Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 8/14/2010

Question
Hello Mr. Howell, my name is Christopher Polifrone. I have a bit of a
predicament on my hands, and I was hoping you might be able to offer
some advice. About a year ago I was supposed to enlist in the Marine
core. I was a few pounds shy of the enlistment weight at the time  (I had
lost alot of weight so I could enlist). Anyway, I showed up for a group PT
session with the other would-be recruits one day, and when I got there
my recruiter, who I had been speaking with for a few months, told me that
I had been automatically disqualified due to a medication I was taking at
the time, called Prozac. Prozac is sometimes used to treat symptoms of
depression, however, I was taking it to treat a mild nervous twitch disorder
that is provoked by taking too much caffeine, staring into a pixelized
screen for too long, or leading an exceedingly sedentary lifestyle. I tried to
explain this to my recruiter but he didn't pay any attention to me. A few
months later I met a recruiter who worked out of South Carolina. He was  
visiting my home town in New Jersey to pay his respects to a recently
fallen comrade, and he told me all that I needed to do in order to qualify
for enlistment was to get off the Prozac for one year. I have currently
been off the Prozac for a little over 7 months now, so I figured it would be
a good time to go and talk with a recruiter again, so I went to my old
recruiting station and spoke to one of the recruiters there, and he gave
me the same answer as my first recruiter. Since then I found out that I am
eligable to join the Army or Navy, however, I am still very determined to
join the Marines. If you have any advice or information to offer, regarding
my situation, I would very much appreciate it. Thank you Mr. Howell.
-Chris Polifrone

Answer
Christopher,

Sorry I couldn't answer sooner, I was off on a no-notice mission.

The recruiter from SC was correct.  After you present proof (a letter from your physician) that you've been off Prozac for at least one year, you may retest at MEPS.  In you doctor's letter he needs to explain why you were on it, just as you explained to me.

You may go to any USMC recruiter in any town you wish, the one in your town is just there for your convenience.  I'd recommend you get your physician's letter and go to another USMC recruiter AFTER October 1st.  Oct 1st begins the military's new fiscal year and waivers will become available again and recruiters get new quotas.  You want to be first in line to present your case, and maybe get a waiver if you need one.

Right now recruiters have already met their recruiting quotas and frankly don't want to spend their time working with you.  It's a shame, but it happens.  Some recruiters simply view you as $ in their pocket.

If driving to another town/recruiter isn't very convenient, you can always contact a USMC recruiter online at:  http://www.marines.com/

Again, please wait one more month and contact them after Oct 1st.  We want to stack the deck in your favor as much as possible.

Semper Fi
Colonel H