So I'm now at CRC & waiting for my first "formation" - where I'll meet up with my company's liaison & find what to expect the rest of the week. Figure since I've got an hour to kill, I may as well get this last part of the process outlined for those of you wanting to know what to expect.
Once you accept your company's offer - you'll be provided a list of items that must be done and done quickly. If you accomplish all of it within X number of days, you may even be entitled to a bonus.
First & foremost - if you don't already have it, you will need to get a security related certification, per DoD regulations for all I.T. personnel. Depending on what level your job position is, it may be as "simple" as the CompTIA Security+ test, or, it could be the CISSP if you're an engineer or senior level position. I suggest getting your test scheduled ASAP for 1 - 1 1/2 weeks out. The reason being, testing centers may be limited to both your location, and open seats. Be sure to begin studying/cramming immediately. In the event you should fail, you will still have a week or so to retake before you meet the "deadline" to get all of your prereq's completed.
You will need to complete a thorough employment application, as well as provide extensive employment history information. In addition, there will be several forms that state you're giving your hiring company permission to access any & all records that pertain to your job: medical, employment, credit, etc.
The next thing required is scheduling a physical. Your company will put you in touch with a local occupational health clinic who schedule you to come in for about an hour, hour and a half to get checked over. Pretty basic stuff: consult with a doc, get all of your measurements, perform a hearing test & drug test. You will need to provide any immunization records that you may have as well, so they can review and schedule you at a later date to get brought up to speed. I failed to provide one of my inoculations from a prior employer at that time and have to get it a second time for this opportunity. Sort of a "waste", but "the company" needs to cover their butts, so I have to get it again. As I'm not a fan of needles (or possible side effects from immunizations), I will be sure to not make this mistake again.
If you don't have a passport or your birth certificate original - you'll need both of those. Your county should be able to provide you with an "original" copy of your birth certificate for a moderate fee in the range of $20 (may be reimbursable by your company - so save your receipts! Worse case, save the receipts for tax time to make a write off). I mention the birth certificate first because you will need that for your passport. Your company will likely have a "passport expediter" that they utilize to get your passport in a hurry (roughly 7 days from the time you submit it to them). In a nutshell, you will take a couple of passport photo's (that you can get at any CVS, Walgreen's, etc for $12), the form that you fill online (2 copies of it!) with the government passport website (being sure to choose the "expedite" option) and about $125 to your local passport office. In Ohio, I was able to go to a local title bureau. They fill out their end of the paperwork, and instead of processing it themselves, they will return it to you in a sealed envelope. You will then overnight this envelope to the expediting company who will walk it through in D.C. for you. A week later, it will be overnighted back to you. Sign it - and make a color copy for your company.
At some point, you should be asked to fill out an "eQIP" - which is the security clearance questionnaire if you don't already have an active security clearance. This was one of the last items in the process for me. Be truthful. And keep in mind, most of it only goes back 7 - 10 years, so anything you may have done that wasn't favorable in your youth is irrelevant. Eh-hehm! Prior to my "departure" - I also had an hour long personal interview with someone from OPM. They'll more or less just review what you submitted on the form, taking notes the entire time and looking for you to elaborate on some items.
And finally, you'll get the call back to get your shots up to date. I required 6 in one sitting. And I had to make a nice long drive to get to a facility that carried all of the shots in their office. Even though a couple local places had a few of the shots - I was not permitted to visit both and get what I needed from each. I had to go to one place, far away to get poked all at once. And about 2 hours after getting them - I was sicker than a dog. Fever, chills, stuff coming out of my eyes. I was miserable. But it passed within 24 hours - and was normal according to the different fact sheets I read for all of the shots I received.
The above items WILL take about 14 days. Fortunately, that was within the 18 day period that made me eligible for a small bonus - yay! Once you have passed everything successfully (with the exception of your security clearance - they will likely issue you an interim - and in the event you do NOT pass it 30/60/90 days down the road, you'll get fired & sent back home), you will be provided your date to attend CRC (Conus Replacement Center) for 1 week to get some orientation, verification of records/prereqs, and issuance of necessary military gear before shipping out to your theatre of operations. Which is where I am now. And I'll continue to update this process as I experience it. Oh - and I will eventually have a post about the gear I packed. For now, I want to see if all that I brought is enough & necessary or if I over or under packed. We shall see.
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