Injury Report

I have just broken my collar bone over the past weekend. How should I handle this? I feel that I should tell USNA, but seeing as I have not received an appointment yet, I am afraid that it will ruin my chances. I will be fully recovered in a little more than 2 months, so if appointed, I know I can get in shape for plebe summer.

I have had my application completed for about a month now, but was planning on retaking the CFA come this end of January, and from personal testing, I know I would have improved my scores. But now I will not be able to do so. I want them to know I would have had better scores.

Should I keep quiet and wait? Or should I tell USNA? If so, who?

I injured myself back in October (fully healed now) and was told by my BGO that as long as you will be healthy before May 1st to keep quiet and that if/when you were to receive an appointment that then you would have the chance to inform USNA.

What does your DODMERB paperwork say? I think it says if you have a change in medical status to contact them. I would contact your BGO and seek guidance.

I will find my DoDMERB and see what it says. I'll ask my BGO as well. If I tell my BGO he doesn't have to tell usna right?


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And what effect do you think this will have on my application, if one at all? Will this mean I am less likely to be offered an appointment?


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treyseitz, I sent you a private conversation.

I don't think your condition will have an impact on whether you are appointed. I've had many candidates with known medical issues who receive their appointments once they have cleared the medical problem. However, if you are appointed, and your condition prevents you from participating in PS (this is determined by USNA Medical), then you won't be allowed to show up at I-Day or, if you don't tell them and you show up unable to participate, you'll be sent home.

First, check your DODMERB "paperwork." I'm almost certain that appointees are required to notify DODMERB of a change in medical status. I don't know whether applicants not yet appointed are also required to do so. If you are required to do so, obviously you should do so. If there is no such requirement, then you can wait to see what happens with your appointment.

I would not tell your BGO -- not b/c he/she is obligated to tell USNA but rather b/c we are told not to get involved in candidate's medical issues for privacy reasons. Thus, the situation really isn't relevant to your BGO -- it's between you and USNA/DODMERB.

If you are appointed, you do want to ensure DODMERB/USNA is told of your condition. My expectation is that some sort of "clearance" from your doctor will be required in order for you tlo be allowed to show up on I-Day. I would expect that, once at USNA, you will be examined by their medical staff to confirm you're good to go. If you meet those requirements, you're fine. If you do not, you would likely be sent home and told to reapply. Those "turned back" for medical reasons typically have little trouble being appointed the following year, if they have healed and they still desire to attend.

Bottom line is that the determining factor ultimately will be whether you are medically fit to be a plebe. That is a call for USNA Medical. Given the time between now and I-Day and, based on what you have said, that shouldn't be a problem. But I wouldn't try to "hide" the injury if you're appointed b/c if you do and they learn of it, you'll be in a world of hurt -- literally and figuratively.

Not that I'm any expert, but when you inform DoDMERB I'd accompany it with a letter from your doctor stating nature of injury, treatment, anticipated recovery time, and when he expects you to be back to full activity. DOn't just tell the I broke my collar bone because there are nothing be questions after that.

USNA1985 hit the nail on the head.

As an addendum--if you are given an appointment and later break something and are med DQ'd, USNA medical will make a decision whether or not to give you a chance to rehab before I-Day. All is not lost though; it is possible that they will give you a chance to participate in a year of civilian university and will nearly guarantee entry for the next year's class, much like the Foundations program or NAPS.

The one thing I've learned through this process is to be completely transparent and honest. If the paperwork says to notify DoDMERB of any changes (I believe it does), do it. Then you can move forward given all of the circumstances. As USNA1985 said, it shouldn't negatively impact your chances for appointment. Good luck through a painful process, and heal up fast.

Space2Bmom I do not have a bad character. I simply do not want to put myself in a compromising position.




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Be your best self.



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DS has an appointment for the class of 2019 and had to have surgery to repair a broken wrist a few weeks ago. Surgery took place days after he received the BFE. We have reported it to his admissions officer and DoDMERB, just waiting to hear back on what is needed from us and what effect this will have on his appointment. He is expected to be fully recovered roughly three months before I-Day - but we are still nervous about the effect this will have. We assume he will be DQ'd and a waiver will be needed.

We'll post back when we hear something so that others in a similar situation will know how the process goes.

Fair enough, I see your point. I suppose I should have clarified my post, and that my intent was to advise the OP. I said what I would do. Surgeries are supposed to be reported, though USNA medical acknowledged to me that wisdom teeth surgery/other minor surgeries often go unreported and they won't know about them.

Another important point to consider is that their medical team can and will advise you whether any necessary surgeries, hardware, etc. are disqualifying. I needed a waiver for a screw in my wrist, for example.

I repeat . . . the military tends to have bright line rules . . . get used to it. Understand the requirements -- in this case what must be reported to DODMERB -- and follow them. I haven't dealt with DODMERB for a long time, so don't know what they say today. But I have little doubt they are clear.

There is a difference between a cold and a broken collarbone. When in doubt, report it (if required to do so). If it's a minor issue, DODMERB and the SA aren't going to make a big deal of it. They really aren't looking to DQ people -- they are trying to ensure that folks who start on I-Day can complete PS and ultimately be commissioned. IMO, that is a reasonable goal.

mb1395 said:

Fair enough, I see your point. I suppose I should have clarified my post, and that my intent was to advise the OP. I said what I would do. Surgeries are supposed to be reported, though USNA medical acknowledged to me that wisdom teeth surgery/other minor surgeries often go unreported and they won't know about them.

Another important point to consider is that their medical team can and will advise you whether any necessary surgeries, hardware, etc. are disqualifying. I needed a waiver for a screw in my wrist, for example.

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MB1395, congratulations on (both of ) your appointment(s)! I posted above about DS's recent wrist surgery, and found your post interesting. Were you DQ'd by DoDMERB or USNA for the screw in your wrist? Just wondering if they judged possibly similar conditions consistently. DS also has a screw in his other wrist (a matching set!), which required a remedial (not DQ/waiver) since the surgery occurred a year ago and he fully recovered before his DoDMERB exam. Would you mind saying how close to I-Day you broke your wrist? TIA.

So you suggest taking counsel from an anonymous internet forum rather than an SA admissions or liaison officer???

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1. I suggested following the guidelines that DODMERB and/or the SA establishes which should be stated in the materials candidates are sent or are available to them on line. If, after reviewing that information, the candidate is unsure whether something should be reported, he/she should contact DODMERB or the SA and ask.

2. I am a BGO (or, as referred to in USAFA parlance, a liaison officer). BGOs are told to refer candidates with medical questions to DODMERB or the SA. USNA doesn't want us involved in medical issues due to privacy concerns. See #1 above.

3. A third option is for the candidate to contact the RD (Admissions Officer) and explain the situation. However, the RD is almost certainly either going to default to the published guidance from DODMERB or the SA or to advise the candidate to contact one of those entities. See #1 above.

I've pm'd MammaMia but I figured I could post an abbreviated version of what I said so as to stay on thread topic.

I notified Navy medical as soon as I fractured my wrist and they had me fax a report concerning my wrist to DoDMERB, who disqualified me pending waiver review. I did not receive a waiver from Navy and was officially disqualified for c/o 2018. The official disqualification date was 5/28, and the doctors knew that I wouldn't be ready for I-day, as my recovery would take ~12 weeks.

Now that I look back at the DQ code, I was officially disqualified for Disease/injury of an upper extremity with residual weakness/symptoms, so they did not mention the screw specifically. Had I been healed and given an all clear by my doctor by I-day, I may have been granted a waiver. This was not a possibility for me, as I fractured my wrist around May 7th and waited 2 weeks to go see a doctor (ignored the pain, thought it was a bad sprain).

As a side note, if you ever think about just showing up to I-Day and pushing through the pain, don't. Health comes first, no matter what.

Thanks mb1395. A follow-up to my earlier post as well -

DS broke his wrist requiring surgery just after receiving his appointment. He is expected to be fully recovered in time for I-Day. His admissions officer advised him that they will change his medical status to "incomplete" (not DQ) until DoDMERB gets the medical documentation, including the all-clear, and that it does not affect his offer at this time. So, another option exists aside from remedial or DQ/waiver when injury occurs after the initial DoDMERB exam and after appointment is received, assuming the candidate expects to return to normal activity in time for I-Day.

I wanted to spell this out for the benefit of future readers of this forum.

MammaMia said:

Thanks mb1395. A follow-up to my earlier post as well -

DS broke his wrist requiring surgery just after receiving his appointment. He is expected to be fully recovered in time for I-Day. His admissions officer advised him that they will change his medical status to "incomplete" (not DQ) until DoDMERB gets the medical documentation, including the all-clear, and that it does not affect his offer at this time. So, another option exists aside from remedial or DQ/waiver when injury occurs after the initial DoDMERB exam and after appointment is received, assuming the candidate expects to return to normal activity in time for I-Day.

I wanted to spell this out for the benefit of future readers of this forum.

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Further follow-up so future applicants know as much about this process as possible -

DS (who has a BFE) received notification from the Medical Technician at USNA that he has been DQ'd by DoDMERB because his wrist has not yet healed. This is as we expected - sending the records to DoDMERB (which is required for a change to medical status) kicked off the process. Ms. Weber sent a very nice, personal note of reassurance that they will submit the waiver once all records are received, including his return to full unlimited activity, and that she didn't want him to be taken by surprise when he gets the notification.

Timing: LOA/nomination/appointment received in December -> surgery end of December -> all records submitted to DoDMERB and USNA -> at surgery+4 weeks was notified no change to offer -> at surgery+6 weeks notified of DQ. Expect to be cleared end of March/early April (surgery+12-14 weeks). Surgery was a vascularized bone graft open repair of broken scaphoid, and we continue to send records to DoDMERB after each dr visit. The healing is coming along (not fast enough for me).

After this we will invest in bubble wrap!