Words of encouragement to DQ'd Candidates

mrfritz44

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
45
It's now been a year since my daughter received her medical DQ from DODMERB that sent her SA dreams crashing through the floor. She called me at work that day crying and we all thought that barring some miracle her chances of being accepted to an SA were now zero. After all, a “DQ” means you’re game is over, right? I remember feeling literally sick to my stomach as we contemplated what we could do next. A frantic email to Larry Mullen received no response, and then a thorough reading of his waiver documentation revealed why. DODMERB doesn't want to hear from parents since this isn't going to be their journey. They need to hear directly from your kids and they need to know they're serious about this, especially since it’s about to get even more intense than the standard SA application process. As parents we could guide our DD through the waiver process, but mostly we were there for morale support and transportation. She did the interviews, the writing, and ultimately vowed to stay on the SAs’ radar.


So, with a DQ and what seemed like a long shot my DD set out to complete her applications to USCGA, USNA, USAFA, three nomination interviews, and on top of all that begin a medical waiver process.


We followed DODMERB's waiver documentation to a tee, but most of all we were persistent. As parents we encouraged our daughter to get all of the formal comments on her condition sent to DODMERB as soon as possible. This included statements from her primary care physician, her coaches, and anyone else in a formal position to comment on her status. Along the way my DD continued to send the academies documentation of her accomplishments like newly named sports team coach and newly appointed student leader. Anything that made it clear to the SA’s that she was worthy of a waiver was game and sent simultaneously to DODMERB and the academy admissions officers.


Fast forward to March of this year and SIX long months of emails, remedials, formal statements, and tortuous waiting and finally my DD’s waiver was granted by USAFA. The process was exhausting for all of us, but it paid off in the end. The morale of the story is, the waiver process can be tough but it isn’t necessarily the end of the road.


One word of advice to those who receive a DQ, is to IMMEDIATELY request a COMPLETE copy of your medical record. Then read your record front to back, and know everything that was written in it. I remember the confusing part for us was the premise that you should only send what is requested. There was a question in our heads that it seemed disingenuous or risky if there was other medical information that could help or hurt your case. SA’s are all about integrity after all, right? Why not send it all?


We realized why this stance was important when we read my DD’s medical record. Physicians will often use keywords that also happen to be DODMERB disqualifiers like “eczema” in progress notes to describe a possible condition. Whether your kid had eczema or not becomes irrelevant since DODMERB then has an obligation to follow up on the mention of eczema. My DD never had eczema, but that word was used in a progress note when she was two years old as the possible diagnosis for a small rash. In the end the rash went away in a few days and never reappeared, but DODMERB was forced to then request any eczema medical records, as well as a formal statement that eczema was not an existing or previous condition. My point is, don’t be surprised if the investigation of one condition leads to the sudden investigation of another. As long as your kid was honest on their original medical questionnaire they shouldn’t have to worry. Minimize the opportunity for DODMERB to go down dead end wormholes by sending only what is requested! This becomes critically important as you both juggle the timing of acceptance letters from back-up plan schools.


Thankfully my DD is doing well at USAFA and scored a 490/500 on her recent fitness test so asthma DQ be damned! Just hang with it and don’t let a DQ take you out of the game.
 
Great to hear about your DD, My DS had a similar but a condensed version of your ordeal. Was awarded Marine Corp Scholarship, DQ'd for Asthma Variant, Got a Waiver, Waiver Denied, Went through MCCT Challenge test and past, wrote letter of appeal with Strong letter of endorsement from CO of ROTC unit and was granted a waiver. From Beginning of DQ to Final Waiver, 5 months! It does pay off for your DS or DD to fight for what they want.
 
Hi, my daughter is a junior and we are just starting to look at this whole process. She was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma when she was around 12 years old but seems to have outgrown it and hasn't used an inhaler in a couple of years. Should we be proactive and take her to a pulmonologist now for testing and ask for a MCT or should we wait until she actually starts her application and the medical information is requested?
 
Hi, my daughter is a junior and we are just starting to look at this whole process. She was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma when she was around 12 years old but seems to have outgrown it and hasn't used an inhaler in a couple of years. Should we be proactive and take her to a pulmonologist now for testing and ask for a MCT or should we wait until she actually starts her application and the medical information is requested?
Wait. And when they ask for something only provide what is requested.
 
Hi, my daughter is a junior and we are just starting to look at this whole process. She was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma when she was around 12 years old but seems to have outgrown it and hasn't used an inhaler in a couple of years. Should we be proactive and take her to a pulmonologist now for testing and ask for a MCT or should we wait until she actually starts her application and the medical information is requested?

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003p.pdf

In Section 5.10:

e. History of airway hyper responsiveness including asthma, reactive airway disease, exercise-induced bronchospasm or asthmatic bronchitis, after the 13th birthday.
(2) History of prescription or use of medication (including but not limited to inhaled or oral corticosteroids, leukotriene receptor antagonists, or any beta agonists) for airway hyper responsiveness after the 13th birthday.

If neither of the above conditions describe your daughter, then you might be okay.

+1 to AJC-- wait and see if they ask for it.
 
It's now been a year since my daughter received her medical DQ from DODMERB that sent her SA dreams crashing through the floor. She called me at work that day crying and we all thought that barring some miracle her chances of being accepted to an SA were now zero. After all, a “DQ” means you’re game is over, right? I remember feeling literally sick to my stomach as we contemplated what we could do next. A frantic email to Larry Mullen received no response, and then a thorough reading of his waiver documentation revealed why. DODMERB doesn't want to hear from parents since this isn't going to be their journey. They need to hear directly from your kids and they need to know they're serious about this, especially since it’s about to get even more intense than the standard SA application process. As parents we could guide our DD through the waiver process, but mostly we were there for morale support and transportation. She did the interviews, the writing, and ultimately vowed to stay on the SAs’ radar.


So, with a DQ and what seemed like a long shot my DD set out to complete her applications to USCGA, USNA, USAFA, three nomination interviews, and on top of all that begin a medical waiver process.


We followed DODMERB's waiver documentation to a tee, but most of all we were persistent. As parents we encouraged our daughter to get all of the formal comments on her condition sent to DODMERB as soon as possible. This included statements from her primary care physician, her coaches, and anyone else in a formal position to comment on her status. Along the way my DD continued to send the academies documentation of her accomplishments like newly named sports team coach and newly appointed student leader. Anything that made it clear to the SA’s that she was worthy of a waiver was game and sent simultaneously to DODMERB and the academy admissions officers.


Fast forward to March of this year and SIX long months of emails, remedials, formal statements, and tortuous waiting and finally my DD’s waiver was granted by USAFA. The process was exhausting for all of us, but it paid off in the end. The morale of the story is, the waiver process can be tough but it isn’t necessarily the end of the road.


One word of advice to those who receive a DQ, is to IMMEDIATELY request a COMPLETE copy of your medical record. Then read your record front to back, and know everything that was written in it. I remember the confusing part for us was the premise that you should only send what is requested. There was a question in our heads that it seemed disingenuous or risky if there was other medical information that could help or hurt your case. SA’s are all about integrity after all, right? Why not send it all?


We realized why this stance was important when we read my DD’s medical record. Physicians will often use keywords that also happen to be DODMERB disqualifiers like “eczema” in progress notes to describe a possible condition. Whether your kid had eczema or not becomes irrelevant since DODMERB then has an obligation to follow up on the mention of eczema. My DD never had eczema, but that word was used in a progress note when she was two years old as the possible diagnosis for a small rash. In the end the rash went away in a few days and never reappeared, but DODMERB was forced to then request any eczema medical records, as well as a formal statement that eczema was not an existing or previous condition. My point is, don’t be surprised if the investigation of one condition leads to the sudden investigation of another. As long as your kid was honest on their original medical questionnaire they shouldn’t have to worry. Minimize the opportunity for DODMERB to go down dead end wormholes by sending only what is requested! This becomes critically important as you both juggle the timing of acceptance letters from back-up plan schools.


Thankfully my DD is doing well at USAFA and scored a 490/500 on her recent fitness test so asthma DQ be damned! Just hang with it and don’t let a DQ take you out of the game.
mrfritz44 thank you for this...I myself am in a similar situation where a provider wrote a diagnosis that she saw on a CT scan in her note when in fact it was just a "suspected" thing which was ruled out by a specialist. I was sunk when I saw the information pop up because myself or my parents never thought about the issue because we were told pretty immediately that it was a non-issue. Now this was over 6 years ago and I've never a single issue since and if I did have the "suspected" diagnosis I would have some hearing loss. I had an audiogram done a few weeks ago and was shown to have better than normal hearing. We sent in EVERYTHING as we figured, there's nothing to hide, not realizing the error in my record. I've been worried ever since, but these posts give me hope.
 
My son last year received an early LOA, congressional nomination, but ultimately denied a medical waiver from USNA due to nut allergies. During this process, DS simultaneously applied to another 4year school with an NROTC program....ultimately receiving a 4year scholarship...again pending a medical waiver. After a few months of not hearing a word, he just found out today from BUMED that his waiver was approved!! Does this mean that this waiver could be accepted by the USNA as well?? Please advise. Thank you
 
My son last year received an early LOA, congressional nomination, but ultimately denied a medical waiver from USNA due to nut allergies. During this process, DS simultaneously applied to another 4year school with an NROTC program....ultimately receiving a 4year scholarship...again pending a medical waiver. After a few months of not hearing a word, he just found out today from BUMED that his waiver was approved!! Does this mean that this waiver could be accepted by the USNA as well?? Please advise. Thank you

I believe waivers are specific to the SA or ROTC program. Search for nut allergies. Someone just did something to cure it. And got rid of need for waiver.
 
Thank you all for this thread. Just hearing about stories which are similar to our ds is comforting.
 
Awesome thread. Our daughter was approved for a AFROTC scholarship Type 2 (first round fall of 2018) until DODMERB did it's thing. She is going through the process now as her waiver was denied. She is getting any extra information together to send in because her DODMERB rep said he will send the things into the waiver authorities. So we and she are still crossing our fingers that she gets her waiver. She has scoliosis but is <30 degrees. In a couple of her medical records before bracing she was recorded as above 30. AFROTC is what she wants to do so we are hoping it will work and she will be able to enter into ROTC fall 2019.
 
My son last year received an early LOA, congressional nomination, but ultimately denied a medical waiver from USNA due to nut allergies. During this process, DS simultaneously applied to another 4year school with an NROTC program....ultimately receiving a 4year scholarship...again pending a medical waiver. After a few months of not hearing a word, he just found out today from BUMED that his waiver was approved!! Does this mean that this waiver could be accepted by the USNA as well?? Please advise. Thank you

I believe waivers are specific to the SA or ROTC program. Search for nut allergies. Someone just did something to cure it. And got rid of need for waiver.
Could you lease elaborate what you mentioned here?
 
My son last year received an early LOA, congressional nomination, but ultimately denied a medical waiver from USNA due to nut allergies. During this process, DS simultaneously applied to another 4year school with an NROTC program....ultimately receiving a 4year scholarship...again pending a medical waiver. After a few months of not hearing a word, he just found out today from BUMED that his waiver was approved!! Does this mean that this waiver could be accepted by the USNA as well?? Please advise. Thank you

I believe waivers are specific to the SA or ROTC program. Search for nut allergies. Someone just did something to cure it. And got rid of need for waiver.
Could you lease elaborate what you mentioned here?

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?search/23952799/&q=nut+allergy&o=date

Search through these threads ... I tried to find it for you.
 
Great to hear about your DD, My DS had a similar but a condensed version of your ordeal. Was awarded Marine Corp Scholarship, DQ'd for Asthma Variant, Got a Waiver, Waiver Denied, Went through MCCT Challenge test and past, wrote letter of appeal with Strong letter of endorsement from CO of ROTC unit and was granted a waiver. From Beginning of DQ to Final Waiver, 5 months! It does pay off for your DS or DD to fight for what they want.
Where and who did the MCCT? My daughter needs one and we can’t find anyone to do it! Thx
 
Great to hear about your DD, My DS had a similar but a condensed version of your ordeal. Was awarded Marine Corp Scholarship, DQ'd for Asthma Variant, Got a Waiver, Waiver Denied, Went through MCCT Challenge test and past, wrote letter of appeal with Strong letter of endorsement from CO of ROTC unit and was granted a waiver. From Beginning of DQ to Final Waiver, 5 months! It does pay off for your DS or DD to fight for what they want.
Where and who did the MCCT? My daughter needs one and we can’t find anyone to do it! Thx
PantherPride last was seen on this site over 4 months ago.

Not sure he will see this timely.
 
Great to hear about your DD, My DS had a similar but a condensed version of your ordeal. Was awarded Marine Corp Scholarship, DQ'd for Asthma Variant, Got a Waiver, Waiver Denied, Went through MCCT Challenge test and past, wrote letter of appeal with Strong letter of endorsement from CO of ROTC unit and was granted a waiver. From Beginning of DQ to Final Waiver, 5 months! It does pay off for your DS or DD to fight for what they want.
Where and who did the MCCT? My daughter needs one and we can’t find anyone to do it! Thx

I would call these people and see if they can direct you:

AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY
25 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
United States of America

Phone: +1 (212) 315-8600
 
[/QUOTE]
Where and who did the MCCT? My daughter needs one and we can’t find anyone to do it! Thx[/QUOTE]
Great to hear about your DD, My DS had a similar but a condensed version of your ordeal. Was awarded Marine Corp Scholarship, DQ'd for Asthma Variant, Got a Waiver, Waiver Denied, Went through MCCT Challenge test and past, wrote letter of appeal with Strong letter of endorsement from CO of ROTC unit and was granted a waiver. From Beginning of DQ to Final Waiver, 5 months! It does pay off for your DS or DD to fight for what they want.
Where and who did the MCCT? My daughter needs one and we can’t find anyone to do it! Thx

I sent you a message. Hopefully the person who set ours up in Virginia can Point you to somebody.

Good luck!
 
Awesome thread. Our daughter was approved for a AFROTC scholarship Type 2 (first round fall of 2018) until DODMERB did it's thing. She is going through the process now as her waiver was denied. She is getting any extra information together to send in because her DODMERB rep said he will send the things into the waiver authorities. So we and she are still crossing our fingers that she gets her waiver. She has scoliosis but is <30 degrees. In a couple of her medical records before bracing she was recorded as above 30. AFROTC is what she wants to do so we are hoping it will work and she will be able to enter into ROTC fall 2019.
its been a while just curious what the outcome of this was?
 
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