For the sake of completeness and honesty, my DD listed on her med forms a series of bladder/kidney infections she suffered 15 years ago and the subsequent non-invasive treatment she received to prevent them. She remembers nothing of the process as she was 2 years old at the time and has had exactly 0 infections/complications (somewhat rare for a female) since. She was instructed that the SA would seek a waiver if she is considered "competitive". Reading her denial letter you would think that she had urinary tract reconstruction and persistent infections. Is the waiver requirement SOP for anyone with anything in their medical history? Is there a process for, noting her file to clarify the details or to emphasize the lack of impact aside from a waiver request?
DoDMERB Denial
- Thread starter AFD
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APPLICANT: 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 Parent's posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “AFD- SAF =DoDMERB Denial“ Do NOT embed links in your email as I will not be able to view those.
I am familiar with your situation. My daughter was medically disqualified for history of migraine headaches and had her appointment to the Coast Guard retracted for this. We were absolutely stunned and my daughter was crushed. She did not give up though. She got a one time neurologist consultation and another exam by an experienced retired military physician to document her current health status. This morning my daughter was informed that she has a full appointment to the Naval Academy. No word yet about ruling of her rebuttal appeal to medical disqualification from the Coast Guard. Other posts have mentioned that Coast Guard does not grant medical waivers easily.
Best advice is start gathering medical records NOW. It could take several weeks to acquire these. Also important that the records you submit reflect past and current medical state. Hang in there. Persistence pays off. I honestly had no hope that my daughter would be granted a waiver given the tone of communication we received. Glad I was wrong!
Congratulations to you both. Good luck with the USCGA.
The entire experience regarding medical/optical has been an uphill climb for my DD so far. She is a varsity XC runner in great health and I honestly expected the Medical to be the smoothest part of the process. Being first time applicants and only just recently finding this forum we were not accounting for all of the opportunities for issues with the process, from assigned doctors thru review. I just keep telling her that nothing worth achieving is easy and if it is meant to be it will be all the sweeter when it happens. Thank you for your encouragement.
Yep. Same experience here. Fitness testing and Medical exam were the items my daughter was least concerned about. I whole heartedly agree that there are LOTS of opportunities for issues/disappointment in the service academy application. That said, this entire process, regardless of outcome, has improved my daughter's skills in interviewing, planning, and handling disappointment. She also found it valuable to press the "pause" button on this SA process and truly self reflect on the "why" she is committed to serve our country. I have tried to become a different parent. Asking questions instead of directing and doing.
It took 3 months from initial medical DQ decision to Naval Academy appointment announcement. It was not an easy or predictable path. During this time my daughter made solid alternate plans that included winning a $5,000 research grant for the summer in the Dept of Engineering at NC State where she is currently a Freshman Engineering student. She continues to make friends in college, study hard and is figuring out who she really is and wants to be.
I hope sharing this experience can be helpful to others who are disoriented and disappointed in their SA application. Best of luck to your talented and accomplished daughter. She will find her way.
It took 3 months from initial medical DQ decision to Naval Academy appointment announcement. It was not an easy or predictable path. During this time my daughter made solid alternate plans that included winning a $5,000 research grant for the summer in the Dept of Engineering at NC State where she is currently a Freshman Engineering student. She continues to make friends in college, study hard and is figuring out who she really is and wants to be.
I hope sharing this experience can be helpful to others who are disoriented and disappointed in their SA application. Best of luck to your talented and accomplished daughter. She will find her way.