[Vigilanteman]

Many years ago, something somewhat similar to this happened to me. Only it was Army ROTC, not Navy. I also went to a much cheaper school and was heading for graduation in the Carter era when the military was downsizing big time, so there was no demand to repay tuition. I do not remember the details of the contract, but it basically said I had to serve when and where called at the Army's option after graduation. Nonetheless, the Army retained the right to reject any ROTC cadet at anytime for any reason or even no reason and was not obligated to share the particulars.

I think the Navy is way out of line here. Asthma is a fairly common ailment and fairly easy to control with medication. While you don't want to put a person on a submarine or a ship likely to be in combat who is prone to asthma, there are about 3-4 rear echelon jobs in the army for every front-line job and, I would guess, an even higher ratio in the navy.

Therefore, I don't see how this is any different from any other contract-- the young lady is apparently quite willing to serve, the navy is just unwilling to make minimal accomodations to exclude her from the 20% or assignments where an asthma condition would be a genuine impediment. That's the Navy's choice, not hers and she shouldn't have to pay for something she can't control.

[PERKY2004]

One thing is clear ... she has appealed the Navy’s decision three times, unsuccessfully. What I’d like to read are those three decisions — and the underlying rules and regulations upon which they are based. I’d also like to read the precise language of any contracts that she signed to join the ROTC program ... and what they say about medical disqualification and repayment obligations. The problem with this news story (like many news stories) is that we really don’t have all of the pertinent information.

[ExpatGator]

The Navy has no billets for shore duty hogging people. Go to sea or go home.