Waiver needed...or is this a disqualification??

Question

I was just told by my school nurse that i had a slight case of scoliosis. I want to enlist in the Army this December and be active in the Delayed Entry Program until I graduate. I had been told by a National Guard solider that the US Army does not tolerate scoliosis. Should I forget about my dream of enlisting???

Alright I'm confused here, Some people say that you cannot enlist with it, But I was checking out About.com and i read the requirements derieved from the DOD which says you CAN enlist as long as it's not severe.

So which one is it?

Answer 1

As a Drill SGT I had a soldier get EPTS for that (existant prior to service) which is a medical discharge. So yeah I think its pretty much not going to happen, I'm sorry and good luck.

Answer 2

Have you ever been diagnosed with this problem by a medical doctor? If the doctor says yes you have it then no you cannot enlist. If no then enlist. Even if you have it doesn't mean that you cant help out the warriors of the American Armed Forces. You could go to college work on some sort of new material that protects the soldiers or some sort of new weapons or spying gear. Like the old adage goes there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Answer 3

Who was it? Was it a recruiter? I'd go talk to someone down at the recruiter's office. If it's not noticeable and not officially diagnosed by a doctor, you may not need anything. But if you're really wanting to join the Army, you need to first see your doctor to make sure you truly have scoliosis or your school nurse was just seeing things. After that, go down to the recruiter's office and talk to them to get more information about this. I don't know how they deal with scoliosis but I can assure you that you do need to be checked out by a doctor so that you can find out if you have it.

Answer 4

The disqualifying medical conditions are listed below. The International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes are listed in parentheses following each standard.


(4) There is lumbar scoliosis greater than 20 degrees, thoracic scoliosis greater than 30 degrees, and kyphosis or lordosis greater than 55 degrees when measured by the Cobb method.

Not sure if this helps but I found this online.

Answer 5

I'm in the military and have an acquaintance (Army) who has scoliosis. The diagnosis is waiverable, but you will have to demonstrate that you can do certain normal things (for example, touch your toes).

To the Drill Sergeant above, my guess is that soldier was probably discharged for not revealing the condition prior to joining the service.

Answer 6

best answer, call a recruiter. It's thier job to know those sort of things. Although, the recruiter may convince to lie about it and cover it up to get you in. best solution would be to call around to different recruiters and get multiple opinions. thats one of those things that you shouldnt try to cover up and lie about. if you end up in a physically demanding job, I.e., infantry or something similar, where you end up carrying a 60-90+ lb rucksack. i could see a back problem being a serious issue.

Answer 7

you need to talk to a recruiter. I've been active duty for over four years, but I don't know all the qualifications. It's the recruiter's (an more specifically MEPS) job to know that stuff.

Answer 8

it is only disqualifying if it is past a certain degree. if it is only a slight case you will be ok. do a search on about.com and it will tell you.

Answer 9

it will depend on the degree of curvature. under a certain amount is not an issue.