[JustSurrounded]

I was under the impression (wrongly?) that the military didn't accept or retain people who needed daily medication (insulin, for example). How can you be part of a battle-ready, deployable-anywhere force if you require access to daily hormone therapy?

[kabar]

Serving in the US military requires a certain level of physical fitness and freedom from any disability “that may require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment.” When civilians apply to join the military, therefore, they are required to pass a medical exam and to disclose information about their medical history. While not all medical conditions disqualify a person from joining the military, many do, and any type of diabetes generally does.

Developing diabetes while already serving in the military, however, is not automatic grounds for separation (retirement) from the military. Several hundred service members (out of more than 1.4 million currently serving) are diagnosed with diabetes each year. Between 1997 and 2007, fewer than 6% of diabetes diagnoses were Type 1 diabetes, 80% were Type 2 diabetes, and the remaining 14% were not consistently reported as either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Because active service members have mandatory medical examinations and free access to health care, it is thought that there are few undiagnosed cases of diabetes among military personnel. Service members who develop diabetes and cannot maintain an HbA1c level below 7% without medication are referred to a medical evaluation board, which assesses their medical fitness and makes recommendations about follow-up care.

[JayGalt]

Once they are in they lobby for special accommodations, special assignments...since they are the flavor of the month.