![]() Because the National Guard Bureau is considered its own Defense Department component, applicants have another “chance” with the Army or Air National Guard as well. The reason you are able to do this is because, according to instruction 6010.03 Section 4.2, each service makes its own waiver decisions. While you may face some hesitancy from recruiters who, as a general matter, will assume your past medical rejection increases the likelihood of another rejection, you are nonetheless allowed to reapply. If you have been rejected by the Army, for example, you could still apply to the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard. While applicants can only formally apply to one military branch at a time, most people do not realize that you can apply to a different branch after you’ve been rejected by one. If your medical condition meets these criteria, a waiver might be possible for you too. ![]() My medical history - which included two 60-plus degree lumbar and thoracic spinal curves and two spinal fusion surgeries - was conducive to a medical waiver because I achieved a complete medical recovery prior to applying to the military. Section 1.2 attempts to ensure that servicemembers are “medically capable of performing duties without aggravating physical defects or medical conditions” (meaning no symptoms) “medically adaptable to the military environment without geographical area limitations” (meaning no prescription medication required) and “free of medical conditions or physical defects that may reasonably be expected to require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization” (meaning no risk of reinjury). Once again, refer to the Department of Defense guidance. In other words, if you have no symptoms, take no medication, and have no risk of reinjury as a result of your medical condition, then a medical waiver may be possible for you. But the rule of thumb that I use to advise applicants is that you stand a chance of a medical waiver if your medical history is truly history. If everything in Department of Defense Instruction 6130.03 is theoretically waiverable, what is likely to be waived? Many positions within the military make extraordinary physical demands and the military must maintain deployability of its forces. Some applicants might receive a “temporary disqualification,” but this means that they need further documentation or testing before a Military Entrance Processing Station physician can either clear or permanently disqualify them. Rather, they are disqualified unless they can receive a waiver and, indeed, receiving a permanent disqualification is required to apply for a waiver. It says so right in section 1.2(d), “It is DoD policy to … allow applicants who do not meet the physical and medical standards in this volume to be considered for a medical waiver.” Equally confusingly, if during a physical at the Military Entrance Processing Station an applicant is “permanently disqualified”, they are not permanently disqualified in any normal sense of the words. However, having a medical condition listed there simply means you must apply for a waiver. ![]() Most people believe that if their medical condition is listed in that instruction, then they are not eligible to join the military. It is as long as it is complex and thus there are many misperceptions about it. Above all else, never forget that if there’s a will, there’s a waiver!ĭepartment of Defense Instruction 6130.03, Volume 1, Medical Standards for Military Service: Appointment, Enlistment, or Induction, is the governing document for all things related to military medical waivers. While no one can guarantee a medical waiver, if you follow this guide, you will maximize your chances of receiving one. Far too few people know, for example, that having a disqualifying medical condition is not actually disqualifying, or that they can apply to multiple military branches in multiple states. This article aims to demystify the medical waiver process and give applicants the information that will help them get to yes. Through those conversations, I learned many lessons regarding common myths and misperceptions about the military medical waiver process and have even been fortunate to assist with some successful waiver appeals. ![]() Since publishing the article, I have had the privilege to speak with over 100 applicants just like me - people who want to serve and have something to contribute but who have been medically rejected - about the barriers they ran into. Three years ago, I wrote an article detailing my personal difficulties securing a medical waiver through three military medical rejections.
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