Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 7/13/2009

Question
Hi. I'm 25 years old and have had a bicuspid aortic valve mild regurgitation since i was 16. I lift weights run and  have a physically demanding job. Also haven't had any problems or symptoms. Iv been wanting to enlist in the air force or navy and am going through the process just have to wait to complete 15 credits this fall as I only have a GED. My question is, with this condition, how are my chances of getting in. My recruiter sent in my med documents and said i was cleared to go down to meps but I could still get denied. He also told me he cant send me to meps until iv been enrolled and have completed 30 days of my schooling. Just asking to get an idea because the waiting process is killing me.

Answer
Eric,
Since your question is marked "public" others reading this may wonder what we're talking about so I'll explain.  In aortic valve regurgitation, the heart valve does not close properly.  With each heartbeat, some of the blood pumped into the aorta leaks back (regurgitates) through the faulty valve into the other ventricle. The body doesn't receive enough blood, so the heart must work harder to make up for it.  Some people have very small amounts of blood that leak back into the left ventricle.  This usually doesn't cause any symptoms or problems but symptoms may develop 10-20 years later because the heart compensates by getting bigger so that it can pump out more blood.  If it is not corrected, regurgitation usually gets worse over time, and symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, and fainting often develop.  At this point, a heart valve replacement is typically needed to prevent abnormal heartbeats, irreversible damage to the heart muscle, or heart failure. (This is what Arnold Schwarzenegger had surgey for back in 1997.)

Each of the services strictly limit the number of high school dropouts (which includes GED holders) who can enlist each year. This is because years of military enlistment statistics have shown that this category of enlistees fail to complete their entire first term of military service at about twice the rate of those with a high school diploma or those with college credits.

The Air Force is the most strict on this matter.  The Air Force allows less than 1% of annual enlistments to be recruits without a high school diploma.  The Marines have the next highest standards.  No more than 5% of Marine recruits can be GED-holders. The Army and the Navy both allow no more than 10% GED enlistments each year.

There are always many more GED-holders who want to enlist than there are available slots, so -- even to be considered -- a GED holder must score much higher on the ASVAB, than a high school diploma recruit.  However, if you have 15 or more college credits (which is 5 classes because each class is usually worth 3 credits), he/she is in the exact same enlistment category as a high school diploma holder.

However, there are many factors enlisting with a GED as opposed to enlisting with a traditional High School diploma.  These are:
- You must obtain a 65 qualifying score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).
- GED applicants must wait on slots to become available, and this can sometimes mean waiting periods of up to one year.

If I understand you correctly you already have your GED and you will complete 15 college credits this fall, correct?  On October 1st all the recruiters get their new quotas for 2010 on October 1st.  You want to be first in line so you know for sure the recruiter hasn't possibly reached his quota yet.  By then you'll have made progress on your college classes and can tell the recruiter when you expect to complete your 15 credits.

Your recruiter is correct, he can't send you to MEPS just yet.  The wait may be agonizing, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run.

Thanks for wanting to join the military.
Good luck,
Colonel H