Didn't receive nomination because of DoDMERB medical disqualification.

[MADDOGG]

At the end of last month all of my friends who had applied for nominations had gotten letters back from our local representative, but I had not. I called the office to ask when I might hear something and was told I didn't get the nomination because of my medical disqualification. Someone else in the office told me I had it but then the guy responsible for nominations saw the medical and decided not to send it.

Do members of congress normally have access to a candidates medical information? If not, how did they get mine?

In my communication with DoDMERB I was told if my application is complete and competitive, a waiver would be processed. It confuses me that the nomination could be denied because of the medical before the academy had a chance to look at the application and consider processing a waiver.

 

[MullenLE]

If you’d like, you may send me an email: lawrence.e.mullen.civ@mail.mil; provide complete name and last 4 SSN; provide the text of your posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “MADDOGG- SAF = Didn't receive nomination because of DoDMERB medical disqualification." Do NOT embed links in your email as I will not be able to view those.

 

[THmom]

At the end of last month all of my friends who had applied for nominations had gotten letters back from our local representative, but I had not. I called the office to ask when I might hear something and was told I didn't get the nomination because of my medical disqualification. Someone else in the office told me I had it but then the guy responsible for nominations saw the medical and decided not to send it.

Do members of congress normally have access to a candidates medical information? If not, how did they get mine?

In my communication with DoDMERB I was told if my application is complete and competitive, a waiver would be processed. It confuses me that the nomination could be denied because of the medical before the academy had a chance to look at the application and consider processing a waiver.

I believe the same happened to my DS. He had received a letter from USMA at the end of October saying they were closing his file unless he won a slate (yes, you read that right). Regional guy said it was his test scores, but nothing changed after he increased his scores. Senator’s office said he was in top 2 after interviews, yet no nom came. Reading on the nom board, MOC said, as I recall it, that they can see medical status for USMA, while only if candidate had gone to medical for USAFA. I will say, I think I understand the selection process better now. My DS was not a recruited athlete and did not have a 34+ ACT to make him an academic catch. Although he had a lot of other redeeming qualities, he wasn’t what they wanted. Still, for him, it worked out. He won a 4-year AROTC on second board, which triggered an automatic waiver request for the DQ he’d had since mid-August. He’s loving ROTC, so no regrets whatsoever. He ended up where he was supposed to be.

 

[MullenLE]

In general:

Technically, under Title X, designated congressional nominating authorities can nominate whomever they which. To the best of my knowledge over the years, Admissions offices hold that as sacrosanct. I try and assist congressional staff to indicate they should stick to the merits of an applicant and avoid making uninformed decisions on medical, unless the applicant tells them that they are medically denied a waiver by an Academy.

 

[justme]

I must say, this was one of my billions of fears during DS' application process. He was DQd late Nov, but a waiver was requested early Dec. So, the MOC at least could see that status. It took all spring to finally clear the waiver, but those last 3-4 days in January were rather nerve battering.