CONFUSED Remedial HELP!!!

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DrivenNavy

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May 25, 2018
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Got a letter from Bureau of Medicine and Surgery stating a waiver recommendation cannot be determined at this time due to the need more information. So basically requesting medical records. Is this a good thing? Luckily retrieved letter before Dodmerb went down. Sent records to person at Dodmerb. She then forwarded to Chief Operations Branch Department of Defense Review Board and she replied we will get this processed as soon as possible.

Confused. Who reviews records, assume uploaded to Dodmerb then waiver authority reviews them. This whole waiver process and steps is very confusing. Does Dodmerb review??
 
Medical record request is a good thing. DoDMERB will review and give a thumbs up or down or may even request more records or additional tests ,depending on the issue. If you feel you have negative information in your records be prepared to dispute . This is a marathon and not a sprint. Good luck.
 
DoDMERB either Q's or DQ's or requests a remedial. This is done at DoDMERB HQ based in Colorado.

If DoDMERB DQ's a candidate then any waiver is done by the SA or ROTC program. The SA or ROTC program may ask for additional medical information (AMI) in order to make a waiver decision. DoDMERB is out of the picture at this point.
 
I think where people get confused on DoDMERB’s role and waivers is from a couple of things. Based on our experience and my reading here on the forum, as AROTC-Dad said, DoDMERB decides Q or DQ. If Q, you have completed the medical process. Congrats! If DQ, then DoDMERB will typically ask for medical information (remedial) and may initiate additional testing in order to get your file going for further review. Sometimes that additional info allows DoDMERB to undo the DQ. I don’t think this happens often but have seen it. That is not a waiver. DoDMERB didn’t issue a waiver, they changed their medical assessment and now you are Q! Most of the time however the DQ is real and now a SA needs to decide whether to initiate a waiver for you. (ROTCs don’t initiate DoDMERB until you’ve already been awarded a scholarship, and if you are DQ, a waiver process is automatically initiated.) The SA or ROTC may ask for even more info or testing. That request may come through DoDMERB or directly from the SA or ROTC. Instructions may ask you to send results directly to the SA or ROTC or be sent to DoDMERB. The waiver, if granted, then comes from the SA or ROTC medical waiver authority.
 
Remedial letter came directly from BUMED and to submit records through DoDMerb. Does BUMED go in and grab what records were submitted?? Isn't BUMED the waiver authority???
 
Yes ... DoDMERB is the central file all waiver authorities draw from

For Navy the medical waiver authority is the USNA Supt or the NROTC commander as advised by the medical staff.
 
From the acronym list up above -- BUMED – Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Basically the "medical staff" that will advise the medical waiver authorities for USNA and NROTC. It is possible for the waiver authority to not go with a BUMED recommendation. Probably doesn't happen often, but the "commander" not the "doc" gets to decide.

IMHO this a better system than I see in the AF where the medical waiver authority for USAFA is the USAFA surgeon general, and for AFROTC it is the AETC surgeon general. The AF "commanders" by reg don't have a say.
 
Falcon A said:
I think where people get confused on DoDMERB’s role and waivers is from a couple of things. Based on our experience and my reading here on the forum, as AROTC-Dad said, DoDMERB decides Q or DQ. If Q, you have completed the medical process. Congrats! If DQ, then DoDMERB will typically ask for medical information (remedial) and may initiate additional testing in order to get your file going for further review. Sometimes that additional info allows DoDMERB to undo the DQ. I don’t think this happens often but have seen it. That is not a waiver. DoDMERB didn’t issue a waiver, they changed their medical assessment and now you are Q! Most of the time however the DQ is real and now a SA needs to decide whether to initiate a waiver for you. (ROTCs don’t initiate DoDMERB until you’ve already been awarded a scholarship, and if you are DQ, a waiver process is automatically initiated.) The SA or ROTC may ask for even more info or testing. That request may come through DoDMERB or directly from the SA or ROTC. Instructions may ask you to send results directly to the SA or ROTC or be sent to DoDMERB. The waiver, if granted, then comes from the SA or ROTC medical waiver authority.
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Hi,
I have a question.
If DODMERB is determining the remediation, how come I was denied a waiver from USMA and requested a remediation for USNA? (Sorry if this sounds like I'm interrogating you...I realized that it might sound a little rude on a screen) So what happened for me was that after my DQ, both USMA and USNA requested for a waiver. Then, a USMA officer called me and told me that the doctors in USMA found my medical case to be disqualifying. So I was pretty much feeling hopeless for USNA. However, today I found out that a remedial was requested for me.
 
sophieee said:
Hi,
I have a question.
If DODMERB is determining the remediation, how come I was denied a waiver from USMA and requested a remediation for USNA? (Sorry if this sounds like I'm interrogating you...I realized that it might sound a little rude on a screen) So what happened for me was that after my DQ, both USMA and USNA requested for a waiver. Then, a USMA officer called me and told me that the doctors in USMA found my medical case to be disqualifying. So I was pretty much feeling hopeless for USNA. However, today I found out that a remedial was requested for me.
Click to expand...

The standards and policies for what DQs may be waived by an individual Service may differ. Why? The Services have different missions, equipment, operating environments. What is unacceptable for one Service might be ok in the field in another.

DODMERB Qs or DQs per the DOD accession standard. Individual Service policy then determines if remedials are requested and a waiver process initiated. There is a lot of back-and-forth communication you don’t see behind the scenes. Essentially, one Service says, “no, this one we will say no to; we don’t waive X.” Another Service may say “OK, let’s get some more info, this one might be good for our waiver list for this particular DQ, and we can do about Y more of these waivers from this commissioning source.”

A good example is color vision deficiency. Red and green are essential parts of aids to navigation. As I understand it, USMMA doesn’t waive. USNA has a handful of waivers every year, and those midshipmen only have certain career paths open to them in the restricted line or staff communities. USCGA - I just realized I don’t know what they do, but I suspect, similar to other sea/air-focused SAs where red and green vision is key, they either don’t waive or have a thimbleful of waivers. USAFA does have color vision guidelines, but similar to USNA, may (pure guess here) offer some waivers to non-pilot career paths. USMA - likely not as big an issue here, but the point is, waivers are not just “let’s give someone a break,” but carefully considered decisions on which conditions will not impact unit combat readiness in the field. The military can not afford to take in people, no matter how fine they are, with certain “broken” aspects to their health. Operating in high-stress, harsh environments far from advanced medical support or using gear/equipment that has to be worn or operated in certain ways, determining who is going to be able to be relied on - this is what lies behind every waiver decision.
 
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sophieee said:
Hi,
I have a question.
If DODMERB is determining the remediation, how come I was denied a waiver from USMA and requested a remediation for USNA? (Sorry if this sounds like I'm interrogating you...I realized that it might sound a little rude on a screen) So what happened for me was that after my DQ, both USMA and USNA requested for a waiver. Then, a USMA officer called me and told me that the doctors in USMA found my medical case to be disqualifying. So I was pretty much feeling hopeless for USNA. However, today I found out that a remedial was requested for me.
Click to expand...

I agree with Capt MJ

But I don't agree with your statement that "DoDMERB is determining the remediation" . . . DoDMERB does not decide "remediation" . . . DoDMERB decides "Q" or "DQ" based upon what you put on the DoDMERB form and what the DoDMERB physical and vision exams found, compared with what is in DoDI 6130.03 : https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003p.pdf?ver=2018-04-09-114201-123

DoDMERB MAY decide to ask for more information from you. That is known as a "remedial" -- but the term in not being used for its primary definition of a "remedy" or "cure" . . . but is instead used consistent with its secondary meaning "requiring further study."

Count your blessings . . . as Capt MJ said, it is not usual for one SA (or ROTC) to deny entry, and another SA (or ROTC) to grant a waiver for the same medical condition . . . (it happened for my DS) . . . you may have just won the lotto . . . good luck with USNA!
 
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