I will keep this somewhat brief, because I am extremely ashamed and need to get a clear answer of how to proceed.
Recently, I was extremely stupid and drank a bit too much, which led me to hitting a bong exactly one time. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, as I got extremely sick and paranoid, pushing me to the point of a panic attack. I regret it with every fiber of my being, as I want nothing more in my life than to serve in the United States Air Force as an officer. I am deeply ashamed of my actions, as I may have just thrown out my dream over something as stupid as this. It was completely out of character for me and I absolutely hate myself for it. I am currently going into my AS200 year and I am non-contracted. I am not afraid of the short-term, since I was a first-time smoker, it should be out of my system long before I return. I am however, scared of how to approach this long-term, such as when the DoDMERB and TS Clearance application come up.
Some people are telling me that if there is no record of me doing it, I should deny everything and that it will not come up unless someone other than myself brings it up. However, other people (and I am more on the side of these people), are telling me to come clean and state that it was exactly a one-time thing. There are a lot of ways this could go though, from what I have read, and I am unsure how to proceed.
I am fully for admitting to my actions, the question is of how and when. I have been told that I could either be given a slap on the wrist and an open eye kept on me for the rest of my time at ROTC, or I could be given the boot with no questions asked. Do I directly ask to speak to my cadre privately and just spill? Or do I wait for the DoDMERB to come up and admit it then? Some people who have already completed the program and have dealt with this before have told me that I should be fine admitting to my actions, as the DoD will not completely throw me out for a mistake; they will throw me out if I am caught lying. This is one of the worst and most stressful situations of my life and I have no idea what to do. Yes, I am a *******, irresponsible, and an idiot, but what is done is done, I cannot go back in time to beat my idiot self no matter how much I cry about it. I can only decide what happens next, so here I am.
Recently, I was extremely stupid and drank a bit too much, which led me to hitting a bong exactly one time. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, as I got extremely sick and paranoid, pushing me to the point of a panic attack. I regret it with every fiber of my being, as I want nothing more in my life than to serve in the United States Air Force as an officer. I am deeply ashamed of my actions, as I may have just thrown out my dream over something as stupid as this. It was completely out of character for me and I absolutely hate myself for it. I am currently going into my AS200 year and I am non-contracted. I am not afraid of the short-term, since I was a first-time smoker, it should be out of my system long before I return. I am however, scared of how to approach this long-term, such as when the DoDMERB and TS Clearance application come up.
Some people are telling me that if there is no record of me doing it, I should deny everything and that it will not come up unless someone other than myself brings it up. However, other people (and I am more on the side of these people), are telling me to come clean and state that it was exactly a one-time thing. There are a lot of ways this could go though, from what I have read, and I am unsure how to proceed.
I am fully for admitting to my actions, the question is of how and when. I have been told that I could either be given a slap on the wrist and an open eye kept on me for the rest of my time at ROTC, or I could be given the boot with no questions asked. Do I directly ask to speak to my cadre privately and just spill? Or do I wait for the DoDMERB to come up and admit it then? Some people who have already completed the program and have dealt with this before have told me that I should be fine admitting to my actions, as the DoD will not completely throw me out for a mistake; they will throw me out if I am caught lying. This is one of the worst and most stressful situations of my life and I have no idea what to do. Yes, I am a *******, irresponsible, and an idiot, but what is done is done, I cannot go back in time to beat my idiot self no matter how much I cry about it. I can only decide what happens next, so here I am.