ADD/ADHD and the military- Should someone be denied service because of it?

I can with certainty say my LT has some bad ADD that he got away with. And though he is one dedicated officer who loves his job and is full of energy, if it wasn't for everyone around him constantly having to steer him into the right direction and focus his energy, he would be useless.

We all help our battle buddies out, but when is it too much and a drain on the system?

Both of these conditions can cause the individual to loose focus more frequently than the norm. Is it worth the risk, when loosing focus leads to death in training and combat. It is a question that the individual must answer for themselves.

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was younger and had to provide proof that I was off medication and functioning fine to get a waiver to join.

ADD/ADHD can manifest themselves differently in different people. Just like someone being OCD. For some it's a minor inconvenience, for others it's debilitating. Sometime the military will make broad decisions on things like this and say no to anyone with any level of the disorders. Why? Because they don't have the time and resources to check every single person for the severity of their condition. So to answer your question, yes. And no. It just depends on the person.

I have ADD, diagnosed after 14 years of service. I’d like to think I’m well accomplished.

I thought if you were not taking medication for the condition that it is waiverable. If your on medication I would say no it's best that person never served.

I can not say for sure but to get ADD under control one would have to be on some narcotics and I can't see the military giving a waiver. If they do they would be held responsible if that person were to fail to take their medication. You also might also be difficult to get a security clearance. If you can go for it, and have a life's Plan B. Good luck and hope you can get what you want in life.

I have had ADD disorder all my life and it has been untreated. I am a pretty accomplished critical care and ER nurse and looking at primary board in March for LTC. I probably have PTSD from putting children in the morgue and I believe many conditions can be overcome with a little will power. My Mother did not finish HS and she made it very clear from my earliest days what the expected standard was.

OK, put yourself in my unit- Airborne Grunts- deploy anywhere in the world 12-18hrs after notification, into Humanitarian, comfort and or combat operations- sometimes days, sometimes months. Now you need medication for this problem, will you carry several months of meds, vs. Ammo, food, ordnance? Not on meds you say- fine prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it can't come back, or won't sit you up for another problem. Do I want you guarding my flank, if you drift out?, I ran recon units- do I want to be creeping/sneaking only to have you start nervous twitching, etc. There are reason for what the service allows, serving is not a right, but a privilege, and it is restricted to those that can make the standards, or exceed them.

I don't see why not