Scholarship payback

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robbiemc

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My son is a four year ROTC scholarship recipient. He is 4o days before graduation and commissioning. He has already contracted and has been assigned his first choice as an infantry officer in the Army. He has excelled all four years in all of his training requirements including LDAC and will graduate in the top 5 of his ROTC senior class. He is in the Scabbard and Blade military honor fraternity and a leader in his university's Ranger Club. I tear up as I write this because all he has ever wanted to do for a career is lead soldiers and be an infantry officer serving his country and after five years of very hard work he is 6 weeks away. This past weekend after a short illness, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He is the picture of health, never had a problem before and it does not run in our immediate family. We all realize that this will immediately disqualify him from service and that alone is a huge personal disappointment and death of a dream. My question is... will the army require him to pay back his scholarship money since he will not be able to serve? This was not in any way brought on by him and surprised everyone. It is already a huge blow but would be an almost unbearable insult to injury if they made him pay them back. Anyone know the rules on this?
 
He will almost certainly not be required to pay back his scholarship. I've actually never heard of a cadet having to repay after a medical disenrollment. This is not to say it couldn't happen, but it would be very unusual.

I am truly sorry to hear about your son's condition and the consequences. What qualities brought him this far and made him successful will also serve him well in a different career. Best of luck to both of you.
 
So sorry to hear of your situation and I feel for you as a parent. God Bless and hang in there.
 
Diabetes does not meet the standard, so it would be disqualifying. I have no idea whether or not it's waiverable, but I suspect it's not.

If your son was aware he had the condition but did not disclose it, that would be a violation of his scholarship contract and the Army could seek repayment.

However, based on what you said, it sounds as if this is a condition of which he was unaware. Either it was not detected previously by medical professionals or it has developed recently. In this case, the Army would not be entitled to repayment of the scholarship. Hopefully, the Army will understand the situation without making him go through hoops.

I'm sorry to see his dream shattered like this, and I wish him good luck.
 
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I don't think he'll be required to repay the scholarship since it's no fault of his. Is there any possibility for restricted line? It is manageable but probably not in a combat zone.
 
I can't cite rules or regulations, but I am confident a medical discharge like that would not require payback.

Are you sure that this is an automatic disqualification? If so, then I am truly sorry for him but as Jcc123 states: "What qualities brought him this far and made him successful will also serve him well in a different career."
 
EDelahanty said:
Diabetes does not meet the standard, so it would be disqualifying. I have no idea whether or not it's waiverable, but I suspect it's not.

If your son was aware he had the condition but did not disclose it, that would be a violation of his scholarship contract and the Army could seek repayment.

However, based on what you said, it sounds as if this is a condition of which he was unaware. Either it was not detected previously by medical professionals or it has developed recently. In this case, the Army would not be entitled to repayment of the scholarship. Hopefully, the Army will understand the situation without making him go through hoops.

I'm sorry to see his dream shattered like this, and I wish him good luck.
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He was totally unaware and has gone through numerous physicals for his initial Dodmerb wavering process. He also had a physical at LDAC last summer. Nothing has ever shown up prior to this past weekend.
 
kinnem said:
I don't think he'll be required to repay the scholarship since it's no fault of his. Is there any possibility for restricted line? It is manageable but probably not in a combat zone.
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I have never heard of restricted line. What is that? And yes it is manageable with insulin injections.
 
Restricted Line Officer refers to the following:
Restricted Line Officers in the United States Navy and Navy Reserve are line officers who are not eligible for Command at Sea. There are many different types and communities, including Engineering Duty Officers, Aerospace Engineering Duty Officers, Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officers, Naval Intelligence Officers, Information Warfare Officers, Information Operations Officers, Foreign Area Officers, Public Affairs Officers, Naval Oceanographers, Information Professionals, and Human Resources.

Not sure the Army has anything similar.
 
robbiemc said:
I have never heard of restricted line. What is that? And yes it is manageable with insulin injections.
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It may just be a Navy thing, but basically it restricts what roles you can serve in. eg. JAG is restricted line... you will not command troops in combat which is reasonable since JAG folks will be spending their time in the courtroom or some other office environment. I know it's not what his heart was set on, but if Army has that, then it may be a possibility.
 
robbiemc said:
He was totally unaware and has gone through numerous physicals for his initial Dodmerb wavering process. He also had a physical at LDAC last summer. Nothing has ever shown up prior to this past weekend.
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Yeah. It's actually an auto-immune disease that can develop quite quickly... unlike my type 2.
 
I had a buddy diagnosed with Type 1 while at USNA. He was allowed to continue and graduate with no payback and was not allowed to commission. I assume ROTC would be the same. From my understanding diabetic is not waiverable under any circumstances. Even in Navy restricted line, which the Army does not have, it is still not waiverable.

OP, I am so sorry to hear about this for your DS. He sounds like an amazing young man who will conquer this hurdle and do great regardless of where he goes. He might be a little lost for awhile trying to find his new path, but you sound like a wonderful family who will assist him in any way possible. Best of luck to your DS with his health and new path.
 
kinnem said:
Yeah. It's actually an auto-immune disease that can develop quite quickly... unlike my type 2.
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And it is a lucky thing for OP's son that it was diagnosed before anything bad happened. I have a friend who I worked with who found out she had Type-1 diabetes when she woke up in a hospital after spending weeks in a coma. Almost died.

Kinnem, glad to hear that you are "moderating" things both here and in real life...

Given that the OP's son's diagnosis happened during the last semester, they could revoke the scholarship because he cannot complete the term as part of the unit at which point he'd be responsible for that last semester's tuition. Like the others, past threads with similar medical disqualifications have never resulted in complete payback, but have resulted in current term revocation.
 
So very sorry...

However I am fairly ignorant on diabetes and I am wondering...

How the heck could he just now get it? I mean obviously he did fine before...can it just be contracted at any time? So now his whole life has to change over something that never had any effect before? I really don't get it.
 
Akrogen, Type 1 Diabetes develops in children/young adults from those who get little or no insulin from their pancreas. It's a rare type (5% of all diabetics, according to mayo clinic) which can be remedied with insulin shots. Unfortunately, that's a disqualifying factor for the military.

So sorry to hear about your son; hopefully he can put those four years of schooling to great use elsewhere!
 
It was painful to read your original post... not nearly so hard as your having to write it, I'm sure.
I'll launch a few prayers in your general direction. I'm confident your son will get the medical part of this under control, and land on his feet ready to do something great. Coming out of 'left field' like this is just hard to get ones head around.
 
Man it hurts just reading it... I know you guys are stunned! I know it sounds cliche... But his knowledge is indeed greater and deeper than ours. My prayers are with you guys... God Bless!!!
 
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Akrogan said:
So very sorry...

However I am fairly ignorant on diabetes and I am wondering...

How the heck could he just now get it? I mean obviously he did fine before...can it just be contracted at any time? So now his whole life has to change over something that never had any effect before? I really don't get it.
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Type 1 is caused by your immune system attacking the portion of your pancreas which produces insulin. Once this is damaged your pancreas no longer produces insulin and your blood sugar climbs and climbs until it's caught, perhaps by your going into a diabetic coma, or your dead. So yes, it can happen at any time and as of yet there is no cure. It can only be treated through diet and insulin injections.

Type 2 is totally different and I won't bother about that here.
 
I believe this is the worst fear of all cadets and their loved ones -- something out of left field abruptly ending their career before it even really begins. This path is so full of road blocks and wild twists and turns. Will keep your family in our thoughts and prayers as he finds a new path forward.
 
I want to thank everyone for your supportive comments and yes, it has been and still is incredibly difficult to try and understand this, especially the timing. Since everything was so clearly laid out for the past four years, he did not even pursue any job interviews or internships over his college career. He only did Army summer programs; one abroad, one in the states and of course LDAC. If he had been diagnosed after he commissioned, I assume he would have been considered a veteran and given a medical discharge with VA benefits, etc.... If he had been diagnosed earlier in his college years he could have had years to plan accordingly. As it stands, he seems to be in this strange and unclear middle ground, with a major life changing medical issue, finishing up school with no concrete plans or even options as of right now. I know he was given incredible training in ROTC and the leadership skills and friendships he made can never be taken away. At least, I just hope he is not strapped with tens of thousands of dollars in school debt on top of all that and from most of your posts, it seems like he will not. Regardless, we move on to whatever future lies ahead and we have to believe that when all the dust settles, there will be a good future for him.
 
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