NROTC - DoDMERB DQ Anticipated?

J

Jack Brown

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My son will be a senior in high school this September (2015) and wants to get into the USNA. That won't happen; we were just there visiting Annapolis and got the news from Admissions. He has excellent grades; high marks in science and calc, and might be in the top 10% of his HS class - we don't know for sure, because the school doesn't rank juniors. He is 6' 1", 190lbs, plays varsity sports (got his V-letter as a Soph.), he is a leader in school, a junior fireman in our community, and never in any trouble anywhere. I'll spare you the rest, but doesn't that sound like the profile of a person the Navy might be interested in? Okay, here's the anticipated DoDMERB DQ... my son had Hodgkin's Disease diagnosed and treated at age 15 (last year) and remains in 100% remission. He had the best doctor's, they knocked it out of the park and it's gone forever (doctor's words not mine), and if you saw him today you would say the boy was never sick a day in his life. He'll be entering college in the fall 2016 and by that time the cancer will have been gone for 2+ years. DoDMERB doesn't care, they say he has to be 5 years cancer free in order to request a waiver. Now, thinking out loud, he'll have the 5 years completed before he graduates college and I wonder what the ROTC might be able to offer, if anything. My wife and I don't even need the scholarship since we have saved for him for 15 years, so the non-scholarship program would be fine with us. This is an out of the ordinary case, but has anybody crossed this bridge before or been down the "prior cancer path" with DoDMERB? We already have the B&G officer pulling for us. Essentially, can he still get into NROTC as a freshman since he'll meet the 5-year health requirement prior to graduation? Sorry for all the detail; I just wanted to paint an accurate picture. Thanks, Jack
 
It might be worth posting this question in the DoDMERB forums for a more definitive answer. That being said, your son would need to contract by the start of his junior year which I believe would put him close to but perhaps short of the 5 year limit you mentioned for a waiver. On the other hand it might be close enough that someone would have mercy.

You might also check with the cadre at whatever college he plans to attend.
 
First off, I wanted to pass on my best wishes for your son and his successful cancer fight. Secondly, I can't comment with authority on your NROTC question but would guess that the answer would be it isn't likely to work out due to the five year timeframe. There is a third option and that is OCS after getting a degree. By then it sounds like a waiver could be requested.

Best wishes...
 
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