Diverting Focus to ROTC

I've had my heart set on the academies(particularly West Point), but on Friday I found out that the USMA doctors denied me from medical waiver consideration. I'm hoping ROTC will have a different view on my conditions which I believe to be very borderline between DQ and a waiver.

But, since I've spent all my time focusing on the academies, I'm a bit unfamiliar with how this process works.

my NROTC application is complete and my AROTC application is just waiting on the interview so I'll go before the March Board.

I just need help understanding how the scholarship works if you're medically DQ'd. It seems like a lot of people participate in ROTC for a while, find out they didn't receive a waiver, and then are stuck in limbo.

Maybe someone who has been there done that can help. I'll continue researching more to see what I can come up with.

If you get an ROTC scholarship, they'll request your DODMERB file from the academies and review it just like the academies did. If they still don't want to give you a waiver, you'd be out of options. You could then go to college and participate in ROTC as a college programmer and try again with DODMERB in two years.

Basically there won't be a scholarship if you're DQ'ed. Either way though, the waiver process is a crapshoot. Good luck!

HydroJim said:

I've had my heart set on the academies(particularly West Point), but on Friday I found out that the USMA doctors denied me from medical waiver consideration. I'm hoping ROTC will have a different view on my conditions which I believe to be very borderline between DQ and a waiver.

But, since I've spent all my time focusing on the academies, I'm a bit unfamiliar with how this process works.

my NROTC application is complete and my AROTC application is just waiting on the interview so I'll go before the March Board.

I just need help understanding how the scholarship works if you're medically DQ'd. It seems like a lot of people participate in ROTC for a while, find out they didn't receive a waiver, and then are stuck in limbo.

Maybe someone who has been there done that can help. I'll continue researching more to see what I can come up with.

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If you are awarded a scholarship then AROTC and/or NROTC will start the DoDMERB process. In doing that they will discover you've already been through DoDMERB and will use that physical, which will also be a DQ. They will then assess if they want to request a waiver and, if so, start the waiver process, which may or may not be granted.

The scenario you refer to is when people do not receive a scholarship but participate in a ROTC program as a college programmer. They only need a physical from your own doctor for this, using their forms. It's much like a team physical for a high school sport in that sense. After joining a ROTC program at some point they will need to go through a DoDMERB physical, either as a result of receiving an in-school scholarship or as part of moving to the advanced program. At that point in time you may do another physical with DoDMERB (if your current physical hasn't expired they may use that). If you're DQed as a result of this physical they may or may not request a waiver. This is how some people can participate for a while but end up DQed. There could be other scenarios that lead to this as well, such as a scholarship holder is injured and doesn't pass an ensuing physical.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies.

The process makes more sense now. Do you think any weight would be given to waiver consideration if I participate in ROTC without issues for a year or 2?

HydroJim said:

Thanks for the replies.

The process makes more sense now. Do you think any weight would be given to waiver consideration if I participate in ROTC without issues for a year or 2?

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That probably depends on what "condition" caused your DQ. I believe there are some things that the "powers that be" just won't waiver.

Whether you even get a dq or need a waiver depends on the condition and commissioning source. DS' colorblindness, for example, would be a dq for anything navy related but no dq or waiver needed for arotc.

sending you a PM with recommendation

It has been my experience you need to be just as healthy a soldier as an ROTC Cadet as you do a West Point Cadet. Chances are the medical standards are the same.