Waiver Timeframe?

[Blue Leader]

Originally Posted by parent2009

Put your seatbelts on folks - you are in for a bumpy ride. My son has been waiting since last August for his waiver.

That's crazy....I guess they have to tell you soon eh? I had read that they all have to be settled by July 1st. Somebody posted below that the Coast Guard academy has a June 1st deadline so I'm not sure if there is (1) set deadline or what.

[USNA1982BGO]

^^^
There is a set deadline for all DoDMERB waivers to be completed and approved by each SA (for candidates with Conditional appointments with waivers pending).
In the case of USCGA the deadline for DoDMERB is 01 June 2010.
I would check with the Admission's department for the SA in question for their deadline.

[k2rider]

Originally Posted by USNA1982BGO

^^^
There is a set deadline for all DoDMERB waivers to be completed and approved by each SA (for candidates with Conditional appointments with waivers pending).
In the case of USCGA the deadline for DoDMERB is 01 June 2010.
I would check with the Admission's department for the SA in question for their deadline.

I hope you're right. I just received an e-mail today from the ROTC program at my daughters school of choice and they told me there is no set deadline....and they've actually had kids start school without a waiver answer yet!!!!

I don't know about other folks but we go with that that option because if the waiver was denied, we couldn't get afford the tuition alone to that school, much less everything else as well.

[MullenLE]

All Service ROTC programs = Pls read your scholarship offer paperwork closely...not frm DoDMERB, but from AROTC, AFROTC, NROTC, USMC Option...If you do NOT get DoDMERB qualified or waived by the end of the
1st semester, the applicant "may" be liable to pay the costs/fees for the 1st semester.

Many folks can't afford to go to a particular school without assurance of the scholarship. Some folks "gamble" that they will be cleared or waived.

[k2rider]

My daughter got a call from the ROTC staff at her chosen school and they were able to verify thru some "backdoor contacts" that her waiver was approved We have previously been told that there are no other remedials pending so now we just need to stand by for the stamp of approval from DoDMERB.

For those of you that may still be waiting, my daughter received her initial DQ on April 7th or 8th and received the call from ROTC on June 18th so her wait was a lilttle over (2) months. We then received a letter from the Command Surgeon last week. The letter was dated June 14th...no updates on the DoDMERB site though since April 9th but I'm sure they are rather busy. busy, busy with all the academies gearing up this week.

[Success2B]

I have a related question. I will be participating in AFROTC and am wondering how long do AFROTC waivers take to go through(typically). I think my situation is different from most as I am prior service and was seen for minor depression while enlisted (for non-duty related reasons).I am no longer taking the medications and it has never affected my ability to perform my duties. I have not taken my physical yet for ROTC, but from reading this forum it seems I can automatically expect to be DQ'd and require a waiver. My main concern is will the need for a waiver affect my participation in the program as I wait for it?

[MullenLE]

K2Rider = Once an applicant was determined to NOT meet medical standards (DQ), waiver decisions are provided by the specific program medical waiver authority and the decision for 4 year applicants (ROTC or SAs) come via letter to the applicant from the ROTC program or the SA. For in-college ROTC, the decision comes from the waiver auth to the Commander to the applicant. DoDMERB posts the decision on the website.

Success2B - U would be best served to cut and paste your posting; provide full name and last 4 SSN; and send to me at Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil. I can assist U better from there

[navy2016]

Originally Posted by Luigi59

2 weeks - 6 months.

Yes, really.

We have seen actual cases with those timelines right here on our forum.

In fact, we had one member here where the waiver came AFTER I-day. (Yes, that's too late)

in the last scenario, was that person still offered an appointment for the upcoming year?
or reapplying was the only option?

[SoccerMom2015]

Is there a way to get a status update on a waiver that was submitted? DS DoDMERB account says Pending Waiver Submission/Review. He has an LOA and nom and his file should be under review at BUMED. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[KaraK]

Hi, my son has been awarded an Army ROTC scholarship contingent upon his being medically qualified, but he did not medically qualify and is waiting to hear whether he will get a waiver. He returned the scholarship acceptance letter last March, and we have had anxiety about it ever since, due to delays on the Cadet Command side of things and also due to ignorance of the process.

Either the letter announcing the scholarship award should or the initial DODMERB paperwork should outline some explanation of the procedure, along with a note stating that if one is not medically qualified by the end of the first semester of school they could end up paying back the tuition. We did not find out about that little nugget of information until a few weeks before school started and my son had already lost other scholarship opportunities. It would have been nice to know that before there was no real choice in the matter. It should be written down clearly. We will have to pay back over 10k if my son does not medically qualify, because the University that the scholarship was offered at is out of state for us. Trust me I would not have taken that risk.

Also, the candidate should be told that if they meet conditions x,y or z it is grounds for a medical disqualification. The rules are pretty clear, so the candidate should be told. For example, my son had childhood asthma. The rule is that anyone with anything to do with asthma on their medical records past the age of 13 will automatically be disqualified. Yet we had to go through this whole thing where we get exams done, and wait for the results, then a request comes for us to send all of the medical records. All of that takes a lot of time. If, on the initial paperwork, there was the requirement for us to send the medical records then we would have found out much much earlier that he was going to be medically disqualified. We could have prepared him for another route. As it is the time was too late and we had no other choice.

I am not in any way upset about the fact that the ROTC scholarship process is selective. That is completely understandable. I am aware of how much medical conditions can cost the gov in lost duty time and medical retirements etc. I just think that more information should be given to candidates about the process.

It is unfortunate if there is not at least more medical testing requested for my son, as he is participating in training for the Ranger Challenge. He was one of the few who qualified, and he was one of the few that completed a six mile ruck run (in full uniform with a loaded ruck sack).