This wisdom tooth thing comes up time and again. .....................Of course the decision is a personal one.
Nope nothing personal about it. In the end you are not dealing with a hometown dentist or a hometown physician. You are dealing with the government. You are dealing with the military view of mission critical criteria. You are dealing with logic that is logical to the policy makers. So, this really should stop coming up.....but, it apparantly will not.
Perhaps KP, during the admissions process, could be a little more specific about what is required and what is not. Then, the applicant can take it or leave it. (Kind of like the topic this thread started with, TWIC....pretty clear you MUST have it whether you think it is necessary or not.)
We bought in to (and I believe it to be the truth) of the policy about being no exeptions....like KDBAX said. So, he (DS) wanted to attend, this was part of it, so the deed was done. He has perfect teeth, not a cavity ever, no expense ever spent on his teeth other than an annual visit, widsom teeth were never going to "sprout" given his anatomic configruation, so again, out they came. "Probably" could have waited years and years to do it, but going to sea, getting an education, following the advice of those with more experience in this specific area, just seemed to be the right way to go.......ok, I guess that does make it a personal decision.
A wise old midwest manager of mine once said; "Before you break a rule or try to change it, first take time to understand why it was put in place. Then, if you know/feel it needs to change it, go for it." In this case, I could not come up with an argument strong enough to change or fight this.