You are here:
Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Plastic surgery
Advertisement
Question
I was told that if I had cosmetic surgery (rhinoplasty) this fall then I will need to wait 2 years before I can enlist in the Marines or any branch of the service. Is there a time line for this type of procedure?
Hi Al,
There is a minimum waiting time following any type of surgery before one can be medically considered for enlistment. Even after the waiting time, a waiver may be required (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/medicalwaiver.htm).
The military needs the waiting time to make sure there are no complications resulting from the surgery. As a minimum, they are going to want to see all pre and post-operative medical records, concerning the procedure.
The actual minimum waiting time is determined by the Chief Medical Officer at MEPS, but varies from six months to two years. For voluntary plastic surgery, my best guess is that MEPS won't process you for six months to one year following the surgery.
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my military information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
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.