Expert: Rod Powers - 4/6/2007

Question
Hi My name is Alex,

I am 14 and have mild OCD.
I am currently on Zoloft but am about to get off of it.
When I am seventeen I want to join the militarty Preferably the army.I am an Excellin High school athlete with expierience with weapons. My question here is will the OCD history (now) Disqualify me or even make me need a waver when Im seventeen. (Assuming my OCD is not a problem then)
Other than the OCD I am very healthy.
Thanks in advance Sir.

Answer
Hi Alex,

It's a disqualifier. In fact, any treatment for a mental health condition is a disqualifier.

That means you'll need a waiver. To even be considered for a waiver, you'll need to be off any medication for at least 12 months (the longer the better), with no ill effects.

Whether or not a waiver will be approved is anyone's guess.

I have a "standard answer" when it comes to ANY waiver. There is simply no way to even guess whether or not a waiver will be approved, even if someone has gotten a waiver for the same condition in the past, or -- conversely -- if nobody has ever gotten a waiver for the condition in the past. Each and every waiver is evaluated INDIVIDUALLY, using SEVERAL individual factors, including but not limited to:

1. Is the condition progressive?

2. Is the condition subject to aggravation by military service?

3. Will the condition preclude satisfactory completion of prescribed training and subsequent military duty?

4. Will the condition constitute an undue hazard to the examine or to others, particularly under combat conditions?

5. Is the recruit *EXCEPTIONALLY* qualified, otherwise? (ASVAB scores, etc.)

6. How are current recruiting goals? How bad does that particular branch of the service need this particular applicant at this particular point-in-time?
There have been several cases of waivers approved for a specific condition, only to see a waiver disapproved for the same condition just a few weeks later.

Remember, if you require a waiver, that means that you are disqualified for military service. The waiver procedure is the process of you "begging" the military to make an exception in your particular case. There is no "right" to have a waiver approved.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com