Can I Join The Army With Tattoos Are There Restrictions
Yes, you can join with tattoos, as long as they are not visible above your collar or below your cuff. The Army does not typically accept individuals with tattoos on their hands, wrists, face, or neck. Tattoos anywhere above the neckline or on the head, including in the mouth, ears, or eyelids, disqualifies a candidate. A tattoo waiver is available for candidates who have disqualifying tattoos. However, tattoos that are extremist, racist, sexist, or indecent are prohibited anywhere on a Soldiers body, without exception.
How Do I Get A Waiver For Asthma
The best way to obtain a waiver is to go through the appropriate channels and get it from the doctor who performs the medical. Before you get excited, if you still suffer seriously from asthma, you are unlikely to pass the medical regardless of how much you want it or are otherwise capable.
If the Military Entrance Processing Station decides that your condition is too severe to serve active duty, there wont be much you can do about it for that specific branch of the military. If you can convince the Surgeon General that you are not as sick as it appears from your medical records, it may be possible that you will get a chance.
However, he is a medical professional, not you. The military will not likely take kindly to you challenging the word of their top doctors without a very good reason.
Can You Join The Military With Ptsd
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder disqualifies you from military service in most cases.
The problem with PTSD is that the disorder is often linked to serious trauma like what you might experience serving the Armed Forces.
Therefore, serving the military might only make symptoms worse.
You should avoid service to find more effective ways to cope with the disorder.
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How Long Do You Have To Be Off Adhd Medication To Join The Military
Recruiters generally tell applicants that they must be off medication for a considerable length of time ; ;by far the most important measure to take ; ;and show that they are able to function properly while off medication prior to starting the enlistment process and to be considered for a waiver.
The time frame required to be off medication differs across the branches and even among recruiters within the same branch. Some also recommend different approaches to demonstrating proper functioning without medication.
In the Army, Navy, and Marines in particular, recruiters largely advise applicants with ADHD to be off any and all stimulant or nonstimulant medications for at least one year.
Some recruiters, notably within the Air Force, tell applicants they must be off medication for 15 months or more . The Coast Guard which represents just 3 percent of active armed forces members is widely considered to be the most difficult branch to successfully petition for an ADHD waiver.
The time spent off medication should be noted by a doctor in the applicants medical and pharmacy records, and handed in as part of the waiver process. The records should also describe the applicants ADHD history, diagnosis, treatment, and stability while off medication.
Apart from medical documentation, recruiters may also recommend that applicants submit transcripts and letters of recommendation to showcase evidence of successful academic and work performance while off medication.
What About Alcohol Or Drug Abuse
A history of alcohol or drug dependence may disqualify you from military service.
The military carefully scrutinizes alcohol abuse or drug abuse that requires inpatient or outpatient care.
Problems with alcohol or drugs can become problematic during military service for several reasons.
It can also enhance or worsen symptoms of other, undiagnosed mental health conditions.
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Military Doctor With Asthma
Wreckem22 said:Hello All! I am new here and having trouble finding an answer to this. I would like to serve in the US military as a physician after medical school. My problem is I have exercise induced asthma. Is this an absolute no go even if I want to join as a doctor? I am interested in either the Navy or Air Force medical corps.Thanks for any help!
really
Laugh at me, will they?
Administrator
Your Butt Cant Be Too Big
Spinal disorders and conditions are taken very seriously by the military. Many of the jobs have stringent physical demands and standards, and having any sort of back issue can be detrimental to your health, and the readiness of the force. However, according to the Tucson recruiting office, as a result of spinal curvature misalignment, your butt can be too big for you to serve. Enough said.
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Is It Worth Pursuing A Military Career If I Have Adhd
It is easy for applicants with ADHD who want to serve in the military to feel discouraged by these guidelines. Its important to remember, though, that recruiters do take an interest in helping applicants, especially those who advocate for themselves.
Recruiters want to, and will, work with applicants to determine their best fit in a specific branch. Recruiters can spend hours interviewing and taking questions from a single applicant. Many engage in non-binding dialogue to gauge an applicants eligibility before asking them commit to any processes or formally submit documentation.
Some recruiters, for example, are known to have applicants fill out a slightly modified version of the medical pre-screening report one that will stay between the recruiter and candidate prior to filling out the official version of the report. The recruiter may explain to an applicant that reviewing the modified questionnaire lets them to gauge whether a candidates medical history requires more documentation, and allows applicants to decide if they have the time and willingness to proceed should any red flags appear.
Hopeful service members must conduct their own research prior to joining, which means speaking to a doctor about the plan for and ramifications of getting off medication, and finding a branch and career that accommodates and accentuates strengths while minimizing weaknesses.
Dont ever stop fighting to get in if thats what you want to do, he said.
Can You Join The Military With Asthma
This is a great question, and somewhat common. Many people experience asthma in their youth, and eventually grow out of it. The military makes concessions for applicants who had asthma in their youth, and will often grant waivers if the asthmatic conditions ceased or no longer required medication after a certain age.
But the military is less forgiving when the applicant still has asthma or requires any asthma medications. Why? To put it in simple terms: asthma can place the individual and others in harms way if the individual is deployed to certain environments or is exposed to certain chemicals or conditions.
Military members frequently work around austere environments, in hot, dry, and dusty conditions; around various solvents, chemicals, and exhaust; in hot and humid conditions; and in other environments that can cause an asthma episode to flare up. Having an asthma attack at the wrong time can place the individual, and in some cases, the entire unit in danger.
Think, for a moment, about someone having an asthma attack when they are the only qualified individual for a certain job. Not only does that unit lose the qualified person, but someone else is pulled from their job to assist the other person. This can become magnified if the unit is out in the field, in the line of fire, if there are no medical facilities nearby, etc. I think you get the point.
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Continue To Avoid Asthma Triggers
Preventing asthma symptoms from returning may also depend on avoiding your triggers and controlling your environment as much as possible. The following steps may help:
- Take over-the-counter antihistamines during allergy season to help prevent symptoms of allergic asthma.
- Keep pets out of your bed if youre allergic to animal dander.
- Clean your home often, paying special attention to areas where dust can accumulate, such as carpeting, rugs, and curtains.
- Avoid cigarette smoke.
- Exercise in cold weather with caution.
Have You Always Been Able To Get A Waiver For Asthma
Getting a waiver is a relatively recent development.
Before 2004, a history of asthma at any age could disqualify someone from military service. After 2004, the cutoff for asthma symptoms after 13 was made when a study of 587 recruits found that a history of mild asthma was not associated with excessive medical care or early attrition from military service.
The military has also acknowledged that the prevalence of asthma is increasing in the general public. By denying entry to a group of potential recruits, the military would be reducing the size of its recruitment pool.
In general, the waiver guidelines and requirements related to asthma are similar across all branches of the military.
Here are some specific rules that you may encounter across different branches of the U.S. military.
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Keep Taking Prescribed Medications
Long-term controller medications may also help treat your asthma and prevent symptoms from returning. Its important not to stop taking your prescribed medications even if your symptoms are better.
If you stop taking your medications as prescribed, this could cause your symptoms to return at a higher severity, leading to an over-reliance on fast-acting inhalers and other rescue medications.
Adhd And The Military
Can Individuals with ADHD Join the Military
Finding accurate information about whether or not individuals with ADHD can serve in the military is a challenge. CHADD and the NRC often receive questions from parents or teenagers who want to know whether a diagnosis of ADHD or taking medication to treat ADHD disqualifies someone from entering the military service. This challenge is compounded by the fact that military recruiters who have monthly recruitment quotas they must meet, often give incomplete, contradictory, or inaccurate information.
So, the simple answer to this question is maybe.
Enlistment in the military is a multi-faceted process and there are numerous eligibility criteria which a potential soldier, sailor, airman, or marine must meet. These criteria fall into two main categories: skills and aptitude for military service; and physical standards for military service. These criteria are evaluated at the Military Entrance and Processing Station when an applicant seeks to enter the military.
Aptitude
Each enlistee must take and pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery . This timed test,;for which no accommodations are permitted, measures aptitude in eight critical areas: general science, arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, auto and shop information, mathematics knowledge, mechanical comprehension, and electronics information.
Physical Standards
Waivers Available
Now what
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Consider Immunotherapy Or Allergy Shots
If you have allergic asthma, immunotherapy , may help. These shots consist of small amounts of the substances youre allergic to, with gradual increases over the course of several months .
Allergy shots may be especially helpful for children with seasonal allergies, and it can help them build up immunity so they dont experience as severe of symptoms as adults.
However, its still possible for other triggers to cause asthma symptoms despite taking allergy shots.
Theres no cure for asthma. Once you have this chronic condition, you may have asthma symptoms for life. However, the severity of your symptoms varies based on:
- genetics
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is also an anxiety problem.
The disorder causes persistent mental or emotional stress which is usually a result of some form of trauma.
Unfortunately, PTSD is a common mental illness that gets diagnosed to patients who previously served in the military.
While it is rarer for people to try and join the military with PTSD it is not completely abnormal.
Unfortunately, the military considers PTSD a disqualifying mental health condition.
If youve been diagnosed with PTSD you likely wont receive a waiver.
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How Do I Apply To Officer Candidate School
If you have a four-year college degree from an accredited college and meet the age, physical and moral requirements, you may apply for OCS. Upon completion of your officer package, you will have an interview with three Coast Guard officers. The completed package will be submitted to a board, who will select the top candidates from the packages they receive. For more information, please visit the OCS Home Page or visit your local recruiter.
The following conditions may disqualify you for military service:
a. Arthritis.
b. Complaint of a disease or injury of the spine or sacroiliac joints with or without objective signs that has prevented the individual from successfully following a physically active vocation in civilian life or that is associated with pain referred to the lower extremities, muscular spasm, postural deformities or limitation of motion.
c. Deviation or curvature of spine from normal alignment, structure or function if
It prevents the individual from following a physically active vocation in civilian life.
It interferes with wearing a uniform or military equipment.
It is symptomatic and associated with positive physical finding and demonstrable by X-ray.
There is lumbar scoliosis greater than 20 degrees, thoracic scoliosis greater than 30 degrees, and kyphosis or lordosis greater than 55 degrees when measured by the Cobb method.
d. Fusion, congenital, involving more than two vertebrae. Any surgical fusion is disqualifying.
Abdominal Organs And Gastrointestinal System
The following conditions may disqualify you from military service:
a. Esophagus. Ulceration, varices, fistula, achalasia, or other dysmotility disorders; chronic or recurrent esophagitis if confirmed by appropriate X-ray or endoscopic examination.
b. Stomach and duodenum.
Gastritis. Chronic hypertrophic or severe.
Active ulcer of the stomach or duodenum confirmed by X-ray or endoscopy.
Congenital abnormalities of the stomach or duodenum causing symptoms or requiring surgical treatment, except a history of surgical correction of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis of infancy.
c. Small and large intestine.
Inflammatory bowel disease. Regional enteritis, ulcerative colitis, ulcerative proctitis.
Duodenal diverticula with symptoms or sequelae .
Intestinal malabsorption syndromes, including postsurgical and idiopathic.
Congenital. Condition, to include Meckels diverticulum or functional abnormalities, persisting or symptomatic within the past two years.
d. Gastrointestinal bleeding. History of, unless the cause has been corrected, and is not otherwise disqualifying.
e. Hepato-pancreatic-biliary tract.
Cirrhosis, hepatic cysts and abscess, and sequelae of chronic liver disease.
Cholecystitis, acute or chronic, with or without cholelithiasis, and other disorders of the gallbladder including post-cholecystectomy syndrome, and biliary system.
Note. Cholecystectomy is not disqualifying 60 days postsurgery , providing there are no disqualifying residuals from treatment.
f. Anorectal.
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Spine And Sacroiliac Joints
The following conditions may disqualify you for military service:
a. Arthritis.
b. Complaint of a disease or injury of the spine or sacroiliac joints with or without objective signs that has prevented the individual from successfully following a physically active vocation in civilian life or that is associated with pain referred to the lower extremities, muscular spasm, postural deformities or limitation of motion.
c. Deviation or curvature of spine from normal alignment, structure or function if —
It prevents the individual from following a physically active vocation in civilian life.
It interferes with wearing a uniform or military equipment.
It is symptomatic and associated with positive physical finding and demonstrable by X-ray.
There is lumbar scoliosis greater than 20 degrees, thoracic scoliosis greater than 30 degrees, and kyphosis or lordosis greater than 55 degrees when measured by the Cobb method.
d. Fusion, congenital, involving more than two vertebrae. Any surgical fusion is disqualifying.
e. Healed fractures or dislocations of the vertebrae. A compression fracture, involving less than 25% of a single vertebra is not disqualifying if the injury occurred more than one year before examination and the applicant is asymptomatic. A history of fractures of the transverse or spinous processes is not disqualifying if the applicant is asymptomatic.
f. Juvenile epiphysitis with any degree of residual change indicated by X-ray or kyphosis.
Surprising Medical Conditions That Will Disqualify You From Military Service
A medical waiver may be in the cards.
BySarah Sicard | Updated Jul 19, 2021 3:31 PM
In order to join the military, you need to qualify medically. And while there are some obvious stipulations, like the fact that you cant be carrying diseases that will endanger your platoon, there are other disqualifying conditions that might surprise you.
All the disqualifying diseases, disorders, and conditions adopted by the U.S. military are listed within the International Classification of Disease code, under the United Nations World Health Organization.
Task & Purpose reached out to Lt. Michele Stein, a Navy recruiter, who shared some lesser-known medical conditions, and in some cases, ways you can get around them. In addition, Stein also asked around her station in Tucson, Arizona, for crazy, surprising medical disqualification stories. We compiled our favorites, and here are six unusual conditions that can keep you from joining the military.
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So Can You Join The Military With Asthma
In almost all cases, if you currently have asthma, you will not be able to join the Military, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. If you have or were diagnosed with asthma after age 13, you may still be able to enlist with an exemption. Before officially enlisting in any of the military branches, you will undergo whats known as a pulmonary function test, or PFT. This test will determine the extent of your asthma and whether it is a disqualifying condition.
Are There Physical Fitness Requirements To Join
Yes, there are physical fitness requirements to join the Army. The Armys Physical Fitness Test is used to assess the physical endurance of a recruit. APFT is a 3-part fitness event: 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups, and a timed 2-mile run. Recruits must pass the APFT to graduate boot camp.
The APFT physical fitness requirements vary by age and gender. Reference the table below to find your minimum fitness requirements.
The Army will continue to use the APFT until further notice.
AGE
| MENS APFT PHYSICAL FITNESS REQUIREMENTS |
|---|
| 34 | 23:00 |
If you have any questions regarding the APFT or your physical fitness requirements, talk to your recruiter.
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