Replies

There are lots of conditions that the military will treat you for if you are already in, but will not accept you as a recruit if you have it prior to enlistment. It's simply not in their interest to enlist someone that is likely to spend time taking up medical resources, as well as potentially squandering the effort that went into training them. Once you are already in it is a different story.

There are lots of conditions that the military will treat you for if you are already in, but will not accept you as a recruit...

You explained that much better than I did.

"It's simply not in their interest to enlist someone that is likely to spend time taking up medical resources, as well as potentially squandering the effort that went into training them."

This has been my experience.

My Sr. Year (77) I took the military Aptitude test and wished to join the service but my father (Army Reserves plus served in Korea) explained to me that With my Bad Knee they probably would not take me.

I told my recruiter and he said not to mention it to anyone and I would be fine.

My dad told me that was a sure way to earn a Black mark and get off on the wrong foot in a career in the sercvice. He told me when asked in the medical section of the paper work to be truthful.

I was and when I went in to sign up I remember being led to a room with two other guys and we were given a physical test when we got to knee bends I couldn't do it. I was taken aside and told by a severe looking man in uniform that unless I could perform that exercise 50 times on demand to not bother coming back.

I tried all summer to rehab the knee but the doc told me it was futile unless I had an operation and then he would not guarantee it would fix the problem and we just did not have the money to do it. (Insurance would not cover it)

I had a freind who went in and signed up for the Rangers (He enlisted in 77) and scragged his knee jumping. They army fixed his knee up (but he was done in the rangers) and went on to a career in the Army and retired just a few years back.

Short story: They didn't want someone they had to fix but they fixed someone they had already trained!