Posted on Jul 19, 2019
Alec Roman
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Around May, I was removed from my university's Army ROTC program because my medical waiver for Myopia was not approved. I have been told since then that I could have done more to get past this hump but it simply came down to leadership not really assisting me (was about a month and a half away from leaving for camp and they didn't seem concerned). I am currently at an internship at the Army Cyber Institute at West Point where I have had the great opportunity to work with some amazing people in the Special Operations community on some fascinating projects and while I have options presenting themselves upon graduation in the civilian community, I would like to continue to pursue a military career until all doors are completely shut to me. Who should I talk to, regardless of branch, to discuss commissioning opportunities as a student who is a year from graduation and has a cyber internship at USMA under their belt?
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Responses: 7
MAJ Ron Peery
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I've been nearsighted all my life, and worn glasses since I was 7. With one exception, I was not prevented from serving or limited in the scope of that service. Before commissioning, I was informed that I could not remain in SF as an officer due to my eyes, but I could continue as an enlisted soldier. I opted to accept my commission in the RA as a Signal officer. That was in 1982. So, has there been a change in the Army's standard?
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COL Gary Gresh
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Well. Since you did not mention your university it’s hard to direct you to a specific cadet command headquarters. But there are about six of them each responsible for different areas of the country. For example 1st brigade is at Fort Knox. If you still want to pursue ROTC then make a trip to hour area headquarters and seek advice. But almost any recruiting station can give you advice on the various commissioning programs available to you. If your eyesight can not be corrected to meet ROTC standards there may still be an avenue to commissioning through OCS or Direct Commissioning if you have a particular skill set that the army needs. It’s like anything else in life, if you really want it there is usually a way to get there. Just start visiting recruiters and your congressman until you get the answer you want. There is almost always a waiver somewhere. You just have to find it. But you will probably have to do more work and visit more people to find the solution.
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COL Jon Thompson
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ROTC programs do not approve or disapprove medical waivers. Those are done after review by the Cadet Command surgeon by either a Brigade Commander or Cadet Command CG. In my experience, they will be on the side of the cadet as much as possible. ARCYBER is now taking direct commissions so my recommendation to you is to look at that on goarmy.com and reach out to the POC.
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