Expert: Rod Powers - 7/30/2006

Question
I was there anyway to get in the milltary with asthma.I think not being allowed in with asthma is wrong becuase i know without asthma that i can out perfor in running swimming playing sports all day long.My asthma never shows up but iam told i still have it.I find unfair to not let someone in great shape and very controlble asthma in but they will let out of shape pepole that cant more than 10 sec without get out of breath.Another thing if a person with asthma has attack all you got to do is puff a inhaler and your fine again.there has to be like cerian jobs that pepole can prefor in the millatary with asthma.

Answer
Hi Mike,

I understand your concerns.  However, the military isn't about being "fair."  If the military were "fair," then women could get ground combat jobs.

The military is about fighting and winning wars, and Congress has given the service the total authority to decide which medical conditions they find conducive to military training and which they don't.

In the late 80s, the services had a much more lenient policy when it came to new recruits with Asthma.  Then the first Gulf War kicked off, and the services found they were doing hundreds of emergency evacuations for the desert area, because of asthmatic attacks that the inhalers weren't helping (They found that 120 degree heat and dust in the air 24 hours per day were not very good for asthmatics).

In any event, that's when the services decided to tighten up on their Asthma standards.

The military doesn't have the capability to enlist people who can only deploy to certain locations.  Everyone who enlists in the military must be able to deploy to any location, at any time, based on need.

This isn't "unfair."  It's based on the defense of our country.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com