Lying about MRI on MEPS Physical

[NousDefionsDoc]

Congratulations. Now go do PT.

[Eagle5US]

Originally Posted by SSGLOCKERT

BRAVO 1-3 IS ALL OVER IT. I AM AN SF RECRUITER AND DEAL WITH THESE THINGS ALL THE TIME. IF YOU BRING THE DOCUMENTATION THERE SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM. I YOU DO NOT, THE DOCTOR WILL DEFINITLY TEMP DISQUALIFY YOU.

Dude...
Undo your cap lock. It hurts my eyes.

Nuke...

Step 1 complete, start working on steps 2 thru 1563.
Short term goals in focus with your final destination in view. And do what NDD said as often as possible. You'll need it.

Best of luck.

Eagle

[cooter]

My questions regard the MEPS and SF physical. I, like everyone aparently, was told to lie on the MEPS physical by my recruiter. However I figured both that my recruiter was trying to get his numbers up and that the army would eventually figure out anything I had so I decided to tell the truth. I checked no for everything except a fracture I had in my arm when I was young, but one question was bothering me. It was: have you had chronic cough? I checked no, but I was not sure because I have contracted bronchitis once or twice a year (almost always lasting for a week or less) every year since I was 12 when I had contracted like 8 colds in one winter. I have not taken medication for it except for once, and it always healed, which means they were all acute. However, because it happens every year I was worried about the chronic indications so I went to my doctor yesterday... and after a number of tests including a breathing test he said it is not chronic cough or chronic bronchitis or asthma, I just GET acute bronchitis once...occasionally twice a year for about a week. I understand that for SF you have to take another physical and it is more demanding, so what are the realities of my condition? Assuming I get recruited could it proclude me from attempting SF even though I am a go for basic training? If not, would I be recycled out of Q if during it I contracted bronchitis? Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

[Eagle5US]

You're fine.
Drive on...good luck.

Eagle

[drhawk]

This is about my 19 yr. old son who enlisted and after he finished with it all the very last thing was have you ever been hospitalized which he was honest and said for 1 night 10 yrs ago for an mri....but it was all good....but not according to meps.....he was granted a waiver and the mep doc told him he only needed to do an mri with them and now it's been over 2 months and not a word from them.

My son had a contract for "Airborne Rangers" all he had left to do was swear in and now he can't even get an appt for the MRI as they requested....heck he' an amatuer boxer and has been boxing for about 4 yrs. I guess by now if there was something wrong with him it would of came up by now......he's physicaly and mentaly fit and had his civilian doctor write a letter stating he's fine but that wasn't good enough. His recruiter stated that the unit commander is handling this personaly what ever that means.

My question here !!! does anyone have some good advise on what game is being played here or is this a comon thing hurry up and wait and if it even happens. Any suggestions would be helpful !!!!!!!

[Surgicalcric]

My first suggestion is for you to read the PM I sent and follow it to the T.

Secondly, MEPS does sometimes require follow up tests (which tests depend on the specific type of waiver requested.) Sometimes the wait will test your patience. This is nothing new.

What injury did he require an MRI for?

[KiloNovember]

Unnecessary.

If you have any problems with your recruiter, try contacting the SF Recruiting Bn. I'm not up to speed on the new system, but back in the day if anyone was hindering an SF candidate's application process in any way, a call to 432-1818 would get it fixed asap.

Don't lie on your application. If you do you will surely regret it. If you are honest and you don't get it then that's just life and it sucks sometimes, but that it a hell of a lot better than getting cut for an honor violation when you are 1/2 way through the Q course.

Good luck. Train hard. Be safe.

[Red Finch]

If isolated MRIs and broken bones have presented trouble for candidates, what effect would childhood leukemia with many illnesses (like fevers, bacterial infections) associated with a breakdown of immune system functionality have (including appendicitis (resolved by appendectomy before it burst). My doctor would back the claim that all this has since resolved, however if similar notes were refused such as in the case of the drhawk's son (see above) I can imagine the trouble my medical file would cause. I'm not asking for any specific answers, as I understand that none can be given, and I have already been indicated whom to talk to. However reading this thread has embedded more doubt in my mind about a decision I hope to make relatively soon, and unlike finding the resolve to run that extra mile, this one is somewhat out of my hands.

[HardRoad]

Red Finch,
All you can do is try - but realistically, I think its a long shot.

The regulation that governs medical qualifications for enlistment (and officer accessions) is AR 40-501. Your best bet would probably be to google it and download a copy, and have your physician read chapter 2 (and paragraph 5-3, if you're interested in SF as a career option.) Your physician can then determine what supporting documentation is appropriate to provide to MEPS (in addition to your complete medical records, of course.) Sometimes input from your physician matters to the MEPS doc, sometimes it doesn't.

Recurrent leukopenia (low white blood cell count) is disqualifying, and that condition was almost certainly present during your illness. You can apply for a waiver, which is a lengthy process. The military doesn't want to take the chance on you becoming a liability in training or on deployment, and unless there's a very high likelyhood you won't have any problems in the future, they probably won't grant the waiver.

To be honest, I don't think you'll get in, but I'm not a recruiter or a MEPS doctor, so I could be wrong. If you want to serve, I recommend that you pull your medical records together, review them with your personal physician, have your doctor provide whatever additional input he feels is appropriate, and then take the MEPS physical and see what happens. If you get permanently disqualified, you can ask your recruiter to help you with the waiver process, but be prepared for it to take a while. It won't cost you anything but time to try.

If you don't get in, at least you gave it your best shot, which, in my opinion, puts you head and shoulders above most of your peers.

Best of luck however it turns out.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Red Finch

If isolated MRIs and broken bones have presented trouble for candidates, what effect would childhood leukemia with many illnesses (like fevers, bacterial infections) associated with a breakdown of immune system functionality have (including appendicitis (resolved by appendectomy before it burst). My doctor would back the claim that all this has since resolved, however if similar notes were refused such as in the case of the drhawk's son (see above) I can imagine the trouble my medical file would cause. I'm not asking for any specific answers, as I understand that none can be given, and I have already been indicated whom to talk to. However reading this thread has embedded more doubt in my mind about a decision I hope to make relatively soon, and unlike finding the resolve to run that extra mile, this one is somewhat out of my hands.

Have you read AR 40-501, as directed in the stickies?

Best you can do is to read, search, visit the recruiter and MEPS, tell the truth, and request the waivers.

I would guess the answer will be no, but so many other standards are being waived, who knows these days.

TR

[Red Finch]

I appreciate the answers although honestly my post was more of an immediate response to what I had just read than a query. In fact, I've got my game plan all laid out: 1) Score highly on ALL other criteria (ASVAB, APFT etc), 2) Collect all relevant medical documentation along with as many medical opinions as doctors I've had over the years, and be prepared to defend them as if I was in court. 3) Keep other options available in the case I am given an official "no".
I've certainly read through all the regulation and members of this site have kindly provided me with further contact information and the likes. Thank you.

[GatorBuck]

I recently started the recruiting process for 18x. No prior service. I just fininshed the pre-screening questionaire for the recruiter. I have had an mri on my knee after a rugby injury. Also, at 16 I had a cyst drained. It did not require stitches, nor did it have any health reprecusions post recovery (2 months). However, I am not asking for medical advise. When I informed my recruiter about these incidents he told me not to list them on the questionaire. He claimed it would incur unnecessary paperwork and that it wouldn't be an issue in the form of disqualification from 18x. However, after searching this site and finding this thread I realise otherwise. I believe that he has already submitted the pre-screen as is without the medical information.

Will this be an issue? I see that it most probably is. However, is there any advice on how I should proceed?

Thank you for your time.

[lksteve]

Originally Posted by Joe in Rosell

Will this be an issue? I see that it most probably is. However, is there any advice on how I should proceed?

The truth is not an issue...if additional paperwork is required, so be it...

[GatorBuck]

Thanks for the advice.