Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Air Force drug use policy

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Expert: Rod Powers - 9/17/2009


Question
Hello sir,
My brother has been in the USMC for 10 years and is currently a reservist.  He wants to join the Air force to become a SEER instructor??  He already has all the paperwork required to join including a release form from the USMC.  He went to MEPS in 1999 and has a drug waiver for Marijuana I think.  At MEPS he also mentioned that he tried mushrooms 1X which he told me is listed in his medical records.  Will this disqualify him from the Air Force?  He told me that he currently has a TS/SCI clearance (whatever that means) and I know he has never been in trouble in the Marines or in civilian life so he thinks everything will be fine but with everything I have read here, I am unsure and don't want him to get in trouble.  The Air Force seems more strict on everything.  Thank you for your time and service!

Answer
Hi Candra,

He needs to tell the Air Force the truth, especially as this is listed in his medical records.

The Air Force almost never waives illegal drug use, other than experimental use of marijuana, but -- in your brother's case -- his 10 years of service in the Marines and his current TS/SCI clearance, may very well override this, especially as the mushroom use was prior to his Marine military service.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

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

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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).

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