Waiver Process for ROTC Applicants

[skylarj1776]

Hello, I am currently a junior in high school who will be applying for the NROTC Marine Option scholarship. As a child I was diagnosed with asthma and was given an inhaler, but I never had any issues and have competed in many sports my whole life. I have talked to my recruiter about this and he insured me that it will not be a problem, that I just need to be cleared by an asthma doctor, however, I was looking for more information/second opinions.
Is a waiver necessary for this, and if so, do I apply for the waiver now or after I am awarded the scholarship? Also, I am on track to attain a perfect 300 PFT score before I apply, but I do not know if that at all affects this situation.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[eljay60]

There are lots of threads about this, but as a rule of thumb if you had no treatment or prescriptions after the age of 13, you are probably okay. If you were hospitalized or seen in an emergency department for asthma after the age of 14, you've got a lot more work to do to convince DodMERB that heavy aerobic activity in a desert environment with lots of fine particulate matter in the air (dust) won't trigger an attack and make your unit vulnerable as they take care of you, instead of the mission.

Also, you won't know if you need a waiver until after your DodMERB physical. First you have to earn the scholarship, then you get the physical, then, if needed, you provide anything they need for remediation of problems.