Figured I'd make a post detailing my waiver process to help anyone out there going through the same thing. I was diagnosed with asthma as a toddler and had inhalers prescribed up until I was 16. I never used the inhalers past my 10th birthday but they were still prescribed as a precaution. I enrolled in Army ROTC at my school and was non contracted my freshman year. I boarded September of my Sophomore year (2018). For those of you unfamiliar, the boarding process is just an application for a Scholarship in which you are interviewed by some of your cadre. I began my Dodmerb( like MEPS, but for ROTC and service academies) stuff slightly after that. I completed the Dodmerb questionnaire and told them that I was diagnosed with asthma, was prescribed medication until I was 16, and that I was no longer affected by it. After the questionnaire, I booked a physical and an eye exam through the Dodmerb website. Both were very general exams, the physical just went over the answers I gave on the Dodmerb questionnaire and the eye exam was pretty routine. After a few weeks I was informed that I was awarded a scholarship, but would have to wait until I was cleared by Dodmerb to contract. About a month after that, I had a remedial on my Dodmerb profile requesting more information about the asthma and also eczema that I had as a child. I sent them all the medical files I had on the two conditions but a few days later I had another remedial, this one asking for all prescription data from my 13th birthday to present. I sent that in and about a month later I was declared ineligible by Dodmerb due to Asthma and the Eczema. My cadre and I filled out a waiver request form and a PMS endorsement letter and sent that to Cadet Command. This part took forever. The waiver request was sent in January. I didn't hear back from Cadet Command until June. They approved my waiver for Asthma and Eczema, no Pulmonary function tests or Methacholine tests needed. Just wanted to write this to show that there is hope for people with asthma or other disqualifying conditions.
Things I learned throughout the process:
1. Stay in constant contact with your Dodmerb caseworker, literally call them every day.
2. Get started on stuff right away, if you have a remedial on your Dodmerb, don't wait to take care of it, handle it as soon as it comes up
3. Be patient. The Army is kind of like the DMV, you can talk to someone who will tell you one thing then someone else will tell you the opposite. Stuff gets lost. You will be on hold for an hour.
4. Don't give up. It may take a week, or a month, or an entire year for your waiver process, but do not give up. The worst part is the waiting and knowing that there is nothing you can do, but try not to think about it too much or you will go crazy and remember that anything is possible
5. Get to know your cadre. Build a relationship with them, try to impress them because they will do anything to push your waiver through if they believe in you. My PMS sent emails and called Cadet Command every week to check on the waiver and I truly believe that he was crucial in getting my waiver approved.
That's all I have, if you want more information feel free to DM me
Things I learned throughout the process:
1. Stay in constant contact with your Dodmerb caseworker, literally call them every day.
2. Get started on stuff right away, if you have a remedial on your Dodmerb, don't wait to take care of it, handle it as soon as it comes up
3. Be patient. The Army is kind of like the DMV, you can talk to someone who will tell you one thing then someone else will tell you the opposite. Stuff gets lost. You will be on hold for an hour.
4. Don't give up. It may take a week, or a month, or an entire year for your waiver process, but do not give up. The worst part is the waiting and knowing that there is nothing you can do, but try not to think about it too much or you will go crazy and remember that anything is possible
5. Get to know your cadre. Build a relationship with them, try to impress them because they will do anything to push your waiver through if they believe in you. My PMS sent emails and called Cadet Command every week to check on the waiver and I truly believe that he was crucial in getting my waiver approved.
That's all I have, if you want more information feel free to DM me