Asthma and NROTC

J

jrad

New Member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
1
So today I talked to a navy recruiter who visited my school to get information about NROTC. I talked with him, and called him after school to set up an interview. During the call, he asked if I take any medication, I told him I have an inhaler, and then he told me that I can't start the application because of it. He basically said they don't get people started if they have a prescription within the last 6 months, so he said that I have to wait 6 more months until I can call him back and start applying.

The deal with my asthma is that I'm a runner in cross-country and track, and after my races in track(800m) I cough a lot. I just go into a coughing fit, not trouble breathing. I rarely have any problems during track practice or cross-country, it's only after I run an all out 800m for meets. I went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago and he prescribed me an inhaler for exercise-induced asthma. So it's not like I'm dependent on the inhaler, I can still run without it, it just helps with my coughing.

Is there anything I can do to get passed this problem? Maybe get a note from my doctor or something? Is there any other parts of the application process I can do? I really want to apply as soon as I can because I want a better chance of getting the NROTC scholarship. If I have to wait 6 months, then I'll have to apply in October, and I don't not want to wait that long.

Thanks for the help!
 
Asthma is tricky. Having that prescription for the inhaler right now is not easy to get around. I do not have direct experience with this issue so I will let others chime in but asthma after the age of 14 is a DQ. I don't know how often NROTC gives waivers for it however.
 
DS had a similar situation where he had tried an inhaler after running, without an asthma diagnosis. It had been been at least a year since he used the inhaler when he was considering applying for NROTC. However, the fact that he had actually used the inhaler was going to come up in DODMERB, so he decided to have the spirometry test before applying so he would KNOW his asthma status for sure. He got a clean bill of health. We included an explanation of the situation and the test results with his DODMERB and he wasn't asked any more about it. He is a MIDN 1/C now!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top