Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Air Force and Food Intolerances

Advertisement

Expert: Rod Powers - 9/13/2009


Question
My daughter is 17 and is interested in the Air Force.  

However she has developed Fructose Intolerance (her body doesn't like to process sugars) and must take a Digestive Enzyme whenever she eats anything.  As long as she takes a capsule with every meal she is perfectly fine.

If she doesn't, her body has a reaction similar to Lactose Intolerance.  This is not life threatening, but requires the use of a bathroom immediately.  

She is very good with her diet and keeps her body in check with the dietary supplement (Digestive Enzymes).

Would this prevent her from entering the military?  Thank you so much for taking your time to give us your opinion.

Answer
Hi Heidi,

This particular condition is not specifically listed as a DOD medical disqualifying condition (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/intmedstandards.htm), but I have a feeling it would fall under the "Misc." provision (see last paragraph of http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/general.htm).

Here's the problem: Military members (including Air Force members) are sometimes required to deploy to combat zones and remote areas. From the military's point of view, what would happen if your daughter was deployed to a combat zone in Iraq, and her supply of enzymes ran out, or was destroyed during an enemy attack?

You may also wish to read my article about military medical waivers (http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/medicalwaiver.htm).

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Rod Powers

Expertise

Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.

Experience

Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.

Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.