Can I join the military after residency with a mental illness

[Symmetry11]

I really want to serve here and overseas. I figure if I have a well managed mental illness for the next 10-15 years then I can join with a waiver. Is that possible?

I want to enter psychiatry or emergency medicine, which is a specialty that is needed in the military.

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[Perrotfish]

I really want to serve here and overseas. I figure if I have a well managed mental illness for the next 10-15 years then I can join with a waiver. Is that possible?

I want to enter psychiatry or emergency medicine, which is a specialty that is needed in the military.

You can apply for a waiver that would allow you to commission despite your mental illness. Whether or not the military will grant such a waiver will be determined by your medical history, the results of your evaluation by their psychiatrist, and also the needs of the military at that time.

 

[Symmetry11]

You can apply for a waiver that would allow you to commission despite your mental illness. Whether or not the military will grant such a waiver will be determined by your medical history, the results of your evaluation by their psychiatrist, and also the needs of the military at that time.

Nice!

 

[Symmetry11]

Which military branches allow you to serve overseas the most?

 

[Perrotfish]

Which military branches allow you to serve overseas the most?

The Navy has the greatest proportion of overseas medical officer billets that are actually attainable for a junior medical officer, mostly in Japan and Guam. All branches have a limited number of billets in Europe but those rarely go to people on their initial commitment. All branches offer an approximately equal opportunity to deploy to warzones.

 

[jabreal00]

I really want to serve here and overseas. I figure if I have a well managed mental illness for the next 10-15 years then I can join with a waiver. Is that possible?

I want to enter psychiatry or emergency medicine, which is a specialty that is needed in the military.

You can always try though, mental illness even if well controlled has lowest likelihood of being granted waivers. The problem with well controlled mental health problems is that they often flare in a deployed environment despite compliance to treatment regimens. I am not a psychiatrist but I have deployed and had to take care of those with underlying mental health conditions. There was always some amount of decompensation, which even happens to those without mental health.

I would reconsider trying for the military. Consider National Health Service Corp if you are interested in scholarship opportunities.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Many conditions are disqualifying and non-waiverable for initial entry into active duty. The standards are a little different between initial entry and retention. With things winding down and most military behavioral health understaffed and overwhelmed, waivers are pretty rare these days.

 

[Symmetry11]

Many conditions are disqualifying and non-waiverable for initial entry into active duty. The standards are a little different between initial entry and retention. With things winding down and most military behavioral health understaffed and overwhelmed, waivers are pretty rare these days.

My plan is to spend the next 8-10 years demonstrating that I am an accountable person who is not hindered by these problems by: doing two years in the peace corps, doing well in an SMP or post bacc, medical school, residency, then after meeting a recruiter and applying.

Do you think this is waiver-able? Or at least gives me a decent shot at the military? If not what do you think is the path for me?

For full-disclosure I also have 2 class C misdemeanors that are eligible to get expunged and medical records of willingly going to a rehab.

 

[DD214_DOC]

My plan is to spend the next 8-10 years demonstrating that I am an accountable person who is not hindered by these problems by: doing two years in the peace corps, doing well in an SMP or post bacc, medical school, residency, then after meeting a recruiter and applying.

Do you think this is waiver-able? Or at least gives me a decent shot at the military? If not what do you think is the path for me?

For full-disclosure I also have 2 class C misdemeanors that are eligible to get expunged and medical records of willingly going to a rehab.

Without knowing the details of your history, I have no idea. I don't need to know them, either. I have had adolescent patients who try to join once they turn 18 turned down without a waiver for much less. We are in a drawdown right now, but 8-10 years from now who knows?

Just yesterday I was consulted on a servicemember who somehow managed to get in despite having PTSD from years of terrible childhood trauma. He's high risk and wouldn't do well in a deployed environment (and we are still deploying, just not as much as before). A lot has changed recently, and basically if someone is nondeployable and it appears as though they won't be in a reasonable amount of time even with treat, the military has no use for you and you're gone. It's probably better that way, honestly. I still shake my head when I see an active-duty patient in the EC who had multiple psych admissions in adolescence and a prior history of bipolar disorder. But, I'm honestly not surprised because I get a lot of parents/teens who think they are eligible to serve by simply getting off their meds without a year of trying to enlist. That's completely not true, as most diagnoses prohibit one from initial entry. I don't remember all of them, but the general gist of the regulation for this matter is that if you've ever seen a psychiatrist, you probably aren't eligible.

 

[notdeadyet]

I still shake my head when I see an active-duty patient in the EC who had multiple psych admissions in adolescence and a prior history of bipolar disorder. But, I'm honestly not surprised because I get a lot of parents/teens who think they are eligible to serve by simply getting off their meds without a year of trying to enlist.

Boy, ain't that the truth.

It's going to be interesting to see the years ahead. I mostly spend Army time doing forensic-style psych evaluations and though I don't have hard data, there is a BIG over-representation in my log of soldiers who have two qualities: past psych histories that would not have been waived pre-OEF/OIF and past moral histories that would not have been waived pre-OEF/OIF. The military and VA is going to pay the price for those waivers for years to come, so if the powers that be are smart, there will likely be a firmer stance taken on waivers until the next Big Thing.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Boy, ain't that the truth.

It's going to be interesting to see the years ahead. I mostly spend Army time doing forensic-style psych evaluations and though I don't have hard data, there is a BIG over-representation in my log of soldiers who have two qualities: past psych histories that would not have been waived pre-OEF/OIF and past moral histories that would not have been waived pre-OEF/OIF. The military and VA is going to pay the price for those waivers for years to come, so if the powers that be are smart, there will likely be a firmer stance taken on waivers until the next Big Thing.

I think we are seeing a much firmer stance on waivers already. I have had several patients who tried to enlist when they turned 18 and were denied waivers, and some of their diagnoses weren't very severe. With the BHSL already overwhelmed, this is probably a good thing. I'm pretty far removed from active-duty land clinically and have been for the past 3+ years, so I'm also not entirely sure what's really going on as far as BH-related separations.

 

[Shikima]

Boy, ain't that the truth.

It's going to be interesting to see the years ahead. I mostly spend Army time doing forensic-style psych evaluations and though I don't have hard data, there is a BIG over-representation in my log of soldiers who have two qualities: past psych histories that would not have been waived pre-OEF/OIF and past moral histories that would not have been waived pre-OEF/OIF. The military and VA is going to pay the price for those waivers for years to come, so if the powers that be are smart, there will likely be a firmer stance taken on waivers until the next Big Thing.

See those same dynamics in the VA now with the Vietnam era draftee's.

 

[notdeadyet]

Yup. The "join the Army or go to jail" era. Good times, good times...