Medical Issue that could affact commissioning.

Simpson20677

5-Year Member
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May 5, 2011
Messages
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My son, C1C, was just diagnosed as having ulcerative colitis. From what he was told by the doctor this automatically disqualifies from becoming a pilot. His dream. In addition, there is some question as to whether or not he will be commissioned. I believe he will be allowed to graduate but what happens then is a mystery that I'm sure will unfold slowly over the next several months. I submit this post in hopes of gaining some insight this process. Has anyone ever have a son or daughter graduate but not get commissioned because of a medical condition? If so, what's in line for cadet after graduation. Yesterday we were making plans for graduation, today trying to understand this. In shock really. Any insights will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
If USAFA follows what I have seen at USNA, your son should graduate with no issue. I have had a few friends not commission due to health reasons; Crohn's disease, Type 1 diabetes, cancer, etc. All of them continued on and graduated. One of my very close friends was not commissioned due to Crohn's. He knew early on Senior year he was not going to commission so he worked with his company officer, professors and the alumni association to put together a resume and secure job interviews. He was hired in DC and now 20 years later is a high level government employee. He has done very well for himself. Not sure what your son's degree will be in or if he will be or not be commissioned, but in case he is not, I would have him work with anyone and everyone to put together a resume. Or if he is looking at Grad School to take the GRE. Where would he like to live? Have him reach out to the Alumni Association in that area, they should be able to float his resume and give him some contacts. Alot of times the Alumni Assocations among the SAs wills end resumes back and forth and host networking nights. The Alumni Associations are great tools. I know at USNA with the downsizing we are getting grads 1-3 years out of school who have got their walking papers from service. We have really tried to reach out to them and help that transition as they are in a unique sitation. There are also the Service Academy Career Conferences held about 4 times a year across the US. If in fact it looks like he won't commission, recommend he attend these. Yes, he won't have active duty time on his resume, but there are plenty of employers looking for his kind of skills and traits. His chain of command should be supportive of him attending these kinds of things even if it means missing a few days of class. All of my friends who did not commission have done very well for themselves. It was a shock, but they all landed on their feet and dove into their new lives just like they did when they were at USNA. I am sorry to hear about your DS's diagnosis. I hope he gets great medical care and can learn of his future one way or another sooner rather than later. Best of luck to him. He sounds like a great Cadet and one way or another he will be successful in life in whatever path he ends up on.
 
I had a classmate at CGA who had an eye issue that developed while he was a cadet. While they tried to figure out a way to commission him, in the end it wasn't possible, so he graduated, got his diploma but no commission. He received a medical retirement. And like many college graduates, then went out to find a job.

I know he wanted to serve and we all felt bad for him, but he got his degree and has been successful on the outside.
 
I had some experience as the medical officer at USAFA overseeing these medical issues (I retired from the Air Force 10 years ago , so I have no immediate insight). Being a CIC, generally they would let him graduate if that is what he wanted (not the same in earlier years) but this is tremendously discretionary, and ultimately the superintendent has to sign off on if he continues. They meet a medical board, and standards sometimes change - so I can't speak for current standards - but it would be unusual to commission/ as worldwide deployment is a constant issue. I totally agree, the exemplary education, discipline and experience they had will serve him will in any situation he may later face. I have generally seen these cadets get tremendous support along the way. My best wishes are with him and you.
 
Thank you all for your insights and support. Something I haven't been able to discern from my son is whether of not the Academy doctors will perform their own evaluation? While home on break earlier this summer he was in such discomfort that we had the procedure, a colonoscopy, performed locally after getting approval from the academy of course.

Thank you all again.
 
USAFA clinic is responsible to review all the information and decide what further information they need to decide on what your son needs medically and whether he would be worldwide qualified (which is decision for commissioning). They are certainly responsible for his medical care while he is there, also. I know when I was there, we never wanted to loose any cadets, so we wanted all the facts. They have all the PQ, pilot qual, decisions to make including lengthy waiver process , so for a clinic for "healthy" folks, they get overwhelmed with administrative duties and often deployments. He should feel he has a contact in the clinic of one of the staff, if he can't seem to at least know the next step, sometimes it helps to ask the AOC of his squadron to help out and contact the clinic staff.
 
USAFA clinic is responsible to review all the information and decide what further information they need to decide on what your son needs medically and whether he would be worldwide qualified (which is decision for commissioning). They are certainly responsible for his medical care while he is there, also. I know when I was there, we never wanted to loose any cadets, so we wanted all the facts. They have all the PQ, pilot qual, decisions to make including lengthy waiver process , so for a clinic for "healthy" folks, they get overwhelmed with administrative duties and often deployments. He should feel he has a contact in the clinic of one of the staff, if he can't seem to at least know the next step, sometimes it helps to ask the AOC of his squadron to help out and contact the clinic staff.
 
Our DS was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. USAFA has done a good job taking care of his health issues, but we know there is a medical review coming soon and want to start preparing - any suggestions?
 
My son, C1C, was just diagnosed as having ulcerative colitis. From what he was told by the doctor this automatically disqualifies from becoming a pilot. His dream. In addition, there is some question as to whether or not he will be commissioned. I believe he will be allowed to graduate but what happens then is a mystery that I'm sure will unfold slowly over the next several months. I submit this post in hopes of gaining some insight this process. Has anyone ever have a son or daughter graduate but not get commissioned because of a medical condition? If so, what's in line for cadet after graduation. Yesterday we were making plans for graduation, today trying to understand this. In shock really. Any insights will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

How did this work out for you and your son? Our DS was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. USAFA has done a good job taking care of his health issues, but we know there is a medical review coming soon and want to start preparing - any suggestions?
 
vcforlife,

A problem with pulling up an old thread like this as a new poster is more than likely the OP left the building. IE: Simpson had a total of 7 posts over 3 years, and has not posted since they created the thread 14 months ago.
~ I am not trying to be mean. I am just saying that chances are you might be better off posting this question on the DoDMERB forum.

I say that because kp2001 might see it and can help you regarding DoDMERB, he is also a flight doc (I believe Navy), thus if your DS wants to go rated he may help there too from the FAA standards.
~ You may want to lurk on baseops.net under their medical forums to see if this issue has been addressed for ADAF. I say lurk, because that site is intense. We look pre-schoolers her compared to them.

Finally, it is just my opinion, but here is what I would do as a parent:
1. Pull ALL medical records together
2. If you can afford a private specialist, go to them when he comes home for T-Day.
~~ Sometimes a specialist that also has background with the military medical requirements can assist if a DQ comes down from a waiver perspective. Mainly because they may utilize more specific tests than what the AF does when diagnosing their condition.

Best wishes, hopes and thoughts.
 
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