Alcohol Consumption - Hospitlization (Want to join ROTC)

Christianjohn

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Nov 6, 2018
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Hi everyone,
About a year ago, when I was 19, I had gone to a formal event and had never drank before and did not plan on it. I honestly do not even remember consuming any alcohol, but ended up very intoxicated. I requested my friend to get me a ride home since I knew I did not feel right - and fell asleep in the ride. The driver could not wake me up - and campus police escorted me to the hospital. I did not stay overnight. I was there for a total of 4 hours. The hospital has no records of me in the hospital either and was never billed for it.
But, a month later was emailed about a student conduct violation for alcohol possession/consumption. I accepted the violation since it was indeed me and just did not want to fight about the chance of me being drugged (being drugged was very common at my school at that time). I have learned from this mistake and plan on staying away from friends/crowds that are drinking.
There is no law violation on record and is solely college based. I have a good GPA, have a lot of community service and have lead some philanthropic organizations.
Will this cause a DQ for me when I apply? Will this affect my chances for an ROTC based scholarship? Any to all help would be appreciated.
 
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You should be fine. You might need to explain it, but what they are really concerned about is "problem" drinking - aka alcohol abuse. If this was a one time event then I wouldn't consider it a "problem".
 
You should be fine if it's nothing with the law but if your ROTC cadre find out, just be honest.
I initially planned on enlisting - and told my recruiter about my situation, who in turn asked his recruiting commander that said the same thing, that since I was not overnight and had no law violation that I did not need to disclose.
I might be thinking far ahead, but, I am a sophomore - want to go to medical school as well - and be a military doctor. How will this affect my clearances?
You should be fine. You might need to explain it, but what they are really concerned about is "problem" drinking - aka alcohol abuse. If this was a one time event then I wouldn't consider it a "problem".
Are they likely to request medical records on this? I have none to provide since the hospital does not have any - as this is quite a frequent occurrence at the hospital I was at.
Do you know which questions on the medical questionnaire most pertain to my situation. I would love to answer them as truthfully as I can. I also plan on going to medical school - and eventually be a doctor in the Army, so clearance is of great importance!
 
Do what you feel is right. If there is no physical record of it - then there's no way to demonstrate that it happened - and happened the way you describe.
The DoDMERB questionnaire is rather vague on alcohol use. So vague in fact, that my DS decided to say "yes" to the alcohol use question, because he had tried a few sips of beer at home with us on occasion.
It didn't take too many sips of different beers for him to figure out that he doesn't like beer. It's hard to believe he's even related to me, but I digress.

During his exam with the DoD doctor, the question of his "alcohol use" came up.
He told the doctor, and the doctor said, "oh okay, that really isn't what we're looking for here" and "I'm going to mark this out so it doesn't come up again".

So there you have it. I'm not counseling you either way on what to do, but this isolated incident means nothing in my opinion. That's just my opinion, though. Everyone has one.
 
Do what you feel is right. If there is no physical record of it - then there's no way to demonstrate that it happened - and happened the way you describe.
The DoDMERB questionnaire is rather vague on alcohol use. So vague in fact, that my DS decided to say "yes" to the alcohol use question, because he had tried a few sips of beer at home with us on occasion.
It didn't take too many sips of different beers for him to figure out that he doesn't like beer. It's hard to believe he's even related to me, but I digress.

During his exam with the DoD doctor, the question of his "alcohol use" came up.
He told the doctor, and the doctor said, "oh okay, that really isn't what we're looking for here" and "I'm going to mark this out so it doesn't come up again".

So there you have it. I'm not counseling you either way on what to do, but this isolated incident means nothing in my opinion. That's just my opinion, though. Everyone has one.

Everyone's opinion is insight for me - never goes unnoticed!
The school has the file of me being transported to the hospital from campus police - but the hospital does not have records of me.
I do plan on telling the ROO when I sign up for the class. I may be over thinking but, I dont wanna risk serving, since this is of the utmost importance to me.

The DODMERB process seems so much more efficient than MEPS. Greatful for different opportunities to grow in the military!
 
You should be fine. You might need to explain it, but what they are really concerned about is "problem" drinking - aka alcohol abuse. If this was a one time event then I wouldn't consider it a "problem".
Would this affect my chances for scholarship?
 
Would this affect my chances for scholarship?

You've already stated that you regret the alcohol incident and intend to be honest and upfront about it as you seek to join ROTC. It certainly would be better if the incident never happened but you can't change that now.

So, you have an incident from your past that you regret, have learned from and you intend to be honest about. That's about all you can do, so don't waste energy worrying about what the effect may be since you can't change that now. Focus your energy on what you can do going forward by working hard, participating and generally being a gread cadet or midshipman.
 
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