Is preventative asthma medication doom for potential military career?

October 4, 2007 4:40 AM

I know a 17-year-old now applying to colleges who wants to get into a branch of the military (AF Academy) but had a bout of childhood asthma when she was very young (age 2) and has been on preventive medication for the lsat several years. Can she still become a pilot?

Her mother, a doctor, had her put on this medication since she had some exercise-related exhaustion in her teenage years that may have been asthma or may have just been the fact that she was out of shape. She has not had a definitive attack since that very early one, though, and doesn't feel she really has asthma, and that her mother has just been overly cautious in prescribing the medication.

What are her chances of getting into her dream school and/or any other branches, esp. with the goal of becoming a pilot of some kind? If she gets a pulmonary function test showing she has great lung function now, will that better her chances? Does she need a waiver, and if so, can she realistically get one?

posted by Malad to work & money (15 comments total)

FWIW this uses asthma as an example of a medical condition that will automatically disqualify a pilot candidate and adds "even if you have not recently suffered from them."
posted by sexymofo at 5:06 AM on October 4, 2007

Off the top of my head, I think she would automatically be disqualified.

By the way, for general informational purposes, ever being on ADHD meds would also disqualify you.

They are pretty strict. I know my son had to take a physical while he was in the application process.

If you want to forward her email to me, I can put her in contact with my son who can give her updated info. (He's there.)

To put this into perspective for your friend, tho, USAFA is an entire world of suck-a nice place to have been accepted to, a nice place to have graduated from, but four years of total crap in between.
posted by konolia at 5:27 AM on October 4, 2007

my son had to take a physical while he was in the application process.

It's a requirement even if all you want is a ROTC scholarship at a regular school.
posted by Doohickie at 5:49 AM on October 4, 2007

Well, his was a DoD physical (typing before coffee, I was.)
posted by konolia at 6:06 AM on October 4, 2007

No.

If the asthma issues ended at 2 years of age, she would be fine. But she's been on medication as a teen, which is a big scary red flag.

The very first question on the MEPS (military entrance processing station) medical questionnaire is (I paraphrase):

Have you ever had asthma, wheezing, or been prescribed asthma medication? YES OR NO.

If you check Yes, you'd better bring a dump truck of medical documentation, because you're automatically at 2.9 strikes.

After completing the survey, you're shuffled through the various physical stations, and the medics poke and prod you for a few hours. Then you meet with a doctor, who has the final say. (These doctors tend to be civilians.) They will review the documentation and say whether you're in or out.

Note that MEPS isn't branch-specific, so doesn't go by the "we need troops so we'll let anyone in" rule. And the civilian doctor doesn't care either way.

If, by a miracle, she gets in, she's got yet another medical mountain to climb. Before going to flight school, pilot candidates are given yet another physical, a Class 1 Flight Physical, this one more exhaustive and demanding.

Again, she'll be asked about asthma. Again, she'll have to make a medical case.

The cards are stacked so strongly against her even getting into the military that I doubt she'll ever strap on an F-16.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But then again, I'm not a doctor. YMMV.
posted by rentalkarma at 6:15 AM on October 4, 2007

As a side note, she should also ask herself if she's willing to take the chance of having an asthma attack flying altitude at Mach 2. I can think of better ways to die.

If she gets in, there are plenty of great jobs in the Air Force that don't involve flying.
posted by rentalkarma at 6:23 AM on October 4, 2007

In 1993, I was told by a Marine recruiter that "Having any asthmatic symptoms past the age of 12 automatically disqualifies you from serving in any branch of the armed forces".

So, I ended up doing computers for a living.

I've read that they've VERY SLIGHTLY relaxed the requirements since then, but not by much:

Asthma and ADD/ADHD Policy for Joining the US Military:

Previously, any history of asthma was disqualifying, regardless of age. While medical waivers were sometimes possible, waiver approval usually required scheduling and passing a pulmonary function test. Under the new policy, Asthma is only disqualifying if it occurs after the applicant’s 13th birthday.

Medical record screening may still be required, depending on the applicant’s medical history. However, in many cases, a signed statement, attached to the medical pre-screening form, stating that the applicant did not have any type of asthma (including exercise induced, or allergic asthma) or treatment for asthma after their 13th birthday will be sufficient.

Applicants who’ve experienced asthma or reactive airway disease after age 13 will require all medical documentation. Waivers may still be considered, depending on the applicant’s medical history and – possibly results from a pulmonary function test.
posted by mrbill at 7:13 AM on October 4, 2007

Well, his was a DoD physical (typing before coffee, I was.)

Same thing for college ROTC. I was awarded, but later turned down, a ROTC scholarship. I had to go downtown to have a physical with some government/military doctor guy.
posted by Doohickie at 9:21 AM on October 4, 2007

I would suggest she get off the meds and start running very seriously, perhaps get a running coach, and work hard but slow to build cardio fitness.

In my experience with her kind of history she could pass tests be drug free in six months.
posted by ewkpates at 10:38 AM on October 4, 2007

I took a military sponsored breath test once... They kept injecting me with stuff that made it harder and harder to breathe. I have allergy/heavy exercise/smoke induced breath problems, and failed the (2-3 hour) test right at the end. Not a lot of fun. Depending on what she has, I'd say very slim to no chance, honestly.
posted by Jacen at 12:12 PM on October 4, 2007

I joined the Navy in 1991 with the intent on becoming a SEAL. I'd had asthma like symptoms suddenly crop up a few years before and even used an inhaler from time to time, but it was never diagnosed as asthma.

I failed the pulimnary fuction test and was given the option to either stay in the Navy in another specialty or be discharged. So I left. She could probably still serve, but almost certainly not as a front seat pilot.
posted by Cyrano at 5:15 PM on October 4, 2007

By the way, for general informational purposes, ever being on ADHD meds would also disqualify you.

As someone who was in the Air Force, and then was granted a medical discharge, I can tell you that the above statement is bunk.

The Air Force knew about my history on ADD meds, and they never gave any indication of giving a damn about it.

They did care about the screws in my elbow (which I had a waiver for), and about the asthma that I could have had. In the end, I was discharged because of my hiatal hernia.

I was a satcom geek and not a flyer, so maybe that's why the elbow was ok.

At one point, I became extremely ill, and they were looking for a reason to discharge me. I mentioned that I had a doctor who suspected that I had exercise-induced asthma when I was a kid, and medicated me for it. The Air Force docs took this very seriously, and I was immediately sent to the hospital for lots of testing involving dosing me with histamines and making me breath a lot. Turns out I'm not asthmatic!

But I did have the throat thing, and that was enough to get me booted.
posted by SlyBevel at 9:56 PM on October 4, 2007

My brother, who ultimately became a Radar Intercept Officer, said that everyone - and he meant everyone - in his Naval Air Corps class wanted to be a pilot. They will cut you for the smallest thing just to cull the list. He was cut from flying jets because he missed one character on an eye chart (even though he passed it a few days later). He was offered to train to fly propeller aircraft, but wanted to be in a jet, hence becoming a RIO.

So, even if she is considered, there is a high probability it will still be used to cull her from a list that is already too long.
posted by qwip at 3:44 AM on October 5, 2007

As someone who was in the Air Force, and then was granted a medical discharge, I can tell you that the above statement is bunk.

The Air Force knew about my history on ADD meds, and they never gave any indication of giving a damn about it.

Being in the Air Force is not the same as being at the Air Force Academy.

For USAFA, unless they have changed things in the last three or four years, NO ADD drugs, period.
posted by konolia at 6:25 AM on October 5, 2007

Being in the Air Force is not the same as being at the Air Force Academy.

Whoops, granted. I stand down. Sorry.
posted by SlyBevel at 5:18 PM on October 5, 2007