Army ROTC after disqualified from enlisted Air Force

Jody Rios

Jody Rios

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2015
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Back in December, I was planning on enlisting in the Air Force but was disqualified for having "dry skin," on my shoulder. It was winter in Chicago and I hadn't put any lotion on, but I just couldn't fathom why my extremely minor ashy-ness could get me disqualified. I had no diseases (eczema, psoriasis, infections, etc.) but still I was disqualified. Regardless, I decided to continue to pursue the military and started looking at the Army. So I bought some regular lotion and applied it a couple of times, then took a visit to a Army guard base and received a physical from the base physician clearing me for enlistment. I also went to a civilian dermatologist who assured me that I had nothing wrong with my back and she even mentioned that her skin was probably dryer than mine.
Now a few months later, I applied and received a federal 4 year scholarship from the Army and will be headed to the scheduled DoD MERB physical next week. On the Army ROTC scholarship website, under my application it says that "no waivers are required," for me, but I'm still unsure of what will happen at the doctors office. My question is this, will my enlisted Air Force disqualification from MEPS have any affect on my Army ROTC tenure, will I need a waiver even though it's through a different branch, will my MEPs record be checked by the DoD MERB, and since I admitted to being disqualified by the Air Force on the DoD MERB pre-screen, will I run into problems just because of that?
I've been checking forums with cases of guys getting Dq'd for a while and have yet to find one where the reason for disqualification was as seemingly inappropriate as mine. Thank's for helping me out!

ALSO
If I do need a waiver, could I get it from any Army doctor? The Army doctor who conducted my second physical at the guard base told me that he would be willing to write me a waiver, but since it was Air Force he couldn't.
 
Jody -- Good for you for being truthful on your DoDMERB form. You are already making high integrity decisions.

You should email Mr Mullen with your questions. He can provide you great advice on DoDMERB and how much communication goes on between DoDMERB and MEPs:

MullenLE said:
Deputy Director = Lawrence.E.Mullen.civ@mail.mil
Click to expand...

First, the "no waivers required" on you Army ROTC portal is not referring to the medical side of the equation. As explained to me by Army Cadet Command, that statement only applies to the non-medical side and means you have no bad marks in your record such as trouble with the police, at school, etc.

Second, each officer commissioning source is its own medical waiver authority. For Army ROTC, the medical waiver authority is the Commanding General, U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC) and is advised by the USACC Command Surgeon, so the local Army doc you saw might be a good source for a medical letter on your condition should a waiver become necessary. It is not uncommon for one commissioning source (Air Force ROTC or USAFA) to deny a medical waiver, and for another commissioning source (West Point or USACC) to grant a medical waiver for the same condition. My limited experience is that it seems the Air Force it the most "risk averse" to granting medical waivers and the Army seems to be more about "risk management." Others may have different experiences.

Best of luck with your DoDMERB medical physical. I'm sure it will go fine. Just relax, and it will.

I'm not a doctor, but it might be good, since you've noted the previous DQ on your form, to ask the doctor to note in his remarks that the previous condition that caused the MEPs DQ is no longer present, if that is the case.
 
[QUOTE="Falcon A, post: 423260, member: 23616]

Second, each officer commissioning source is its own medical waiver authority. For Army ROTC, the medical waiver authority is the Commanding General, U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC) and is advised by the USACC Command Surgeon, so the local Army doc you saw might be a good source for a medical letter on your condition should a waiver become necessary.

-Regarding this.... Does this mean that if CG Combs wanted she could make a decision on someone's waiver even if she has not been advised to make a decision by the Command Surgeon?
 
Kronk - the Army reg designates the USACC Commanding General as the Army ROTC medical waiver authority. Same reg designates the West Point Superintendent as the medical waiver authority for USMA - however, my guess would be that the practice is to hear from the respective Command Surgeons prior to deciding on a medical waiver.
 
Thank you Falcon A for the helpful response!

I will be sure to have the doctor administering the physical to make an extra note about my back and I've gotten into contact with Mr. Mullen. I'll post with any updates!
 
Well after completing my physical, I waited for about a week and learned that i was deemed qualified by the DOD MERBS. I can not thank everyone on this forum enough for calming my nerves during this difficult application and for the extremely helpful information. Army here I come!
 
Congrats Jody! Where will you be going to school using that 4-yr Army ROTC scholarship you have earned?
 
I'll be attesting Northern Illinois University in the fall, but I am also applying for West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy for the year after. I had received a nomination for the Air Force Academy back in December, but that was around the time I learned of my disqualification and therefore never finished the application. Now that I've been qualified for the Army and the Air Force and this whole thing is resolved, I figure that I might as well go try again since it's my first choice versus ROTC.
But regardless I'm extremely excited to start my military career!
 
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