Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 8/10/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Bedell, and thank you for taking your time to answer my question. I am currently a fire fighter in GA. I have always been interested in joining the military.(My father retired AF medic after 20yrs). More specifically the Army. I would like to enlist and then volunteer for airborne and when I reach E-4 would like to try to qualify for Special Forces and attend SFAS and SFQC. My question would be this. I am 21 yrs old and was told by a doctor a couple of years ago that I may need surgery to fix my torn or displaced labrum in my shoulder. I avoided this because I had just started working at the fire department and had no sick time and not to mention keep my job. I would like to know that if I did get this surgery, would it DQ me from joining the Army. And even if I could get in, would it DQ from joining SF? Thanks again.

ANSWER: Dear Michael --

Your shoulder injury could disqualify you from military service whether you have it repaired or not.  If you have had a dislocation, you are generally disqualified.  If you have had not problems with it for a number of years, or if you have had it repaired and it is fully stable and without pain through a full range of motion and is at full strength, you can sometimes get a waiver to join.  You need to be otherwise highly qualified to join with a medical waiver.

If you are a high quality recruit, with applicable experience from the outside, you can sometimes enlist into a program that gives you an accelerated track to special forces training.  If you do well on your Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) you should ask about this program, if you are serious about serving in the Special Forces.

Good luck to you.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much. I don't know if you can tell me cause I'm sure it varies case by case, but I'll still ask. Say I got the surgery and I got internal hardware. And say they gave me a waiver to enlist. Would this waiver follow through while attempting entry into SF?

Answer
Dear Michael --

Unfortunately, if you need permanent plates or pins to effect recovery, you will be permanently disqualified from enlisting.  If the plates and pins are temporary, then you could get the waiver to enlist, after the hardware was removed.

Usually, if you are fit enough to enlist you are fit enough to qualify for advanced training.  However, you are correct: each case is unique and judged individually, so I cannot make a prediction about your situation.

Good luck to you.