Expert: Rod Powers - 7/29/2006

Question
my son called yesterday, telling me he is being discharged from boot camp. he says they found a fractured disc,and a herniated disc. he says he is not in pain though. they insisted on the discharge. he is very upset. do we have any recourse?

Answer
Hi Deanna,

I'm afraid there's nothing *you* can do.  Your son is now an adult, and you are no longer his spokesman.  Sorry to sound "harsh," here, but it's time to realize that -- as a member of the military -- he's on his own.  You are not allowed to interfere in what is going on.  You need to understand this.  I know it's hard, because he's your Son, but (legally) you don't have an interest in this.  It's between your Son and the military.  You're not a "player" in this.

Because his potential discharge is for a medical condition, it's primarily up to the military doctors to determine if his particular medical condition is such that it would preclude him from performing his required medical duties.  In the long run, that's what it is going to boil down to.  

If he has a ruptured disc and a fractured disk in basic training, to be very honest, the most likely result is going to be discharge.  Lot's will depend on the military medical doctors' opinion about whether or not he can perform his assigned military duties with the condition, but -- to be truthful, I can't see any way he would be able to do so with this particular medical condition.\

I know this isn't the answer you were looking for, but it's pretty much the way it is.

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

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com