Many hours and lots of hard work come to an end!

starfishmom

5-Year Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2012
Messages
13
DD received a medically disqualified letter in the mail yesterday from the USMMA. Application was submitted early, congressional nomination received a month ago, yet she was disqualified because she had sugery for compartment syndrome 3 years ago. She has completely healed, no residual problems, played Varsity Field Hockey as a starter and was voted MVP, still she was DQ'd. We had submitted letters from Doctors and the Physical Therapist. Sad, sad day yesterday. Good luck to all other applicants.
 
Ask about waiver yet?

Did you go through the DODMERB waiver process yet? If not, contact the Academy and surf the DODMERB forum below for tips. My son was also DQ'd for shoulder problems (about this time of year, as a matter of fact) but the Academy sought a waiver and he is there now, class of 2016. Good luck if you haven't already sought the waiver.
 
Agree 100 percent. If you have not gone through the waiver process as yet, know that you are nowhere near done! Our Mid was also DQ'd due to a Herat murmur condition. Ended up with a waiver for KP and the Naval Academy. Always wanted KP over Naval Academy so it worked out well. We, too, were devastated at first due to all the prep and hard work, but....he graduated in 2001 and in now a recently promoted Lt. Cmdr. So...please don't give up ...the "fat lady" may be humming, but she sure isn't singing as yet!

I wish you and your prospective Mid all the best of luck.
 
Ditto.
This should be brought up more often and earlier too. I think it has been in the past. I always say to mine the forum threads because all of this information is buried in here. When first starting the whole process we should recommend a thorough search through the DODMERB threads to get a heads up going in if their may be a waiverable or questionable condition ever diagnosed. We were ready and prepared for it. Ahead of time we needed to search records in place called Iron Mountain? A national records database I believe. We had three possible areas of concern. A knee injury, a head injury and one other diagnoses we thought might need to be cleared up. Once we got the letter ( as expected) from DODMERB we copied, faxed, filed and called and it was turned around in less than 24 hours. But we knew it was comming and knew we had the necessary records, letters from physicians involved and forms ready to go. If we had been taken by surprised it would have been stressful. It was just part of the process for us. I learned it all here on SAF.
 
Last edited:
Thanks again for the input, just to clarify all are saying that even if DD received a letter from the Merchant Marine Academy stating that she met all qualifications, yet was medically DQ'd by them she can still appeal?
 
It may be a waiverable health issue. Have you read the DODMERB threads to see what the current procedure is? Obviously having dd call the academy is probably the next step but to educate yourself, see what you can learn on the DODMERB threads. Good luck Don't be afraid to send private messages to be more specific with tose who may have been through it.
 
DODMERB issues a qualification or disqualification. If there is a DQ, the SA decides whether to grant a waiver for that DQ.

If the OP has only received notice that there is a DODMERB DQ, the waiver process is automatic (or is for other SAs) in that the SA automatically considers you for a waiver. Thus, there is still the possibility for a waiver to be granted. Agree that your DD should follow up with the relevant folks at USMMA.

If the OP has received a letter from USMMA saying that the waiver has been denied, then there is little hope. It is extremely rare for a SA to reconsider a waiver denial -- usually, there must be some new medical development.

Hope your situation is the former! Good luck!
 
If USMMA is the SA you wish to attend call Capt' Johnson for a waiver. I am sure he will answer all your questions with candid professionalism. Some conditions just need additional information for the academy to deem acceptable and waiverable.
Good Luck:biggrin:
 
waiver

Thanks again for the input, just to clarify all are saying that even if DD received a letter from the Merchant Marine Academy stating that she met all qualifications, yet was medically DQ'd by them she can still appeal?

Starfishmom- I ditto what everyone said. But I wanted to say that if she was DQ'd for a color deficiency (ie. can't pass the dot test) that STARTING with the class of 2017, they will no longer offer the Farnsworth Lantern test. Those in the past that could take that test and pass it were given a waiver. Starting now, they will no longer allow- thus if your child can't pass the dot test then they're out. I personally am not too thrilled about this as my 2015 DS went through this process and is doing fantatsic at USMMA. He CAN see all of his colors just fine, he just can't pass the DOT test (ie. color deficient). I'm not sure why they had a policy change, but they did.
ALSO- if it's a peanut allergy, that is another situation where they will NOT give any waivers... been there done that with a boy in our state (he didn't know he was allergic to peanuts until going through the process). School would not even consider a waiver for him (he was a great kid, too!).

Best advice (already given) is to Call Capt Johnson and speak with him about your situatioin and seeking a medical waiver...
 
Back
Top