I have spoken with a few SA candidates that are worried they may need medical waivers but either have just began, or are about to begin the DODMERB / DODMETS medical process and they are not sure that all can be complete and receive waivers in the allotted time (April 15th.) I tried to express the fact that the SA can extend that waiver period. At least one candidate, I am sure like many others, is considering accepting a scholarship from another college while available rather than wait with the possibility of being disqualified and not being able to obtain a waiver For the SA. It is always a possibility to DQ and not receive a medical waiver, but much more concerning this year, both due to the backlog and delays in DoDMERB and the lack of communication throughout the process, normally handled through the DODMERB website.
I am worried that these delays and the worry with very little communication throughout the process may ultimately result in fewer first-line candidates waiting through the process if they might loose other scholarship opportunities elsewhere. My son has waited almost seven weeks now since his exam information was transmitted from DODMETS back to DODMERB and still nothing appears in his portal. He has no known medical issues and repeated emails to the “help desk” and individual technician have gone unanswered. If this process (that took about two weeks for my other son) now is taking 7-8 weeks with no known issues, I can only imagine if AMI was requested or a waiver needed how long the process could take! Yes, the SAs control the actual waivers but DODMERB is still the clearinghouse for all medical information and has been relied upon in the past for the candidate to know where he/she stood in that process. And, at a time where candidate application numbers are already way down for all of the SAs!
