Rebuttal process after waiver denied

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Mav&Kylo

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Hi.
My DS’ medical waiver got denied and we were notified that we can initiate a rebuttal process, and of course we will.
I have few questions:
1-Who will review the documents during the rebuttal process? Same people that just denied the waiver or is there a committee dedicated for a rebuttal process?
2-would we be notified which documents to submit? We feel we have done everything that was asked and not sure what else to submit at this point. We have reached out to SA and Dodmerb for feedback on where clarity was lacking but no response. 😞


Thank you in advance for your advice.
 
Mav&Kylo said:
Hi.
My DS’ medical waiver got denied and we were notified that we can initiate a rebuttal process, and of course we will.
I have few questions:
1-Who will review the documents during the rebuttal process? Same people that just denied the waiver or is there a committee dedicated for a rebuttal process?
2-would we be notified which documents to submit? We feel we have done everything that was asked and not sure what else to submit at this point. We have reached out to SA and Dodmerb for feedback on where clarity was lacking but no response. 😞


Thank you in advance for your advice.
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Tough news. Take it step by step.

DoDMERB is the information clearing house for these processes, but is not the waiver authority. All the Services/pre-comm programs have designated medical waiver authorities and criteria. I would assume it’s the same people, as they are responsible for consistent application of the applicable waiver policy.

Others here who have been through the waiver process will likely add their anecdotal experience.
The key is to present new or stronger information from healthcare providers.

Some other things to keep in mind. Some DQs are pretty much never waived. Some are frequently waived. Some have a cap on number of waivers, as USNA does for color blindness. And, there is one accession standard, so a DA for one service or program will be a DQ for others. But - waiver policies differ by service and sometimes program. This isn’t inconsistency, it reflects the different missions, operating environments, gear and equipment of the services.

You give it your best shot.
 
Capt MJ said:
Tough news. Take it step by step.

DoDMERB is the information clearing house for these processes, but is not the waiver authority. All the Services/pre-comm programs have designated medical waiver authorities and criteria. I would assume it’s the same people, as they are responsible for consistent application of the applicable waiver policy.

Others here who have been through the waiver process will likely add their anecdotal experience.
The key is to present new or stronger information from healthcare providers.

Some other things to keep in mind. Some DQs are pretty much never waived. Some are frequently waived. Some have a cap on number of waivers, as USNA does for color blindness. And, there is one accession standard, so a DA for one service or program will be a DQ for others. But - waiver policies differ by service and sometimes program. This isn’t inconsistency, it reflects the different missions, operating environments, gear and equipment of the services.

You give it your best shot.
Click to expand...
Capt MJ,
Thank you for your advice. Wheneve I read your response, I feel my heart rate slowing down and a sense of calmness takes over. I wish you lived next door so I can just run over and thank you. 😁
Yes we will take it step by step and see what new and stronger evidence we can provide. At this point, being evaluated by doctors will military background would be the last step but it’s so hard to find those providers.
Do you know of any suggestions where to start looking besides Google search?
Thank you again.
 
Mav&Kylo said:
Capt MJ,
Thank you for your advice. Wheneve I read your response, I feel my heart rate slowing down and a sense of calmness takes over. I wish you lived next door so I can just run over and thank you. 😁
Yes we will take it step by step and see what new and stronger evidence we can provide. At this point, being evaluated by doctors will military background would be the last step but it’s so hard to find those providers.
Do you know of any suggestions where to start looking besides Google search?
Thank you again.
Click to expand...
Looking for doctors with military background is not strictly necessary, and they may or may not be familiar with military accession standards, though they will have more general familiarity with what fitness for duty really means and the hoops you are jumping through.

There is no direct way to find them. But - you can look at their educational profiles. Look for the residency done at military hospitals - Naval Hospital Portsmouth, Walter Reed Army Medical Center (which later merged with the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda to become the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), Brooke Army Medical Center, David Grant USAF Medical Center, etc. Or you might see “USUHS” for the medical school - Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine.

As a military retiree in the DC area, I get my medical care from Johns Hopkins Healthcare. Using the method above, and also looking at the totality of their education and experience, I have managed to line up a former Army dermatologist, a retired Navy PCM, and a few others. They get me. My husband’s PCM is a retired Navy flight surgeon, who takes good care of him.

They are out there.

It’s also a good mental exercise to think through worst case - inability to enter military service of any kind. There are still ways to serve the country as a federal civilian, especially at the “ABC” agencies and departments. Your son can google any combination of “federal agency X and student programs.” He may not be able to be a door-kicker, but he can have the door-kicker’s back in support functions in operations, logistics, cyber, intelligence, analysis, forensics, etc.
Some samples:
dodstem.us

SMART Scholarship Program | DoD STEM

DoD STEM seeks to attract, inspire, and develop exceptional STEM talent across the education continuum and advance the current DoD STEM workforce to meet future defense technological challenges.
dodstem.us dodstem.us

Student Programs - CIA

www.cia.gov www.cia.gov

fbijobs.gov

Students and Interns | FBIJOBS

Protect the American people and uphold the Constitution by joining the FBI as a special agent, intelligence analyst, or professional in over 200 career trajectories.
fbijobs.gov fbijobs.gov

NSA student and internship programs

The National Security Agency offer internships, scholarships, a co-op program and more.
www.intelligencecareers.gov www.intelligencecareers.gov

www.nasa.gov

STEM Opportunities for Students

NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind.
www.nasa.gov www.nasa.gov
 
Mav&Kylo said:
To clarify,
My DS received an appointment to USNA! Yay!! We are still celebrating over this!

This rebuttal process is for USAFA.

AFROTC also denied but haven’t given us the option to rebut yet.

Thank you.
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Perfect example of how service waiver policies differ. Not capricious - just different service operating environments, gear, equipment, missions.
 
Capt MJ said:
Perfect example of how service waiver policies differ. Not capricious - just different service operating environments, gear, equipment, missions.
Click to expand...
yes we are humbly learning to respect each waiver process as a separate entity. Now an easy lesson if I can be honest, but a necessary one for sure!
 
Capt MJ said:
Perfect example of how service waiver policies differ. Not capricious - just different service operating environments, gear, equipment, missions.
Click to expand...
Hypothetical.

If a candidate needs a waiver for SA1, but isn’t the winner of the slate, the waiver could be denied/not acted on. But for SA2, they win slate, so a waiver is granted (if needed).

Isn’t that plausible?
 
A1Janitor said:
Hypothetical.

If a candidate needs a waiver for SA1, but isn’t the winner of the slate, the waiver could be denied/not acted on. But for SA2, they win slate, so a waiver is granted (if needed).

Isn’t that plausible?
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He already received a conditional appointment from USAFA so I am not sure this applies to him, although I must say the entire nomination process confuses me. All I know is that he received 3 nominations to USAFA and had a green check next to nominations back in early December. The only thing that has been hunting us is the medical!
I only got involved with the medical park of this process bc this is a part that my DS couldn't manage on his own.
 
A1Janitor said:
Hypothetical.

If a candidate needs a waiver for SA1, but isn’t the winner of the slate, the waiver could be denied/not acted on. But for SA2, they win slate, so a waiver is granted (if needed).

Isn’t that plausible?
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Assuming it’s something waiverable for SA (numbers of waivers granted, etc…). If I’m understanding you correctly. Bc each waiver authority decides/pursues their own waivers.
 
justdoit19 said:
Assuming it’s something waiverable for SA (numbers of waivers granted, etc…). If I’m understanding you correctly. Bc each waiver authority decides/pursues their own waivers.
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The obvious answer why a waiver is granted by one and not another is needs of the branch.

Another one I was guessing is the candidate wins the slate and gets the waiver for one, but loses the slate so waiver isn’t necessary in the other.

Hypothetically - apparently OP’s son had a conditional offer, so maybe not in this case.
 
A1Janitor said:
The obvious answer why a waiver is granted by one and not another is needs of the branch.

Another one I was guessing is the candidate wins the slate and gets the waiver for one, but loses the slate so waiver isn’t necessary in the other.

Hypothetically - apparently OP’s son had a conditional offer, so maybe not in this case.
Click to expand...
Exactly. And at some point, slates have been settled and offers won’t be forthcoming, so no need for a waiver.
 
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