Medical Waiver

crochetfroggy

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Apr 7, 2024
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I was given a conditional appointment to the USCGA but was medically disqualified on the basis of asthma, eczema, and iron deficiency. How likely am I to get my medical waiver approved? Is there anything I should do to speed up this process?
 
I was given a conditional appointment to the USCGA but was medically disqualified on the basis of asthma, eczema, and iron deficiency. How likely am I to get my medical waiver approved? Is there anything I should do to speed up this process?
You can reach out to dodmets and get appointments scheduled. I recommend using those docs if possible. They will know what exact treats are required. I would start taking some iron supplements. You might also start asking for copies of medical records from your doctors.
 
Did CGA ask you to submit anything in particular? Are all of these current issues or are they "history of" from years ago? If they are no longer current, then submit your medical records to show that. Either way, if you don't believe they are issues that will affect your ability to serve, then having a specialist in each area write a letter explaining addressing the main concerns would be helpful.

If you look at the DODMERB documentation, there is section explaining what DODMERB (and the SAs) are really concerned about for medical issues:

“4c. Ensure that individuals under consideration for appointment, enlistment, or induction into the Military Services are:
(1) Free of contagious diseases that probably will endanger the health of other personnel.
(2) Free of medical conditions or physical defects that may require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization or probably will result in separation from the Service for medical unfitness.
(3) Medically capable of satisfactorily completing required training.
(4) Medically adaptable to the military environment without the necessity of geographical area limitations.
(5) Medically capable of performing duties without aggravation of existing physical defects or medical conditions.”

and also
17. Generalized waiver criteria – The main focus of all waiver decisions is centered on the ability to safely and successfully train, be commissioned, and be world-wide deployable upon graduation/commission. In applying this objective, a few of the questions that are considered are:
a) Is the condition progressive?
b) Is the condition subject to aggravation by military service?
c) Will the condition preclude satisfactory completion of prescribed training and subsequent military duty?
d) Will the condition constitute an undue hazard to you or to others you will be charged in leading, particularly under combat conditions?
 
Did CGA ask you to submit anything in particular? Are all of these current issues or are they "history of" from years ago? If they are no longer current, then submit your medical records to show that. Either way, if you don't believe they are issues that will affect your ability to serve, then having a specialist in each area write a letter explaining addressing the main concerns would be helpful.

If you look at the DODMERB documentation, there is section explaining what DODMERB (and the SAs) are really concerned about for medical issues:

“4c. Ensure that individuals under consideration for appointment, enlistment, or induction into the Military Services are:
(1) Free of contagious diseases that probably will endanger the health of other personnel.
(2) Free of medical conditions or physical defects that may require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization or probably will result in separation from the Service for medical unfitness.
(3) Medically capable of satisfactorily completing required training.
(4) Medically adaptable to the military environment without the necessity of geographical area limitations.
(5) Medically capable of performing duties without aggravation of existing physical defects or medical conditions.”

and also
17. Generalized waiver criteria – The main focus of all waiver decisions is centered on the ability to safely and successfully train, be commissioned, and be world-wide deployable upon graduation/commission. In applying this objective, a few of the questions that are considered are:
a) Is the condition progressive?
b) Is the condition subject to aggravation by military service?
c) Will the condition preclude satisfactory completion of prescribed training and subsequent military duty?
d) Will the condition constitute an undue hazard to you or to others you will be charged in leading, particularly under combat conditions?
Thanks for the info! My eczema is currently ongoing but it is not severe. I am no long iron deficient and my asthma is under control as I haven't needed to use it since October of 2023. I wasn't asked to submit anything yet, but should I still submit forms even if they didn't ask? I'm worried that if I do submit stuff that it will work against me.
 
Thanks for the info! My eczema is currently ongoing but it is not severe. I am no long iron deficient and my asthma is under control as I haven't needed to use it since October of 2023. I wasn't asked to submit anything yet, but should I still submit forms even if they didn't ask? I'm worried that if I do submit stuff that it will work against me.
At this point you’ll just need to do what they say and hope for the best. Start pulling together all the records for your various conditions, but only submit what they ask for, no more, no less. I no expert, but I wouldn’t advise submitting anything they didn’t ask for. You can’t control what may or may not work against you so try not to worry about that. However, if you don’t submit what they ask for, I think you’re pretty much guaranteed not to get a waiver.
The good news is you received an appointment so you know they want you. Not sure if it’s true, but I’ve heard others say that can help positively influence the waiver processes in certain reasonable cases.

Good luck!
 
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