Have a close friend whose son had a compound fracture of the tibia/fibula his Sr year in HS in the 1st round of the 2010 football playoffs. Has a metal rod in his leg. Rehab, just plain toughness, and being young enabled him to come back from the injury and run track in the Spring of 2011, and actually qualified for Regional Meet in the sprint relay.
Would this injury prevent him from enlisting in the armed services?
The service would do this boy good, but he claims that the recruiters told him he can't,,,, unless he has surgery to have the rod removed......
His mother doesn't know if he's being honest with her about it.
Claims he really wants to go into the service, but due to what the recruiter told him,,, "he can't".
Anyone know if this might be the case, or is the boy BS'ing?

Did the mom call the recruiters and ask?

He can join. It will require a waiver, but he can join.

I'm not sure. I remember that was an instant DQ when I was enlisting sans waiver. Depends on how bad the initial damage was I guess and what exactly he wants to do in the military. I had to go before a board of MD's because my eyesight was .5 over the limit. And this was in '05 when most of the standards where dropped to get as many warm bodies in uniform as possible. Got it waived within a day and did my four. But this was several yrs ago and the standards are always constantly changing.

Also the main reason they do this is because they are protecting themselves. If ANYTHING goes wrong with it while he's in then the government is liable for it. As far as the recruiter goes, unless it is set in stone somewhere and he can show it in writing, it's the decision of the medical staff at MEPS.

[This message has been edited by Eliminatus (edited 12/9/2011 3:56p).]

Depends on what the Surgeon General of that particular branch Recruiting Command says.

The best policy when it comes to disclosing your medical history is to keep your mouth shut. Don't tell them anything they don't need to know.

Although having a metal rod in his leg might kind of screw him when it comes to the rigors of training and deployment. I don't know.

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The best policy when it comes to disclosing your medical history is to keep your mouth shut.

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You do know that falsifying or not providing full and accurate information is a violation of Title 18, Section 1001 (Fraud) and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, right?

Ygtbsm. I'm not saying to lie about a significant health issue. I'm just saying that if the military does not need to know, don't tell them. I'm not exagerating when I say that most guys I work with would be civilians right now if they reported every little health issue they had since birth.

I am currently on recruiting duty. If your friend's son walked in to my office I could take him as long as he was approved for a waiver. If it was just a one time problem and he has had no issues since, the waiver should come in a timely manner.

AAAAAAAAAAg - Air Force Aggie Architect & Administrator from Amarillo, Altus, Austin, Arabia, Arkansas, Africa, Seoul, & now Amman, Jordan '65, '69, '73
"The most potent weapon against basic human decency, in the armamentarium of pure evil, is the self-imposed ignorance and moraldecay of the people themselves."