Not disclosing 11 year old issues or going for waiver

[Outdoorsmen1998]

Hello again, Marines.

Once again I come to you for assistance.

I've been ghosting this site and a lot of other sites looking for answers but my problem is what I have isn't common, especially for people seeking entrance to the military, so I haven't gotten too much.

A while back I spoke with a recruiter to enlist in the reserves. I ended up not going through with it because I was instructed to lie on my forms. This was back in September-October. From then to now all I've thought about is joining the Marines, and how much I want it. I decided to talk with my recruiter again.

I got my medical records from my doctor. What I had when I was 11 is Anorexia. I have been fine since I was 12 and had no problems. Doctor's notes say I was young and didn't know the consequences of my decisions. I was prescribed an anti-depressant, but the reason listed is Anorexia/Mood, not depression. I attended an outpatient center for a few months and got therapy, but I didn't really do **** with them, it was just required. I took the anti depressants until August 2016 when I learned about the rules for being on them and serving, so I've been off of them since then and had zero issues. It will be a year in a few days.

Question I have being what is the chance of getting a waiver, and how will I go about it. I know a response will be ask my recruiter. When I asked back last year, I kept getting the answer nobody will know and to not disclose it. They cant look at my medical records and that when I ship I get a new one, etc. Same stuff was said when I talked to him now.

The difference is now I want to go active duty instead of reserve, and I agreed I would not disclose when I talked with him now. *I have not done any paperwork*. Since I already signed up for college I am for sure going this semester, then hopefully shipping early next year. I was planning on going the officer route but my grades were at a 2.8 GPA in high school. I'm an Eagle scout and my PFT is really going up, if that counts for anything. A friend who is going through the program said he would give my info to his OSO, but it's been around a month and I haven't gotten anything.

I feel like if I asked to get a waiver now, I would get booted out the door and told to never come back. Should I see another recruiter in another recruiting station/district/area?

My #1 goal/dream here is to become a Marine. Been such for a long time. I want to keep my integrity and do the right thing, but I'm having a hard time doing so, when my dream is on the line. I know Marines would be honest, but I keep thinking about getting PERM-DQ'ed if I do apply for one. I know the reg's are in place for a reason though. I just think since it was when I was 11, I've had a lot of time to keep everything squared away and had no issues, and have had so much education on it (interested in this field after for a career, but after the Marine Corps, if I earn the title.) that I believe I can keep it squared away, even with the stress of recruit training and life as a Marine.

All advice is appreciated, and thank you, Marines.

P.S Sorry for the huge amount of text, just trying to give you all as much info as possible so it's not unclear.

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[Kamauxx]

There is a method to your recruiter's perceived madness. To put it plainly, if you disclose mental health issues on your prescreen paperwork you won't be going to MEPS. If you disclose mood enhancing drug usage (anti-depressants) on your prescreen paperwork you won't be going to MEPS. Honestly, you have a better chance of enlisting with 9 fingers (I've seen it) than with mental health/medication issues (haven't seen it).

The U.S. military as a whole has been dealing with a large amount of suicidal ideations, attempts, and successes for many years. The job is stressful. It's even more stressful for brand new troops who are away from their family, friends, girl/boyfriend, home, etc. Me and the Marines I recruited with have all had one or two brand new Marine end up on suicide watch somewhere in the fleet.

Because of this, the MEPS doctors are incredibly careful about allowing enlistments of applicants who have or even appear to have mental health problems.

I say all that to give you some context to why the recruiter is telling you to keep it to yourself.

I won't tell you what to disclose/leave out of your paperwork. I will tell you there are some major red flags as far as the MEPS docs are concerned.

First, you were sent to out patient/therapist. This may be a permanently DQing factor on its own. I've tried to enlist two people who had been to a therapist for different reasons and neither of them made it.

Second, you were prescribed anti-depressants for years. To the MEPS personnel that means you had multiple follow up visits with mental health professionals who saw fit for you to continue taking the meds.

Third, and maybe I'm reading this wrong. You stopped taking the medication because you read about it being an issue with recruitment. So you're still under the care of a doctor. The doctor never said it was okay for you to discontinue use. The way MEPS doctors will see it is that you are SUPPOSED to be taking the medicine but have simply chosen to go against the judgement of the trained professionals that prescribed them to you.

I know you're searching for advice but I really can't tell you what to do with your life. Hopefully the information I provided will help you make the best decision possible.

[Kurt Loadeater]

You may get away with it, but who knows, and for how long? Suppose you have to file a security clearance application, and you have to again choose whether you are going to disclose your medical history. Lies have a tendency to snowball in unexpected ways over the long run, even if they seem convenient for your immediate goals.

[Tennessee Top]

One of our 14 leadership traits is integrity (doing the right thing even when nobody is watching or when it's not the popular thing to do). Any recruiter who advises an applicant to not be truthful in the entire application process lacks integrity and shouldn't be doing the job (and may possibly pay for that approach eventually when the truth catches up). Maybe, that approach is the only way to survive on recruiting duty, I don't know. I hope not.

My advice has always been, and will continue to be, be truthful and forthcoming. At least you can live with the consequences with a clear conscience. I know our Corps is full of Marines who lied or schemed the system to get in any way they could. That's on their conscience (if they have any).

Not everyone can earn our title. That's just a fact of life.

Good luck.

[crazymjb]

Nobody here is going to advise you to lie. That said, the recruiting standards are stringent. Many Marines go on to have successful careers after concealing things that might have been waiverable, or might have kept them out of the service forever. Sometimes they get caught and their career gets cut short, sometimes they get caught and nothing comes of it, and usually they just don't get caught -- Such is the nature of the system. MEPS allows virtually nothing past without a waiver. If you disclose this, expect to need a good amount of paperwork, letters, etc, before BUMED clears you to join the USMC.

It is going to most likely require you to put a continuous amount of effort in to get it to go through. Often when people tell me they couldn't join for X Y or Z reason, it is in large part due to lack of initiative on their part to push for it. This may or may not be the case with your history.

Mike

[Kamauxx]

It is going to most likely require you to put a continuous amount of effort in to get it to go through. Often when people tell me they couldn't join for X Y or Z reason, it is in large part due to lack of initiative on their part to push for it. This may or may not be the case with your history.

Mike

This is true. Stay on them. Get parents involved. Get other relatives involved. Get Congressmen involved. When applicants have been disqualified I've seen those people make a difference. (especially the Congressman, obviously)