Waiver Question

[ricky54326]

Hello Marines, and thanks in advance for taking the time to read my thread - it is very greatly appreciated.

I have an issue. When I was 7 or 8 years old (I am 18 now) I was diagnosed with ODD. When I was speaking with my recruiter, he first said that it shouldn't be a problem and so they should accept me no problem. When we actually sent my paperwork down to MEPS, I got declined. He then told me that I have to get a psychiatrist to re-evaluate my mental health, to prove that I do not have anything wrong with me anymore, seeing as it's been so long.

During my senior year of High School (last year), I was sort of down in the dumps. I thought my dream of being a Marine was completely down the drain, and I didn't have a college picked as a backup option. I started losing my appetite, and my mother got concerned and took me into my family doctor, who thought I might have anxiety. They prescribed me with stuff that I ended up taking for about a week, with no result, and so I was taken off of it.
The problem fixed itself, as I did find a backup college, and everything started getting back to normal again. If I get that psychiatric evaluation, would it help get rid of the fact that they thought I might have had anxiety back in October?

I very much want to be a Marine, but I just want to make sure that he isn't "pulling my leg", per se. The only reason I say that, is because I do not have excellent medical insurance due to my mother being unemployed, and so it would cost me about $500-600 out of pocket. I know that is nothing to pursue my dreams, but I really want to know if there is a possible chance for me to even be CONSIDERED for a waiver. I know no one here works at MEPS (or not many, if any at all) but I would greatly appreciate any input that anyone has for me.

Also, another roadblock is that I got a ticket for running a red light (which I did not actually do) about a month ago. I did go to court, and contested it, and I won, so I did not have to pay and got no points off of my license. Do I tell my recruiter all of that, or do I not mention it at all since technically it doesn't exist anymore?

I have just been having mixed feelings due to the fact that I've seen some posts saying that people are better off hiding certain things if they do not affect enlistment at all.

Thanks very much to any and all who read this, I greatly appreciate you taking time out of your lives to read this and help someone out.

Have a great day,

Ricky

[YLDNDN6]

Ricky,
I think the fact that you took a prescribed medication for some sort of emotional disorder could keep you out. I may be mistaken. My stepson was trying to get in, and he got canked because of taking anti-seizure medication a couple of years ago. The info that I got was that anything involving the brain, med-wise, had to be at least five years in the past. Curiously enough, my stepson's name is also Ricky. Good luck to you, and I hope you have better luck than my kid did.

[ricky54326]

Thank you very much sir! I really appreciate the wishes. Interesting that I have the same name as your stepson, lol. If all else fails, I will be trying a different branch I suppose. It will never be the same, but it is better than not joining any branch at all, as I have always wanted to be in the military in some way, shape, or form.

I really appreciate the help, and I hope that I do have good luck as well.

[usmc4life1991]

as long as you dont currently take meds for any thing and you have been off them for a while you should be fine

[ricky54326]

Thanks very much for the response. I will definitely ask once I get my re-evaluation. If not, I will reluctantly be looking into other branches. Thanks again.

[lamanognr86]

I hope you get in with ODD. I'd give anything to see you as a recruit and flip out at a drill instructor. haha

[ricky54326]

With all due respect, I really feel that I don't have it anymore and really never did. I haven't had a problem with authority ever that I can remember (I didn't even know I had it until I dug up my records for my recruiter) . I could see why that would be funny though... lol