Posted on Feb 19, 2019
Jay Aaron
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Could I do ROTC after being disqualified medically for OCS? So long story short, I’m prior enlisted and was diagnosed from the VA(during my RE1 delectation) with an adjustment disorder. I didn’t believe I actually struggled with the adjustment disorder once I was diagnosed, so I went through the very long process of being undiagnosed. After I graduated from undergrad I chose to pursue OCS and thought I would make it through no questions asked. However, I was disqualified and needed a waiver to get in. I just found out my waiver was disapproved. I have also been accepted into grad school and already was planning on attending grad school and trying to do ROTC if I could. I don’t agree with my waiver disaproval, and I know it doesn’t matter what I think, but I don’t think I should be disqualified based on the DODI anyways.

Anyways, I understand that the ROTC medical review process is different. Do I have a chance? I’m going to give it a go anyways, but would love some more advice.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.ocsfoundation.org

You might well find this of interest, it's not all-inclusive, it doesn't cover Army WOCS, or any of the direct commission indoc OIS programs I'd mentioned already in the other material I'd sent in, however, the forum pages about the five main OCS programs are actually quite good, also, look at YouTube, there are numerous videos about the various OCS and OIS type programs I've watched, many of them quite accurate, OK?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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http://www.sgaus.org

To me, at least, it'd help if you could possibly elaborate on your basic motivations...what field would you want, were you to go into any service? If Army or USMC, which specific range of possible MOS types. If USAF, which specific AFSCs? If Navy, what specific areas? Do you have flight interests at all? Would you want to be on the clinical side, or some deployable combat arms area? Go into your hobbies, interests, reading tastes, sports incl any martial arts, as well, to give us a more complete idea of your mind, if you will, knowing that helps suggest things for such career/educ questions, I've found...about the specifics of the problem you'd mentioned, that, obviously, I can't help you with at all...however, if you're seriously bound and determined that you'd want to try going in, lemme at least try to make you aware of an alternative which, though it's not entirely necessarily what you'd been wanting to do, could, at least, possibly let you test the waters, to see if the life could be for you, as well as to see if you could possibly make the adjustment, OK? SGAUS is the main professional body for what are termed the state defense forces (SDFs), the supplements a good many states and/or territories, though not all, have to supplement the ARNG and ANG, the Army and Air Natl Guards. They're real militaries, with real contracts, real enlistments, they just don't typically deploy outside their own state, unless for possibly, I've gathered, some type of purely humanitarian mission, disaster relief, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, I think most who'd go might well need to volunteer, however, I've also gathered whether they'd be used out of a given state or territory would be up to a given governor...so far as I know, they're not deployable overseas, as the Federal services are. I'd wanted quite badly to get involved with the NY Guard (NYG), though I'm total perm disabled, which made that impossible for insurance reasons, I did ask about it, I'd also met with their clinical types, as I'd been clinically trained for doctoral allied health, though we had to shut my license of sevl yrs ago, due to the whole disability thing. Our dentist had a friend who's NY ARNG, he'd wanted our dentist to join him, our dentist wasn't sure if the life would necessarily be for him. So, I'd suggested the NYG to kind of test drive the Audi, if you will, which, in fact, he did; he found the life was in fact for him, so, he submitted to NY ARNG while in the NYG, NY ARNG picked him up, NYG released him. There are significant differences between SDFs and Federal branches, mainly having to do with the Geneva Convention, as I understand the matter. That's why, in many instances, from what our dentist had later explained to me, quite often, NYG wasn't allowed on Federal installations in NY, even though they're the ARNG/ANG supplement, as they were essentially deemed, for purposes of law, "foreign" armies, if you will; I found the concept odd at first, though, as I reflected on the whole matter, I could obviously begin to perceive the rationale behind such a notion. In NYS, there's also the NY Naval Militia, which uses, mainly, about 95%+ of their personnel, drilling USNR, USMCR, and USCGR members, and is, in fact, apparently, Federally recognized. When 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy happened, both NYG as well as NYNM were in fact used, that I'd actually seen material on from back then; the main differences being, as I'd said, that NYG isn't Federally recognized, whereas NYNM is. That being said, I'm not entirely certain how SDFs are used in other states and/or territories that have them, you'd need to see if your state or territory actually has an SDF, per se, then go and speak with them about it, though the SGAUS lists, I believe, all the member SDF organizations in the US, I'm fairly certain. In the NYG, there's, I gather, a 3-yr enlistment; I was Army ROTC for 3 yrs, then went USAF OTS afterward, believe me, I've seen a good deal of the kind of thing you'd brought up for your own circumstances, though it's obviously not my place to go into that whole thing. That being said, if you could possibly try to go into an SDF by you, if one exists, you could at least have a reasonably realistic basis to gauge whether or not you'd be able to handle the Federal svcs, I'm not saying the parallel is exact, there are obviously numerous differences, however, SDFs are most definitely not the USCG Auxiliary, or the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), both of which are excellent groups, certainly...however, SDFs have their own boot camps, their own trainin cycles, their own regimens, had I known SDFs existed before I'd gone in, I most definitely would've very seriously considered going NYG before going on the Federal side, doing so would, I think, have let me possibly try to adjust to svc life before going Federal...when I'd been at USAF OTS after 3 yrs in Army ROTC, I did observe that those who were there who'd been prior enlisted adjusted far more readily to USAF OTS than I had, I knew many, from all the svcs, who'd gone intersvc, transferring to USAF, to attend USAF OTS, their own Federal svcs had released them, one guy I'd chatted with actually had Navy enlisted dolphins on his USAF shirt while we'd both been at the school, the only time I ever saw that. If you've done any college thus far, which I'm supposing you have, it'd also help to know your specific courses taken thus far, with actual titles, grades, and GPAs, also whether you've done an associates at all, with all the same info, I'll try to send you other material as well, that might be of interest, that might occur to me, I'm not saying going into an SDF would be precisely analogous to the Federal side, as I'd explained, however, if you could go into one, if one exists by you, and do decently in it, you'd at least have a fairly realistic basis, I think, to ask for a recommend, based on performance, if you wanted to try again for the Federal side. Also, look at USMC platoon leaders course (PLC), which is less well known, as well as, if you'd care to try for this, USPHS Jr and Sr COSTEP, the USPHS analogue to the ROTCs, and also USMC PLC. Then, too, if you'd want to try for this, the various state military colleges, e.g., VMI, the Citadel, and the state maritime colleges, all, from what I've read, let those who want to go through their regimental training do so without having to go into an ROTC or USMC PLC, in the case of, e.g., SUNY Maritime College, where I've known friends, and have worked with grads, and very nearly applied to myself, I do, in fact, know that to be the case. If you can finish the regimental training, with all the shipboard curriculum, and get USCG licensed as a 3rd mate and/or 3rd engineer, dual licensure is possible, you can get classed by USCG as what is termed a MARGRAD, which would place you in quite stead with USCG, possibly, to be allowed to go for either USCG OCS, or also possibly to try to go in as a direct commission, going through possibly a direct commission indoc OIS program, as opposed to solely an OCS, most are generally unaware of the differences between OCS and OIS programs, trust me, OIS programs do in fact exist...plus, if you're a recent MARGRAD, you might possibly be able to skip OIS, though I don't know precisely how that would work, you might be able to go to an abbreviated version. A friend I knew in grad school and I were doing our masters in physics at one place, he'd been a Navy OIS, not OCS, grad, to be an instructor in the Navy nuclear power school for, I think, the commissioned side, Navy has an explicit program to recruit nuc power instructors, he'd always wear his yellow Navy OIS t-shirt around the school, when I'd known him, so, I assure you, OIS programs most definitely do exist. Quite honestly, if you're seriously inclined toward STEM fields, engineering, physics, math, comp sci (CS), and IT, going to one of the state maritime colleges, purely as a regular student, not trying for an ROTC, they all have NROTC programs, being as they're sea schools, could well also be a quite suitable alternative for you, aside from going into an SDF, I'll try to send you material on the state maritime schools as well, elaborate, as I'd said, I hope all that was of at least some interest, I'd be most interested to hear more, no rush, whenever might possibly be convenient, OK?
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SFC Patrick Machayo
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Best bet contact HRC. Look up the standards for both categories. Don't give up. Request a waiver if need be. Can you prove your disqualifying reason has improved? Try proving that.
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CPT Andrew Wright
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If you went to the VA and made a claim for an adjustment disorder and have been accepting their money for it you have created your own roadblock and perhaps should be looking for another line of work besides the military. Best of Luck.
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SSG Senior Religious Affairs Nco
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ROTC will still be the same type of physical, a commissioning physical. So, the process is the same. Even if you wanted to direct commission. A commissioning physical is the same no matter what. Now, for Chaplain Recruiting, if someone is disapproved then they can go back to their PCM and have them reevaluate them to determine otherwise. If it’s the opposite of what the surgeon general is saying, your doctors notes and a letter from him or her can be sent back in. Your waiver isn’t done unless OTSG says no or the SG says that it’s not waiverable. At least that’s been my experience for the past 3 years doing recruiting. I deal with cadets switching over to our Chaplain Candidate program so that’s how I know that the physicals are the same.
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COL John McClellan
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If you were disqualified medically by DODMERB, then that applies to ANY commissioning source. Your only avenue is to appeal the DQ, based on some kind of incorrect medical information, or, to get a "second opinion" that disputes whatever diagnosis that was the basis for the DQ. ROTC and OCS leadership can't change a medical DQ. If everyone did their job correctly, then you are out of options.
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Lt Col Jim Coe
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Maybe time for some straight talk. Your odds of becoming a military officer are low at best. It’s time for a new goal. If you want to Serve, consider becoming a civilian employee of one of the Armed Forces. Other servant jobs include teaching, counseling, first responder, social worker, missionary. Think it over. Opportunity abounds!
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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Sigh...I entirely follow what you explained, with !e, it was the exact opposite, Army ROTC 3 yrs first, then USAF OTS, though the clinical stuff you went into didn't quite happen with me in the fashion you described...long, long, LOOOONG story, trust me...I can explain a good deal if you want that might help, however, telling you is gonna take, I kid thee not, hours, and hours, and hours...been there, done that (BTDT)...so, if you wanna hear my whole sad tale of woe, and think it'd do you any good, fine, no problemo, we can have at it...I'm just tellin ya, God's truth, what you're trying to do is a MAJOR pain...trust !e again...MAJOR, big time, so, if you're still up for trying, despite my long-winded preface, fine and dandy, just understand, trust me yet again, I've been around tat block and done that ski slope six ways from Sunday, up, donwn, left, right, sideways, inside out...what you're contemplating isn't easy, by any conceivable stretch of imagination, I fathom the motivation, believe me, I had it, I've been where you wanna go, more ways than even God's got imagination for, just understand, as I said, it's REAL involved, it AIN'T simple, not by ANY stretch of imagination, that much I can virtually promise you, you're gonna need to do a WHOLE slew of soul searching, research, and planning, and, when you're all done with all hat, it still may do no good...believe me, for what you asked about, I assure you, I DO know whereof I speak, promise, OK? If you wanna chat, I'm here, I'd need you to elaborate a whole lot more, so far as you can, cause trust !e, you've seen only a VERY small tip of a VERY huge iceberg, and I've swam around it, climbed it, been to the top of it and back down again, OK? No rush, whenever you'd wanna yak, I'm here as I'd said, OK?
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