Being Dishonest at DODMERB

Janie61

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5-Year Member
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My son and several of his friends (they will be seniors this year) have applied for both ROTC scholarships and service academy nominations. He has one friend in particular who is planning on withholding pertinent info. from DODMERB. She has a history of ADD and has been on/off meds for over ten years. She has been off them for good the past 6 months. She also was treated with Accutane for acne last year, and isn't planning on disclosing this as well, as she fears if she sends in her dermatology records, it will mention the history of ADD.

We have talked with her at great length about this. She says she no longer needs meds and her dr. has weaned her off of them, and since there is no mention of ADD in any of her school records, "no one will ever find out." We've encouraged her to be truthful with this information because it will eventually come out.

She is the one who introduced us to this message board and I know she reads them. My hope is that someone can shed some light as to how her condition will eventually be known. My son and I were talking last night and we are kind of curious as to how DODMERB will find out if she doesn't disclose it. From what I've read, they always find out!

Thanks for your time!

Janie in Ca.
 
Considering that one of the core values for all the services is honesty, it is very disconcerting that people still feel the need to be less than honest with any of their applications.

If this young woman does not disclose the issue on her DoDMERB physical, and the information is later found out, the chances of getting a waiver, or even being offered a scholarship decrease greatly. If DoDMERB requests some other medical information, and that information includes the fact that she was on medication for ADD/ADHD in the past, they will either disqualify or request additional information. If, in her admissions package there is information that she was on medication for ADD/ADHD (such as information in her high school transcripts that she is unaware of) this information will be passed to DoDMERB. DoDMERB works closely with the admissions officers at the academies and ROTC headquarters.

I would tell this young lady that she needs to be honest and disclose the information. If she has been off the medication for 6 months, she will be found disqualified by DoDMERB, but it is possible that she could be granted a waiver if her grades have been maintained.

If this information is found out after she starts receiving her scholarship, she can be disenrolled from the program and forced to pay back any money that she received.

In my opinion it is not worth the risk, and most are found out sooner or later.
 
Don't Do it. As RetNavyHM states, it's not worth the risk.

There will be some mention of it in some random piece of paper sent to either DODMERB or the Academy and it would become a big liability for her admission. I know the waiver process is a pain, but it usually gets it right in the end.
 
risk – noun
Exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance: It's not worth the risk.
 
Lazy, dishonest, or maybe just not detail oriented. Doesn't matter which. None of these attributes are what make good officers. Maybe reconsider career?
 
I don't see how anyone can justify LYING on their medical history for DoDMERB.
Any idea where the parents are in this? Do they condone her lying about her medical history?
This is one part of the application, as a parent, that I provided a lot of assistance for my daughter. It was so overwhelming -

If this applicant is under 18 then the parents should have to consent to the exam and the medical history is an integral part of the exam.
 
I think the person thinking about withholding the info is really putting herself in a bad situation. My son had pretty much perfect health when he went for his exam but he had ear tubes when he was a toddler and the doc could see a little bit of scarring in one of his ears. That made no difference at all and he passed with flying colors but the point is....had he not put that initially on his form that he had a past history of tympanostomy tubes, he would have been shown to be a liar and that would have been it.

The other thing is, from all the kids I know who went through the exam, they always find some small, tiny, tinny-weany reason to request your medical records...so if you lie about anything, they are going to see it. My opinion is that although it is a small group of kids that I know that have gone through the exam process, EVERY single one of them had to provide medical records for some off the wall reason, including my son, and so you should probably go into it knowing that they are going to find some reason to request those records.

As far as ADD, jeez, ask any teacher and you will find out the percentage of kids who have been treated for this....it is not an uncommon thing.
 
Thanks for the feedback

I am going to have my son forward this link in an email to her. She is crazy if she doesn't include this info, and hopefully after reading from you all who have been there and exprerienced this process, she'll think twice.

Thank you for the feedback. I'm sure it will prove invaluable.

Janie
 
One way this person might be found out on the ADD is in the teacher rec. I can just imagine a teacher commenting on how wonderful it is that this person has managed so well in school despite her ADD . . .

The reason for the medical evaluation is to ensure that people are fully qualified for military service. If someone isn't qualified, he/she shouldn't be in the military -- for that person's sake and for the sake of the people he/she will potentially lead into battle. It's serious stuff.

The SAs and ROTC programs want to start with as many fully qualified people as possible b/c some will lose qualification during their time in school (eyes get bad, knee gets blown out, etc.).

Like everyone has said, the truth always comes out. Rarely in life do you get in too much trouble for telling the truth; it's the coverup that always gets you. :thumbdown:
 
Trust-

If she is not honest now, she will not be trustworthy later.
 
Although one of the core values is honesty aren't some others, duty and selfless service. If someone who want service their country (duty) so bad that their willing to risk all those possible outcomes to service other people and their country thats selfless service. I say do what you have to do to follow your dream and goal if it shakes out it shakes out. If you were in the service you know theres the FM textbook way of doing something and then theres doing it.
 
risk – noun
Exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance: It's not worth the risk.

Risk is low now, but as more time passes it increases and so do consquences.

When you lie, you have to lie more and more.

Perhaps, this candidate can make it past the DoDMERB exam. If so, she will forever have to keep up this lie.

Although this forum is anonymous, someone could figure out who she is from ths forum discussion Perhaps a ROTC instructor or ALO/BGO/FFR read this posting and makes the connection that the candidate he or she is working with is the young lady we are discussing.
 
Has anyone noticed that the applicant mentioned by the OP would most likely be age 25 today?

Nonetheless, this is relevant to all applicants who are tempted to fudge on their DoDMERB. Don't do it!
 
^^ True, that is one reason why it is better to start a new thread rather then tack onto one from several years ago. Most of the original posters are probably long gone from here by now.
 
Always be honest, but I have been shocked by how many friends of mine at academies lied on their medical forms.... It is rather sad.
 
If someone who want service their country (duty) so bad that their willing to risk all those possible outcomes to service other people and their country thats selfless service. I say do what you have to do to follow your dream and goal if it shakes out it shakes out.

Is it just me, but I noticed they had 1 post.

What was my shocker was that they advised to any/all posters here that they should do what they have to follow their dream, and if it shakes out, it shakes out.

This is DANGER WILL ROBINSON...troll at the worst, and ignorant at the best.
~ My age is showing (tv show)

What may shake out and probably will is being at the very least disenrolled for lieing on their DoDMERB. The worst is they can be handed a bill for a lot of money that was invested by the military. I have seen several posters handed between 56K to 143K bill for repayment.
~ This will not be the last time they take a DoDMERB exam. There will be another one just prior to commissioning 4 years later. I am not talking just about the amount of times you used marijuana, I am going back to the ADD aspect
~~ If that DoDMERB does not match up... expect a high chance of getting released, and if they determined you falsified/lied on your records, even as a ROTC scholarship cadet they can/will hand you whatever that bill for the last 4 years cost them. They want it back now. The you can serve enlisted is not something I would bank on.
~~~ Better hope that they do not get injured at all for as long as they are tied to the military, or at least hope you remember to lie each time you see a doc.
~~~~ IE, a cadet (SA/SMC/ROTC) their senior year injures their ankle so badly that they think it might be a break. In the ER the doc asks are you on any meds? In pain, they say, just Ritalin, not thinking about they never said it on their DoDMERB intake...just being honest to the doc. That injury needs to be reported to your commissioning source, they may request to see the results of the visit. Right there it shows they lied to them.

The chips where they fall maybe goodbye. It is all gone now. They could be 6 months out from commissioning. Now they are faced with not only the possibility of goodbye, but you owe us money. Heck, don't even get me started on if they took that career starter loan at a low interest rate... that too good to be true starter loan had fine print. on it...basically don't serve out those yrs. before paid off, and they will jump it to @19%!
~ Are you still good with that advice, knowing some kid may take it and be deep in debt because of the idea that it might not shake out in the long run? Are you willing to send your kid in harms way where their 6 is being covered by a peer that uses an outside doc for their ritalin script, but can't get a refill because they are in the sandbox for the past 6 months?

I apologize if I am wrong about you being a troll, but pulling up a thread that is over 8 years old, and it being your 1st post says to me you want to rile posters for your own amusement and not be here for these kids.

Easy to find out...this post should have irritated you enough to tell me I am way off base and defend why you think they should lie to achieve their dream.

OBTW, if you are a troll, before you pat yourself on the back for what you think is a success in riling posters up, I want to be the 1st to thank you. Without you reviving a very old thread than there would have been a chance that an applicant/candidate would have thought it is a no harm/no foul issue. Now, they know that it is not in their best interest to lie at all for multiple reasons.
 
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I'm always puzzled by a brand new poster who digs up an ancient thread and comments on it for his first post. Makes me think of Justin Facts et al.
 
With respect to "they will never find out".

I work for a life insurance company. Use of prescription medicines are tracked. Insurance companies use a service called the Medical Information Bureau during the underwriting process. They can receive a report that includes any prescription medicines that you have used.

You have to provide authorization for them to access this information, but it is there. I am sure somewhere in the process of applying to an Academy and/or for an ROTC scholarship and subsequent DoDMERB you have provided an authorization for them to access this or a similar source of data.
 
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