Since my son was very little he has wanted to be a Marine.  He is 16 now and still talks daily about it.  I'm wondering though, if it will be possible because he has Asthma.   It is not severe but he does use an inhaler especially in the Spring when his allergies are at their worst.  Does anyone know if this will prevent him from enlisting?

Thanks!

Jeannie

Not possible...

Jeannie I'm still trying to figure out how the above post appeared here!!! And why I can't modify it or delete it........as to the military question...I don't know.

Clueless Joe

Just admit it, Juiceboy - you dun messed up.

You'll feel a whole lot better - trust me.

Fixed it for you Joe.......It's gone.

Jimi wrote on Apr 22^nd, 2009 at 11:28am:

Fixed it for you Joe.......It's gone.

Buzzkill.

Sigh...could ya tell Christy is on out of town travel again??? With apologies to Jeannie for the hijacked thread... :-/

Joe

Jeannie..............

Calico may have some knowledge of this when he sees the thread.

He could join the Navy and be a Corpsman.  Then ask to be a Marine Corpsman.

             Potter

Or he could just stay in the Navy.  Marines are just the Navy's hired bodyguards anyway. ;)

Why would the Navy take him if the Marines wouldn't?   Sorry if I sound dumb.... :-/

Jeannie

I found this by googling asthma+military:

Jun 18 2004
The Department of Defense has softened their medical qualification standards for cases of childhood asthma.

Asthma

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.

I do not believe he will be allowed to enlist in the Marines with this as a known condition.  My son is a Marine and will be home on leave for two weeks tommorrow.  I will ask him then and get back to you on this tomorrow night.  He worked as a recruiter for two months.  So I think he should have a good idea as to what is an aceptable condition and what isn't.

As to why he should be allowed to join the Navy the other branches of the service are not as tough as the Marines when it comes to standards to get in and get through boot camp. 

Only 16? I probably had what was asthma then but by the time I was 18 or so, it was gone. Stuff like that happens a lot at that age.

Charlie

My youngest daughter had horrible asthma as an infant and young child. Theo-dur sprinkles, The pulma ade, mixing chemicals at 2:00 am to open her lungs up...all of it vanished at about 12-13 years of age. 22 now and no asthma issues at all. Praying your boy has a similar result!

Joe

Lisa (my 23 yr old daughter) is the opposite of Joe's. She never had any major signs of asthma untill after her period started then at 12 she had a "cough" that wouldn't go away. We found out it was asthma and it continued to get worse until we made a trip to National Jewish Medical Center when she was 18. It's one of the leading respirtory hospitals in the country. We learned that puberty often is the end of asthma or for many the onset of puberty will begin it. Unfortunatly recent research is showing that kids that out grow it often get it back in their older adult years.

I hope everything works out and your son is not held back from his goals in life. It's times like this that really makes me hate copying with asthma!

Charlotte

Jeannie,

My first reaction is that I doubt if they will take him unless the asthma is cleared up.  I will make a phone call for you tomorrow though and confirm one way or another.  I hope he can make it.  He sounds like good Marine material.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry and everyone else!

Joe has had asthma since he was 4.  It is mostly a seasonal issue and is most apparent when pollen is bad.  

He has grown up playing basketball, football and running track and cross country.  His lung function tests come back "really good" according to the doctor.  We have never told him he couldn't do something due to his asthma.  It is really going to be a blow for him if it holds him back now.  His plan, for as long as I can remember, is to join the Marines and then come home and be a police officer.

PF wishes!

Jeanie

Jeannie,

I've got a call in to try to get an answer for you, but have not gotten a response yet.  Will try to let you know tomorrow.  Dan will know how to get around it if there is a problem and it can be gotten around.

Jerry

My son who has worked as a recruiter and also is stationed at MCRD where they train and make Marines is incharge of all the paperwork for the medical discharges amongst many other things.  He said that if your asma is cleared up with medication and controled that way you can still get in but need a special waver.  If you are dependant at all on an inhaller the answer is no you can not get in.  I would encourage him to look into other branches of the service because they do not all hold the strict guidelines that the Marines do.  

Jeannie,

I checked wtih a retired Marine with pretty good connections who told me that it is difficult, but possibly could be done.  I'll PM you my cell # and will try to pass along the info I got.

Jerry

Can he run long distance?

   Potter

Potter,   He can run long distances.... He ran cross country for a while.   He is very fit.   His asthma is only a problem when he is around LOTS of pollen.

Thanks again, Jerry.   I will be calling you!

Jeannie

I''d be more worried about Iraq or Afghanistan than pollen Jeanni,
can't you persuade him to be an aggressive Librarian or an antagonistic clerk
Perhaps i'm talking out of place.
Colin

That's the thing about true heroes, Colin - they put themselves in harm's way voluntarily so the rest of us can enjoy liberty. None of us can even come close to repaying them.

Jeannie's son wants to be one of those heroes, and I for one hope he can find a way to do it.

I have lost a lot of my relatives to war and over the years it has become more or less a talking point if and when someone remembers.
Ask the parents or relatives truthfully if they could change it they would.
True hero’s come in all shapes and sizes Brew, whether they are Surgeons, Doctors, Firemen, Policemen and so on,
I’m not taking anything away from the armed services because I’m fully aware of their importance but at sixteen wouldn’t you prefer you’re son to perhaps look at other options.
Sixteen’s a bit young isn’t it?
You see I know my history and the charge of the light brigade springs to mind, almost 300 died and heroic they were, following orders to the letter.
I know there are many more instances, how far do you want to go back on heroic achievements.
All I’m saying is before you commit to dreams of being a hero most of them died being one!!
Colin

Brew wrote on Apr 25^th, 2009 at 7:27pm:

That's the thing about true heroes, Colin - they put themselves in harm's way voluntarily so the rest of us can enjoy liberty. None of us can even come close to repaying them. Jeannie's son wants to be one of those heroes, and I for one hope he can find a way to do it.

 And that's why we are The United States of America.

               Potter

Colonel Jessup, from A Few Good Men:

Quote:

Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls need to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and curse the Marines; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

I didn't read a lot of the responses here but wanted to tell you that both of my sons are Marines with asthma.  They were both diagnosed as children.  My son Sean out grew it as an adult... and my son Scott has excersize induced... or that is how the doctor wrote it up... If your son is healthy he can get a waiver from a doctor.  Sean was in from 2000-2005 and Scott 1994-2002~ Scott is now in the Army.  He said once he moved away from home most of his asthma triggers dissappeared...

If his asthma is severe it may stand in the way.  If he has a usual physical training routine now he knows his limits.

Good luck
Ree

I agree with you too Jerry, I believe it comes with a calling.  There is no stopping a hero when they set their sites on serving our country, or law enforcement.  They are born with that goal in mind.  

I also commend Jeannie because though as "Mom, Dads and Guardians", we sometimes would prefer that they follow a different path. Though I would have rathered he had a safer job, I too would have done anything to help Scott follow his dream. Look at the lives he has saved. I couldn't be prouder.  Someone has to do it... I'm glad that my sons have served our country bravely.

love Ree

Potter wrote on Apr 25^th, 2009 at 9:02pm:

Brew wrote on Apr 25th, 2009 at 7:27pm: That's the thing about true heroes, Colin - they put themselves in harm's way voluntarily so the rest of us can enjoy liberty. None of us can even come close to repaying them. Jeannie's son wants to be one of those heroes, and I for one hope he can find a way to do it.  And that's why we are The United States of America.                Potter

Potter, I couldn't have said it any better, and that is why you are one of my heroes.  You have been there, and have paid the price that I was fortunate enough, although willing, to not have to pay.  You will forever have my gratitude.

Colin,  You look at history and use the debacle caused by a bloated, self-delusional, class based military hierarchy and its stupidity to give you the basis for your cynical anti-military views.  I understand you are English, and do not mean this as a slam against England, but your class system that denies qualified young men the opportunity to become officers because of their family lineage has been the downfall of your forces.  You have some EXCELLENT fighting men, ( my son has served alongside some of them), but their leadership is very suspect.

I am proud to have a son who has served for almost four years in the USMC, he'll make Sargent in June, and go to Officer Candidate School next summer.  He knew from a very early age that the military is the way he wanted to go.  He did this BECAUSE of his reading of history.  He did not go with the idea of becoming a hero, but there is no man that I hold in higher respect than I do him.  My third son will in about 3 1/2 weeks be given the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor designating him a United States Marine.  I could not be prouder of his choice.

Neither of my sons entered the service because they wanted to kill, but rather to protect life, even if it meant laying down their own.  Rob (my son) in the 7 months he spent in Iraq saw first hand the horrors brought about on a country because no one was willing to stand up to a corrupt man and put an end to him.  Do you know what a mass grave holding approximately 300,000 men, women, AND children looks like?  (Part of them were buried while still alive.)   Rob does.   Do you know what a room where wives and daughters were raped in front of husbands and fathers looks like?  This was common practice against the "enemies of the State" before our forces along with yours put a stop to it.  He was in rooms where the bloodstains were still on the wall from the brutal torture that was committed against common people just on the suspicion that they might have bad thoughts against Hussein.  I will not detail what some of those methods were, but they made the Spanish Inquisition look like a Boy Scout Camp.

I did not mean to go into as rant, but I can think of very few "options" I would rather have my son look at than service in the United States Marine Corps.  (Seconded by the other branches of our Services ;D)  Yes, they need to look at all options, but then they need to weigh what it is they want their lives to count for when it is all said and done.

One of the Few, the Proudest, a United States Marine Dad!

Jerry

Thanks Ree.

Jerry

It seems to me I've hit a raw nerve here.
I certainly don't mean to be cynical or disrespective to anyone and I certainly believe in the armed services more than you can imagine
its just that I'm a soft soul who does'nt want anyone to get hurt,
Forgive this unintentional twit who doesn't want to ruin a wonderful relationship with you all.
Colin

I hate to put a damper on Colin's parade, but there were actually over soldiers with the Charge of the Light Brigade and 156 died.

I don't see where Colin was being anti-military.  Cynical, maybe.  But if cynicism were a crime, most of us on here would be condemned withtout a second thought.

IMHO, he was just speaking as a person who doesn't want to see anybody lose someone to war.  

BTW, if it weren't for my daughters' health problems, she would have joined up straight out of college.

Colin,

Please don't take offense at what I said.  None was intended at all, and coming from your point of view I can understand your feelings.  History, particularly military history is my hobby.  Your men in your military services have been so abused by their lack of proper leadership and inability to cross certain levels no matter their ability, only to be thrown to the slaughter by mindless, careless people for their own personal glory without risk that I am amazed that you can even field an army.  

Here in the States our military is different.  Sure we have our share of glory-hungry A-holes who make it to the top ranks without endangering themselves, but by and large our men have the opportunity to become whatever they have the drive and the ability to achieve.  Along with that, particularly in the Marine Corps, the history and the ethos of the service is so deeply ingrained in the men (and women) that they will go to extraordinary lengths to take care of one another AND their country.  Why else would a young man give up years of his life to go to a God-forsaken desert and risk his own life and health for a bunch of people that he never knew, cannot communicate with, and may not even like him or his country.  He is willing however to lay his life down so that their can be bettered.

Take Iraq for example.  The war over there has been argued without end, and mostly without knowledge.  However, the people of Iraq now have the freedom to VOTE for the government of their choice, and did so at the risk of their lives from those who were still trying to prevent it.  More children (boys) are now going to school than in the history of the country.  The really great thing is that GIRLS are also being allowed an education!  That was very rarely possible before.  More (common) people have electricity than ever before.  The common people are now starting to get sanitary drinking water made available to them, and the sewer system is rapidly being expanded.  Health Care is now available to more than just the Baath Party and the wealthy, and more people are having the opportunity to have their own businesses.  It is not perfect by a long shot, but the improvement is phenominal, all because a few young people were wiling to lay their lives down to free an entire country and to bring them into the modern era.

You have not hit a raw nerve, my friend, but I am passionate about the men and women in our armed forces and what they do.  They don't go out for conquest, but they do give their all to liberate oppressed peoples.  We have done so for a long time, and God willing will continue to do so in the future.

I too am a soft hearted person who hates to see someone else get hurt.  When Rob told me he wanted to enlist I made sure he had thought through all of the possibilities.  He could have sacrificed the chance to marry the beautiful young lady he just married, but was willing to do so if he had to.  He thought things through carefully and finally came to the conclusion I hoped he would.  He came to me and quoted something that Jesus the Christ said just before he was crucified, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13

Be at peace my friend.  You have not offended me, and I hope I did not offend in my comments either.  

Jerry

When Joe first started talking about joining the Marines I was terrified... I still am!  I was even tempted to throw out information he was receiving in the mail ( he had spoken to a recruiter at school).  Then I started thinking about two things.    What if every mother had talked their sons or daughters out of serving?  Where would we be?  And... what has been my goal in raising my children?  Do I want them to be strong and independent and choose a life  that will make them happy or do I want them to  let others choose for them?

I will be proud of Joe no matter what he does with his life.  I will be even prouder if he follows his heart.  If that means serving our country and protecting my freedom... well that's a bonus... isn't it? ;)

Jeannie

Personally, If my sons grew up to be the outstanding marines that Ree is blessed with, I would be busting at the seams with pride.  Nothing I can imagine) would please me more than seeing my sons step up and serve proudly in the most awesome and respectable branch of our armed forces.  That isn't to take anything away from the other fine branches of our military... there's just something very special about Marines,

Shawn wrote on Apr 26^th, 2009 at 12:31pm:

there's just something very special about Marines,

YUP!!!

Us sailors always did have a fondness for our pets ....

;)   ;D

Ex-Navy Chuck

(NO nasty remarks, please, it is ONLY a joke!  I HIGHLY respect our Marines, and ALL the men and women in ALL branches of our forces!  And I thank each and everyone of them ...)