Does ADHD disqualify you from joining the (U.S.) military?
Hylian
Citizen, Mentor
in Life Skills
Now that I have a high school diploma I've started thinking about joining the military, which I have thought about and looked into before, but I also have realized that I have an ADHD diagnosis which could disqualify me.
I've found things online saying that if you can go without treatment for 2 years you can enlist, and I honestly don't want to take ADHD medicine anymore since it doesn't do much for me, so I could do that if needed. Does anyone know for sure that having ADHD/going through ADHD treatment disqualifies someone from joining the military? Could you get a waiver or something if your ADHD wouldn't massively affect your performance?
(As for autism which does disqualify people and I know might get brought up, I don't have a diagnosis, nor do I plan on mentioning having it since I don't believe it'd affect me much in the military.)
I've found things online saying that if you can go without treatment for 2 years you can enlist, and I honestly don't want to take ADHD medicine anymore since it doesn't do much for me, so I could do that if needed. Does anyone know for sure that having ADHD/going through ADHD treatment disqualifies someone from joining the military? Could you get a waiver or something if your ADHD wouldn't massively affect your performance?
(As for autism which does disqualify people and I know might get brought up, I don't have a diagnosis, nor do I plan on mentioning having it since I don't believe it'd affect me much in the military.)
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To add, I don't mind going off of my medication if needed because I've noticed that it (Strattera) actually doesn't benefit my symptoms much, so I have been essentially coping without aid from it this entire time (and doing okay at it + improving).
As for what I want to do in the military, I was thinking about going into the army and trying to go into one of their medical fields. They have jobs relating to veterinary care, but I'm also interested in caring for other people. My decision isn't set in stone though, and I am still researching what specifically is available to me and would be good to look more into, especially while having ADHD and some issues with mathematics.
You might want to consider that once you are in the US military, you go where they want you to go, they may assign you to some area you are not interested in, and...
you might have to go to war.
It is not a given that we will start another war. And if you are in the military you may end up shooting at other human beings, dropping bombs on people, being shot at yourself.
My husband is a veteran. The Army was good for him. He did go to Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the first Iraq war. He talked about having to drive a tank straight ahead, even though there was a little girl in the way. Because a tank driver sits high up on the tank, he could not see if she got out of the way or not. It haunts him.
My husband came out of it well-balanced and more mature. He is online with several veteran forms and FB, etc. Many, many vets who have been at war are killing themselves or considering same.
But, given the turn of the discussion towards the advantage and disadvantages of such a decision, can I ask what interests you about the military and what do they offer that you can't find somewhere else?
Note: In several European countries, the military will pay for people studies (Uni level) and financially support them for the duration of their studies, on condition that they stay in the military (use their skill and knowledge for the military) for a determined number of years. Some people find this advantageous, but they're usually countries that don't go to war much.
Excuse my ignorance: are you seeking a similar arrangement due to your current situation? I would imagine that training as a medic, lawyer or engineer for free in the US would be an incredible opportunity for many people, even if they have to work for the military for a while.
I honestly am still weighing the benefits and cons, though. I haven't been able to fully think about this for a couple years, since while Trump was president transgender people couldn't go into the military anymore, so I thought that the idea of doing that was just a pipe dream. Biden has made it so that if you are trans you can join the military, as long as you can pass the physical fitness requirements for people of your gender identity (which I can for the Army), so now that I am getting my HS diploma and have more options available to me within the military I've been thinking about it more.
I wish you get to live to see the state doing this instead of the military, as it happens here.
Good luck, either way, it's a good sign that you're not making this decision impulsively and it looks to me that you have the maturity to understand what you're doing.
you might like airforce better if you have asvab score high enough to get in. did you take asvab? they have shorter more relaxed boot camp, better accomdations, least likely to see combat. I would joined marines or army If i could have but i wanted to be infanty. if you want to avoid combat airforce is way to go. unless you're a pilot or special forces, closet you're get to combat is guard duty as airman. wouldn't do navy unless you're ok being stuck in cramp quarters for 6 months out of a year on a floating coffin.
I would never do navy or armor.
I still think if i could and was in shape i'd join marines or army likely at this point. but i'm disqualify and get bullied about it at work and on social media. i'm 1 year off from being too old now. I think my life would been way better if i'd been able to join or i'd be dead so either way way better.
I also haven't taken the ASVAB yet, I need to do that.
TBH I'm not entirely sure how things are now (he's not living in the same country I do and some things might have changed since he was young). And since in many/most European countries going to Uni is virtually free, the military has to put a lot more on the table than just paying for your studies.
I see... thank you for the details. It seems that the biggest difference is that someone in the US would definitely take a lot more risks in a very competitive environment and couldn't avoid being deployed, be it in a combat zone or not. But some might see it as a good opportunity to travel.
To be blunt, I wouldn't be too happy being deployed in a non-combat zone either, the US military doesn't have the best reputation and they often didn't do a great job in establishing the best relationship with the locals.
What happens to married couples, are they allowed to go together?
Thank you for the information, Sly.
Most of the time, when the military finds out you have psychological problems, they'll give you a "separation" discharge if they find out during basic training. This is a neutral discharge, and not dishonorable. It's almost like you didn't serve in the military at all.
If it's later, they might give you a "medical" discharge.
If you commit a crime, then the "bad conduct" and "dishonorable" discharges come into play. Even most deserters or AWOL people get an "other than honorable" discharge, rather than a worse discharge. It's not good---but it's not that bad, either.
Source: At one time, I did considerable research on this as a "special interest."
I'm not made the military; this is why I didn't join it.
I've been in camps where they do things army-style (though not nearly as bad as the actual army).