Alright, basically I'm not happy with where my life is at right now. I'm only 19 and already worrying about my financial situation, and took serious consideration into joining the Military. My biggest obstacle is my asthma, I've had asthma since I was 7 and still see an asthma physician regularly. I've found my asthma to be mainly allergy-induced, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. I can run fine, I'm in pretty good physical condition and can handle the fitness test easily, although I do need my inhaler 2-3 times a week for minor allergy problems. However, this might be more mental than physical, I use it when I feel a slight problem in breathing. It might sound kind of dumb, but I'm going to a hypnotist to try to reduce my almost addiction to having an inhaler (hey, if it helps it's worth it right?). The only recruiter I've talked to is a Navy recruiter (mainly because he called me) and he wasn't sure where I stood having Asthma and such, it might be important to note I scored an 80 on ASVAB (possibly will make them more inclined to waiver me???). I'm interested in the Air Force as well, although I haven't met up with any Recruiters in person just left a voicemail asking him to call me back so we can set something up. Unfortunately, I've heard the Air Force is the strictest Branch when it comes to accepting people with Asthma which is what I need your guy's input on. Also, if not the Air Force do you know how reasonable/unreasonable it is for somebody with asthma post 13 to get in to the Military? Thanks for your help in advance.
Although I'm not personally familiar with the different types of asthma, I do recall seeing people using inhalers in BMT for the Air Force. Your best bet is to get a recruiter to talk to you to see if you can possibly get a waiver. Although, I also heard it's becoming more and more difficult to get into the Air Force with waivers.
Thanks for replying. I've heard getting DQed from one branch means that you are DQed from all branches permanently, is this true? If so, do you think the other branches would be more feasible to get waivered in for?
For the past several years I just go in so he keeps updated on my progress. Basically every time I go I take a pulminary, tell him I'm doing great and then he lowers the dosage on my meds.
Well having it past age 13 is always going to be a DQ. The solution is a medical waiver, and proving to them I can breathe fine and not need medication anymore.
Originally posted by Rhc6: Well having it past age 13 is always going to be a DQ. The solution is a medical waiver, and proving to them I can breathe fine and not need medication anymore.
Go for it, you've got nothing to lose. Personally, I think you're deluding yourself. You admitted in your original post that you still use the medication on a weekly basis.
I understand what you're saying. Trust me, I've put a lot of stress on myself worrying about it. The problem is currently I see no good roads to follow except the Military. My inhaler is an addiction of sorts, being comforted by it since I was 7 and it is almost comparable to the placebo effect. I've been working hard these past few months to get in peak physical condition, my asthma has never felt better. I've been told 'you can't get in' 'you'll be DQed' a lot of times, but for all those times it just takes 1 story of how somebody snuck in and got a waiver that sparks the hope and drive in me. I've never wanted anything more than to join the Military, and until I get officially 100% shut down I won't give up.
just because people snuck in doesnt mean they didnt get booted later.
but also you can have an attack at any moment even if you have been feeling great in yourself. and if your downrange or in a job with high risk situations to have an attack ie not behind a desk your putting other people on the line for you.
also you do not have any idea how your asthma will react in your gas mask training.
its not dont try to see if you can pull it off, but dont be surprised or angry when you get told no... trust me i was put out medically (nothing i could prevent or knew about) and i am ****ed about it but you can serve your country or do something just as good in your life thats not the military, if your desperate to be around the military look into fed contract jobs on bases.
I understand that. I'm not really that worried about any physical exertion AF/Navy basic has to offer me. I thoroughly enjoy running, and I've been running 3 months without need of an inhaler. I haven't really looked at the gas mask training, considering there's no way I can test myself to see how I'll do safely lol. Guess if I do get in I'll just have to see how it plays out. I completely understand and agree about having a surprise asthma attack and putting my/others lives in danger, which is why I don't want to be in any direct line of combat. I want to help those people on the ground as much as I can, and I believe with a above average ASVAB score I could get a job in a technical field which could allow me to do just that.
If I do get DQed, I'd like to be around the Military. I want to be apart of something bigger than myself, I've never considered my ambitions normal and working a 9 to 5 at a average run of the mill job just doesn't seem like it'd fulfill my needs. I'll have to read up on some fed contract jobs, thanks.
Originally posted by Rhc6: .... I completely understand and agree about having a surprise asthma attack and putting my/others lives in danger, which is why I don't want to be in any direct line of combat....
You know, what you're NOT understanding is that there's no such thing as not being in a "direct line of combat". I spent a year in Iraq, working as a computer programmer in the Headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division, at what was generally considered and acknowledged as one of the safer places to be. During that time, rocket attacks took the lives of three or four people, two of them less than a block from where I was sitting. A degree or so difference in the rocket's elevation, and ....
The fact remains that if, however it's done, you wind up in uniform, you'll be a possible danger to yourselves and others, since you'd have no way of knowing when, or under what conditions, your asthma might affect you.
Well, what exactly did you do during the attacks? My brother-in-law is in the AF and recently came home from Iraq. He told me that basically every once and a while a random rocket was launched at the camp. I'm not entirely sure if I was in his shoes what I'd physically need to do that could end up risking others lives. Trust me, endangering lives is the last thing on my mind and I wouldn't want to join if I felt comfortable with the fact that if by 1/1,000 chance I do have an asthma attack during a critical moment it wouldn't be life-threatening. I may not have experience with war, but I do have experience with asthma. When that adrenaline is pumping, the last thing on your mind is breathing (similar to let's say getting in a fight and worrying about how bad the punches hurt).
Originally posted by Rhc6: Well, what exactly did you do during the attacks? My brother-in-law is in the AF and recently came home from Iraq. He told me that basically every once and a while a random rocket was launched at the camp. ...
The attacks were single-rocket attacks. One rocket and it was done. The only thing to do was to take cover, and then recover and press on. Emergency personnel reacted and responded. These attacks weren't random, nor were they numerous--at least not at our location. There were other locations that were attacked numerous times daily, with considerable more damage.
The point that you're not understanding is that if you can't respond to take care of someone else, or yourself, then you've become a liability--someone else is going to have to cover you. Look, I'm not unfamiliar with asthma. My son is almost 35, married, and a father himself. He still must use an inhaler occasionally, and occasionally he can't do things that he wants/needs to do. The real question is: "How willing are you to put someone else's life or well-being in jeopardy in order to satisfy your own wants and desires?"
The degrees of asthma vary from person to person. Also like I've said, I'm in very good physical condition. My asthma never holds me back from anything. At my work we play sports year round, I can play hour long flag football games, 3 consecutive volley ball games, or run the bases in Softball when I launch one in to the outfield. Asthma DOES NOT control me, and when it comes to something like saving a life? I don't care what I have to do but my body will not fail me because I know in my head the consequences. There is plenty of things that could a liability, hell for all we know any soldier overseas right now could get hit with a heart attack (god forbid). Listen, I've thought about this very carefully because when it comes to peoples lives it cannot be taken lightly. I feel 100% comfortable in preforming what needs to be done if a situation arises, if I didn't feel 100% about it than I wouldn't want to join. I've lived with asthma for 12 years now, and knowing how huge it's been going down over the years I feel like I could take on anything.
And if I'm a liability considering the 1 second it would take to get a puff of an inhaler, then I guess the MEPs will show me the door. The real question is if the MEPs agree that my body can handle being in the Air Force.
Asthma is not a DQ from the Air Force if you're already in. The Tech Sergeant in my Pashto class has Asthma and as a matter of fact picked up his meds the other day. This is allowable so long as your Asthma is mild according to the doctor and you are still capable of completing a PT test according to the said Sergeant.
That being said, during MEPS they will ask you if you have ANY history of Asthma or inhaler usage past the age of 12, although I've been told that now it's at all with no age limit. An answer of yes is a 99.99% DQ. Hiding that information or outright lying about it constitutes Fraudulent Enlistment under the UCMJ and is punishable with up to a $10,000 fine and/or up to two years in jail. The people who are using inhalers in BMT are usually people with some other sickness, for example three people in my flight had pneumonia and were issued asthma inhalers because there was too much fluid in the lungs/throat and they needed to open the air passages, not one of them had Asthma, the inhalers are for some other condition.
Hmm, I don't understand what you mean. You're 2 paragraphs contradict each-other. At first you're saying that as long as it's mild according to the Doctor and can pass a PT than it's allowable? If you get asthma it's usually in your childhood years, I'm not an expert on the subject but I don't think you can get asthma passed like 18+. Then you go on to say if you do have asthma and say yes it's 99.99% chance you will be DQed and lying about it (which I'm not going to do anway) is a $10,000 fine with some jail-time.
Right now a AF PT would be pretty easy for me, and my asthma is in pretty good condition. Sometimes allergies will bother me (mainly because my nose get's stuffed and I can't breathe through it, I'm on nasacort now so it's all good) but it takes a lot of physical activity coupled with allergies for me to need an inhaler.
