Expert: Rod Powers - 11/19/2007

Question
QUESTION: I am very interest in getting into a JAG program with any branch of the military, but i take adderall and I have taken it for over 10 years.  I am in my second year of law school right now and i am very competitive in my class.  I am wondering if there is any possibility of me getting a waiver for this?  If not, what is there justification for doing this?  It is not like I am going to ever see combat, and it is not like this is a life sustaining medicine.

Also, if you never heard of a waiver for this, i was wondering if you could tell me how the 1 year timeline works?  In other words, I want to stay on the medicine as long as possible because it helps with my school performance; so, if I wanted to join the JAG immediately after I graduated from law school in May 2009, when would I have had to be off the medicine by?  It seems logical to say May 2008, but I would suspect that applications would be submitted prior to May 2009 and that the medical interrogation would take place sometime after that.

Please tell me as much as you can.

Thanks,
CD


ANSWER: Hi CD,

I'm not a doctor, but to the best of my knowledge, "adderall" is primarily used to treat ADD/ADHD.

If this is the reason you're prescribed the medication, then I'm afraid you're not eligible to even apply for a waiver to join any branch of the U.S. Military, until you've been off the medication for at least 12 months, with no sign of significant impulsivity or inattention.

Even so, chances of a waiver a commissioned officer position are not good. Commissioned officers are held to much higher standards than enlisted members.

If a waiver were to be considered, you would have to be off the medication (with no history of problems) for at least one year before you *applied* to join any of the Military services.

For more information about the U.S. Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Rob!  Could you please also answer the other questions that I asked?  E.g. (1) what is their reasoning for doing this? (2) How does the 1 year timeline work, and given my personal circumstances, which I described above, what is the absolute latest I could take the medicine before the 1 yr deadline begins?

Thanks,
CD

Answer
Hi CD,

Um....actually, my name is "Rod," not "Rob."

All of the military services are extremely cautious about enlisting or commissioning anyone with any type of mental health disorder, and this includes ADD/ADHD. Why? Because Military services has pretty much the highest stress-level of any job. If you haven't been through it, you can't imagine the stress of enlisted basic training, or officer OCS (Officer Candidate School), or the stress of being away from your family (parents, brothers, sisters, spouse, children, etc.) for extremely long periods of time. Any "stresses" you've experienced in school are very, very, very minor compared witht the stresses of Military life.

With all of that being said, when it comes to waivers, much depends on how bad a particular Military service needs your particular warm body at any particular point in time. The fact of the matter is that the Navy (and the Air Force) are currently "downsizing." That means they are reducing in size, and don't need as many volunteers as they may have in years past. See page 4 of my "What Congress has in Store for You" at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/payandbenefits/a/08paychanges_4.htm.

Congress has only authorized the Navy to be about 20,000 troops (both officer and enlisted), less next year than they were this year. That means that the Navy -- in order to meet this goal -- is not going to be able to accept as many applicants (either officer or enlisted) as they did last year. That means they are going to approve far less waivers (why approve a waiver, when there are enough applicants who don't need a waiver to meet the recruiting goals?)

In short, for the next few years, waivers for ADD/ADHD for Navy enlistment and commission are going to be few and far between, in my *educated* opinion. The longer one is without medication and have shown they are able to function, the better chance of waiver approval.

This is especially true of officer applicants. An officer applicant who as ADD/ADHD, who has met only the minimum requirements for a waiver, probably isn't going to be considered.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com