Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 4/13/2009

Question
My son was in the Dep and broke his leg while in the program. He had a plate put in and went in to talk to his recruiter and was told not to say anything at meps about the plates. He was sent to boot camp and they had the last chance moment of truth and he told he had a plate. He was running while at boot camp 2wks and twisted his ankle the Doctor said the best thing he could do was get out and have the plate removed and try again. His dd214 form say reason for separation was medical I am not sure why they gave him a re4 I thought re3 was medical. We had the plate removed and the doctor released him with no restrictions. Very sad all the recruiter had to tell us was to remove the plates before he went in. It seams very impossible to get re4 changed to get back in. Do you think he has a chance to get in to the Army? Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Annamarie

Answer
I'm not totally sure about the restriction codes on a DD214, but the best advice would be to just talk with the recruiter and ensure you have all the paperwork that says he is released without restrictions.  I've learned over the years that there always is an exception to every policy the Army has, and this should be no different as long as you're willing to get pushy with the recruiter and show proof of your son's health.