I just spoke to my son from bootcamp (Army National Guard) and he said that he failed the firefighting training (which also happens to be his MOS) and he said he failed it. He thought he failed it from smoking but a doctor on base said it was because he has asthma? He said that he was told that he would be not be allowed to go to his MOS and that he would lose his sign on bonus. On the other hand it doesn't sound like they are kicking him out of the National Guard. He went through several physicals and this was never spoken about so this is unexpected. I am left with more questions than answers.

Please help

Janet

To answer one thing, I do know that if he doesn't qualify/pass/etc one MOS then he can be re-assigned to another one; however it will not likely be one that he "wants". The thing about the sign-on bonus is that different amounts of a sign-on bonus are for different things, and one of the common ones is for being in a particular MOS. If that's what his bonus is for and he didn't fulfill that part of his contract, then yes he won't get his sign-on bonus.

Perhaps he had asthma that just needed lots of smoke to get aggravated. Did he have asthma already and didn't tell them? You didn't specify what you meant by "went through several physicals and this was never spoken about". If he has it and didn't disclose it, he may be in trouble If he has it and told them and they didn't say anything, well somebody wasn't doing their job. If he didn't know he has it and it was aggravated by his training, then they'll likely just send him to a high demand MOS that he qualifies for (if he's not being discharged).

I have heard of no doctor (whether a physical here or a physical where he lives now) telling him that he has asthma. His last "child" physical was done approximately Oct 2006. The doctor told him he needed to quit smoking but no mention of asthma. Then the physicals given at MEPS aren't they pretty intense? He joined the National Guard Oct 07 but delayed bootcamp till June because of birth of his daughter. He's done trainings with them and hasn't had a problem. I'm wondering if maybe he was on the borderline and then the intense physical training at bootcamp made it flair up?

quote:

If he didn't know he has it and it was aggravated by his training, then they'll likely just send him to a high demand MOS that he qualifies for (if he's not being discharged).

High Demand MOS if he has asthma - like what kind? Wouldn't it be a lower demand MOS?

I should re-phrase that, and I don't mean it to be rude or harsh, it's just the truth - I mean a high demand MOS that nobody wants (the ones that have lots of open slots available because nobody else wants them). There is a chance, if it's a legitimate medical issue that they would let him pick his own, but that would be up to who's handling it and how many spots they have available in the new MOS he would want.

ETA: Sorry, I missed the first of the two posts but yeah training is hard work, and a physical may not be able to determine that, so that's a good sign for him (in terms of it being something that was totally out of his control). He may get stuck with something like a desk job, which I would assume as a firefighter would kind of suck for him, that he wouldn't be happy about it. But all you can do is be optimistic and supportive when you talk to him and wait for more news!

I don't feel you are being rude or harsh. I think you are being very helpful and I really appreciate it. That makes sense to me now - "High Demand" MOS.

One more question - If he failed the firefighting training would he fail bootcamp?

That much I don't know - I'm not familiar with the firefighter MOS or training at all, I was more speaking in generalities, what is usually standard procedure. Maybe somebody else will be able to come by and have more information for you! If you are familiar with his recruiter you could try asking him/her but he/she may or may not be able (or willing) to help you. If they haven't threatened him with failure/discharge then that's a good thing - shoot, they threaten that when people are doing just fine!!

I bet they do - As far as I can tell they haven't said anything to him about disqualifying him. He was speaking about graduation and just said he doesn't have an MOS right now and he wont have one till he gets back home and is reassigned.

Thank you for all the help

Just to add to what others have said-or clarify maybe-with the Guard MOS is a bit different than with active-since he is enlisted in the guard for a specific State-he will get slotted into an MOS that there are units for in that state-unless he says hes willing to drive a ways for drill-i.e he enlisted as a fire fighter-but cant meet the physical requirements-but in the next town they have a Guard unit that is say-a medical company-and he would have no trouble fullfilling the requirements for a 68W (medic). He will most likely-(nothing is ever garunteed in the military) be reassigned to that unit and sent to 68W school-the draw back to that-it make be sometime before there is a slot for a guard 68W in AIT-so what will-or rather could happen is that he will be sent home and will continue to drill with his current unit until there is a slot for him.

When he gets home, have him see a Dr that specializes in Respiratory problems. It is possible that he has been living with asthma for awhile, just hasn't noticed until something aggrevated it, such as firefighter training.

We discovered that my daughter has exercise induced asthma, when she came down with broncitis about 2 years ago. This means that when she starts training for volleyball, basketball and track, her asthma can start to flair up. It isn't severe, she just has a hard time "breathing deep", which you tend to do when trying to run. The Dr put her on an inhaler once in the morning and once at night. She hasn't been bothered since and actually hasn't had to use her inhaler for the last 8 months. Her Dr thinks she might have outgrown it (she is 17). I hope so, she plans to go Air Force.

If he is able to stay in the military, they will definitely take care of it - too much of a liability to risk him having an attack without the proper meds/supplies.

quote:

Originally posted by jskost:
The Dr put her on an inhaler once in the morning and once at night. She hasn't been bothered since and actually hasn't had to use her inhaler for the last 8 months. Her Dr thinks she might have outgrown it (she is 17). I hope so, she plans to go Air Force.

You can ask about this over on the AF forums, but I am pretty sure she will not be able to go into the AF since she used an inhaler for asthma over the age of 12.

quote:

Originally posted by theainjmtant:
If he is able to stay in the military, they will definitely take care of it - too much of a liability to risk him having an attack without the proper meds/supplies.

I haven't heard anything about him being discharged. I wanted to call his recruiter and ask questions but I decided not to in case he misunderstood. I don't want to create unnecessary problems for him. I tried to look up what else they have to offer if he needs to pick a new MOS where he is located. I didn't understand what was listed on that website. I guess he'll have to look into it when he gets back.

deke is right..any prescribed inhaler past the 13th birthday is a PDQ, no waivers authorized.

quote:

If he is able to stay in the military, they will definitely take care of it - too much of a liability to risk him having an attack without the proper meds/supplies.

Up to a point-M-day ( traditional) national guard soldiers recieve medical care from the military ONLY for issues that occur while on military duty-i.e. if he breaks a leg at drill-they take care of that-or if he is on orders over 30 days of course. Im not sure how this will get handled-since its an on going contidition that was not caused by his service. In those instances guardsmen usually obtain what ever medical care required thru their usual civilian health care provider and insurance and it becomes the militaries issue only if he is mobilized.

quote:

Originally posted by dekeoboe:

quote:

Originally posted by jskost:
The Dr put her on an inhaler once in the morning and once at night. She hasn't been bothered since and actually hasn't had to use her inhaler for the last 8 months. Her Dr thinks she might have outgrown it (she is 17). I hope so, she plans to go Air Force.

You can ask about this over on the AF forums, but I am pretty sure she will not be able to go into the AF since she used an inhaler for asthma over the age of 12.

Our Dr is aware that she wants to go air force and told us that he wasn't going to diagnose her with asthma unless she had continuous attacks for at least 2 years. I checked and since it isn't in her medical records (yet) as asthma she is ok.

Sorry to hijack your topic LovesHerTa2edMan.

Jskost: are you willing to run the risk of your daughter having a severe..as in life threatening or FATAL asthma attack in the gas chamber because her doctor is willing to fudge the medical records?! being prescribed an inhaler past the age of 12 is a {PDQ for militray service. doesn't matter if the word asthma is never mentioned.

just because she is doing fine now does NOT MEAN that military service will not aggravate her pre existing condition..her first asthma attack in the service they will do some digging and when they find out her past..out she goes with a Fraudulent Discharge.

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Orchid, if there's really no history of asthma, will they really be able to claim that it's NOT a service related condition? That would be a bummer, if it's something that doesn't even act up til he's working out/training/etc. I see how they could wiggle out of it but that just seems not right to me. Oh well, I guess.

My ex was a fire instructor. Asthma, particularly smoke induced, my daughter has it, can be quite dangerous the first time you experience it. Many times it's around a campfire in the middle of nowhere. It's career ending for the fireman. If the military DQ'd every person with every type of Asthma, we'd have very few left. Many of those don't even know they have it. A co-worker of mine had an attack for the first time at age 59 from handling a Bengal Domestic cat. Who'd a thunk it? I hope your son finds an MOS he likes and gets past this and has no further problems.