Scenario I haven't seen posted

[Viking22]

I am seeking help on thinking through a DoDMERB scenario.
Background:
-Received LOA beginning of Sept. 2018 for SA #1
-Received medical waiver from SA #1 beginning of October 2018
-Received medical waiver from SA #2 near end of October 2018
-Received ROTC scholarship beginning of November of 2018
Since the SA nomination interviews would not start until after the deadline given to accept scholarship and scholarship information indicated I could decline later, I accepted the scholarship. Of course this action starts the ROTC DoDMERB process.
-DoDMERB for ROTC scholarship is pending waiver submission/review in mid November. This was expected.
-Received nomination to SA #1 (my number one choice for college) at the end of November of 2018.
-Received appointment to SA #1 in mid December. Accepted nomination right before New Years day.
-Received notice last week from ROTC that they wanted more information to make a determination. It was a bit confusing because I was asked for a medical remedial (MRI) that was already at DoDMERB. Emailed to get clarification and they are asking for current MRI.

Now my questions:
-Can SA #1 or SA #2 review their waiver since ROTC is asking for a medical remedial? The SAs asked for remedials that required a doctor's office visit, but no new tests.
-Since I have an appointment to the school I want to attend, do I go through with the medical remedial knowing that if there are any negative changes I would have to report it? I personally feel it would be fine to go through with it, but I really don't want to take ANY chance on anything messing up my appointment. I have read on these forums where small things with DoDMERB are made into big deals, at least from the poster's point of view.
-By not going through with the remedial I would be declining the ROTC scholarship by default. Therefore, do I just go on and decline the scholarship or do I just let the remedial sit out there until I am prompted by the system that it is still required? The reason for asking if I should let the remedial sit is if the other SAs get involved, I may as well get the results for all three instead of prematurely giving up the scholarship. The scholarship was my plan B.

Thanks for any advice provided.

 

[kinnem]

-Can SA #1 or SA #2 review their waiver since ROTC is asking for a medical remedial? The SAs asked for remedials that required a doctor's office visit, but no new tests.

No. Waivers are granted by the commissioning authority. ROTC programs can reach different decisions than their sister academies reach.

-Since I have an appointment to the school I want to attend, do I go through with the medical remedial knowing that if there are any negative changes I would have to report it? I personally feel it would be fine to go through with it, but I really don't want to take ANY chance on anything messing up my appointment. I have read on these forums where small things with DoDMERB are made into big deals, at least from the poster's point of view.

Well, I won't say your concern is invalid. The only reason to pursue the ROTC remedial is to have it as a backup should you become injured prior to reporting to the academy. I think this is one you have to decide.

-By not going through with the remedial I would be declining the ROTC scholarship by default. Therefore, do I just go on and decline the scholarship or do I just let the remedial sit out there until I am prompted by the system that it is still required? The reason for asking if I should let the remedial sit is if the other SAs get involved, I may as well get the results for all three instead of prematurely giving up the scholarship. The scholarship was my plan B.

See the answer to the first question. You could leave it open but as a professional courtesy you should inform ROTC you will be declining the scholarship as soon as you feel comfortable doing so.

 

[Capt MJ]

Let’s speed ahead a few months. Scenario - You are either sick or injured or recovering from something that makes you DQ to report in to your SA. If that happens, the SA usually gives you what is essentially an LOA for 2024.

Work the scenarios from all angles of operational risk analysis, factoring what you feel comfortable with and what is unacceptable.

You can certainly actively decline the scholarship - can you afford your schools without it, should you have to? You can always do ROTC as a college programmer.

I would leave no cards on the table and build out the ROTC option as far as you can. But then - my opinion is worth exactly what you have paid for it.

 

[Viking22]

Thank you @Capt MJ and @kinnem. I was hoping I would hear from some of you veteran posters. I value the advice you have given others on this site.

My parents made sure I applied to state schools we could easily afford without ROTC funds. I have merit scholarships from the schools along with state scholarship funds.

I am prayerful everything will continue to go okay until I-Day, but I am mindful of how things could go.