Status questions

Joined
Nov 14, 2016
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My sons application status, as of today and for the last month, reads as follows:

Application Status: Complete Pending Review
Required Actions: Complete Medical Qualification Exam
Special Instructions: None

My sons DodMERB exam show him to have a color deficiency.

I understand that the academies automatically consider you for a waiver so does this mean my son has to satisfy the Farnsworth Lantern test or does it mean that the USNA can waive the medical issue?

Everything is completed and he has a congressional nomination for the Naval Academy.
 
If he needs to complete more medical tests DODMERB will contact him. You are correct waivers are up to each commissioning source. For the majority of color blind waivers, USNA evaluates these candidates normally in mass late in the game and decides who will get the 20 waivers. This is the norm, there are exceptions to everything in this process. Most those awaiting color blind waivers hear in the March timeframe based on years past.
 
If he needs to complete more medical tests DODMERB will contact him. You are correct waivers are up to each commissioning source. For the majority of color blind waivers, USNA evaluates these candidates normally in mass late in the game and decides who will get the 20 waivers. This is the norm, there are exceptions to everything in this process. Most those awaiting color blind waivers hear in the March timeframe based on years past.
I contacted DoDMERB and the lady there said that there is a review board that decides whether to grant a waiver. I'm assuming that the review board is separate from DoDMERB and the Service Academies.
 
Waivers are granted by the commissioning source, not DODMERB. DODMERB only issues Q or DQ. The Brigade Medical officer (assuming he also uses his staff too) makes recommendations to the Supt for waivers.
 
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Hoops is, as always, correct. DODMERB either qualifies or disqualifies. If they disqualify, it's up to the entity (SA, ROTC) to determine whether to grant a waiver. Some conditions are almost never waiverable -- for example, missing an organ (e.g., only one kidney). Others, such as colorblindness, have limits on the number of waivers that may be granted and certain restrictions on commissioning (at least for USN).

USNA typically doesn't make a waiver decision until they are very close to offering the candidate an appointment. They also need to consider the class as a whole -- can't have too many people entering who will have restrictions on graduation. It's a complex process.

So, if you need a medical waiver, there are two reasons you might not get an appointment. First, because you aren't competitive enough for them to consider a waiver and, second, because they aren't able to grant you the waiver. Conversely, if USNA really wants you and your condition is waiverable, your odds are very good.
 
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