again. And you will get no feel-good answers from your recruiter until the next step. However, the next steps are super fun! Once contacted again, my recruiter informed me that MEPS was more of a make-sure-your-joints-work-right kind of test. After acceptance, they actually test you to make sure you’re in fit(ish) shape. I was sent to a recruiting station nearby that conducted physical tests at a nearby middle school gym. This consists of suicide runs, a deadlift, medicine ball free throw, and a standing long jump. Some of these things are specific to your height/weight, and others are across the board scores. You can practice these if you wish, but I showed up without any time to practice and still was able to pass. However, I’d been going to the gym and running regularly so think about that while waiting for boards. Once you pass, there are some forms you’ll be given to take back to your medical recruiter to keep with your files. 


The Dreaded Scroll: 

    Apparently, (please note I am no expert on the issue) there is a large list of all the new applicants for each job type that is sent to D.C. to be “approved”. I was told that the list of officers hits many different desks to make sure everything is in order for each applicant before being signed off by some highly official person in D.C. If Bob from Idaho is missing something, then everyone on the list with Bob has to wait until the issue is resolved and can be re-submitted. Holy. Cow. However, the scroll is what you have to wait on in order to be assigned a training spot and a permanent station. Your recruiter will be the first to know when you get your scroll. 


All in all, the waiting time was a huge chunk of the acceptance recruiting process. The boards, waiting to move forward, the physical test, scroll, and paperwork all took about 7 months. I was accepted in June and swore-in during December. That little trip to the gym was super exciting… for about 5 minutes. Please take up knitting or paint-by-numbers during this time. Try not to stalk your recruiter. 

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