Expert: Rod Powers - 11/29/2006

Question
My son passed drug test, physical, and all but was disqualified because he honestly answered a question that he had bronchitis for the first and only time in his life 3 months ago and the doctor prescribed medication in the form of a "puffer".  The recruiter said that as far a the Coast Guard, (even though we have the medical records to back us up) this disqualifies him even though it's the only time he's ever used one and was only for a couple of days.  I can't find anything in your link to the Medical Qualifications to tell me if this is true or false.  Can you tell me if this is correct?  Or is there anything we can do to fight this ruling?  Thank you for your help!!  My son is very disappointed.

Answer
Hi Rhonda,

First of all, there isn't anything you can really do to fight any medical qualification ruling.

Whether or not waivers are considered are based primarily upon how bad that particular military service needs new recruits. The Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force don't need very many new recruits at this time, and are therefore less likely to process waiver requests (why process a waiver request, when there are dozens of other recruits, standing in line, who don't need them?)

A "puffer" is an inhaler. Use of an inhaler within the past five years is generally a medical disqualifier. While the Army and Marine Corps may be willing to grant a medical waiver for such (they need more recruits), in my experience, the Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force are not.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com