The ASVAB

The ASVAB, or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, is required for entrance into the military. It is comprised of nine separate test ranging from math and vocabulary, to auto mechanics and basic electronics. All of the branches of the military use this test to determine if you can join and what jobs you will qualify for. Many high school students take the test at some point, but since I was homeschooled during high school, I had never taken the test. I purchased the ASVAB For Dummies book and studied up! I had originally planned to wait several months before trying to join or take the test, but my recruiter encouraged me to take the test and see how I did. So with one week to study, I quickly reviewed math I hadn't seen in 10 years and learned the basics of electronics and auto mechanics.
I took the test on a Thursday evening at my state's Military Entrance Processing Site (MEPS). This is the same location where you do your physical, swear in, and eventually ship to Basic Combat Training (BCT) from. My recruiter's assistant drove me to MEPS (she's a very cool gal!), helped me get checked in, and held onto my cell phone for me.
Normally you take a computerized version of the ASVAB, but of course when I showed up to take the test, the computer server was down. So I had to wait a couple hours and take a paper test. The paper test takes quite a bit longer, as you have to wait on the whole group taking the test to finish each section. Like the ACT, we wrote our name on the answer sheet and filled in the bubbles. The test proctor filled in the bubbles of our test version while we tested, to speed things up.
After 3 1/2 long hours, we were given our scores in a sealed envelope. My recruiter came and picked me up, and once outside of MEPS we opened to see my score. ASVAB scores range from 1-99 and are actually a percentage score that compares how well you did to the base group of testers from back in 1997. 72 means you did better than 72% of those who took the test in 1997, so the higher the number the better. My score sheet said I got a 4! Yes. A 4. My recruiter was shocked and knowing that wasn't possible, we returned to MEPS to see what happened. He joked that to receive that low of a score, you would have to misspell your name!
It turns out that the bubbles with the test version were filled out wrong on my answer sheet, so the computer scored me for the wrong test version. It took almost a week, but they did finally fix my score. I actually received a 92. My goal had been a 93, but 92 was still more than high enough for me to join and train as an officer.
So with the test behind me, the next process was to get permission to take the physical, since I have screws in my jaw (from a surgery at 17). The military doesn't really like metal in your body. My awesome recruiter was on it, and I had no doubt things would work out.

The Background Story

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jana and this is my story from a farmer's daughter in a small town to an officer in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. I'm using this blog to keep my friends and family up to date while I attend Basic Combat Training (BCT), Officer Candidate School (OCS), and Branch Officer Leadership Course (BOLC), and to provide a resource of information for those who follow me. 

So why did I join the military? I have many reasons, but the most important one is that this is the direction I felt God leading me. I have always been fascinated with military history and held great respect for our service men and women. After watching my brother spend years dreaming of joining the military, I started looking in to joining myself a few years ago. Distracted with my current job at that time, my pursuit was pushed to the back burner. 

On September 1, 2011, my little brother joined the Army National Guard and my desire to join was rekindled. I started doing research and talking to a recruiter. And I started praying and seeking God's wisdom. I also started to prepare physically. Unable to run more than a couple blocks and possessing zero upper body strength, I had a lot of work to do! The more I prepared, the more excited I became. I thrive on being challenged and pushing to offer my best, and I knew the military would provide just the place for me to become a better person.

As I spent time praying and weighing the pros and cons, I continually saw confirmation from God. I was able to overcome hurdles and received love and support from friends and family.

So I moved forward and with the help of my awesome recruiter, SSG Caywood, I saw my dreams become a reality. So here is my journey!