I know I will have to fill out an SF-86 for my Army career and looking into what the form entails, I think it’s best that I’m starting a year and a half early. Firstly, I have some personal problems: no references. I feel like such a loner and a sociopath typing this, but the truth is that I’m a very private and reserved person. I don’t like socializing and I don’t think having friends should be a requirement for joining the Army as an officer. But, really, they ask you for references for each place you’ve lived for the past 7-10 years, plus three personal references, plus contact information for each employer you’ve had during that time as well! I never talk to my neighbors, I never have kept contact with former employers, and I have no friends or acquaintences that can vouch for me.
Now, I consider myself to be a good person. I’ve worked with children and animals and I think I’m compassionate and reasonable. I’ve spent five years in the workforce and four years at college and I’ve gotten along fine with everyone. I think I’m personable and, although I don’t have the friends to prove it, I think I make a good friend. In all honesty, I moved to the city I live in now right after high school and shortly thereafter met my boyfriend (now husband). I’ve spent all of my free time with my husband or alone and that is the way I like it. But this isolation has a cost: I don’t know what to do about filling out this form. I only have three or four family members who even know me well enough to comment on the person that I am today. Some people out there are super critical of this; if you don’t have friends then something must be wrong with you. Yes, I guess that by their standards something is wrong with me… I am reserved.
So, I fear also that if I ask a recruiter about this then I’ll get a response like, “Do the best you can.” Ya, well, I can do the best that I can and my application may be denied due to it being incomplete or insufficient. But what can I do? I cannot make up for ten years of being reserved with new friends that can only give a reference for the last year. References need to span all 7-10 years. Overall, I don’t think that having a lack of references will make me look like a terrorist or a true sociopath (those people just manipulate and are actually very personable when they know it will benefit themselves), but I fear that it will hurt my chances of being branched military intelligence.
armyocs 