Is it possible to get a medical waiver and exception to policy to become a rigger (in the Reserves) if my occupation is in that MOS?

Most MEPS will not give an airborne physical if you require a medical waiver.

Yes that's the issue, it requires an ETP from school house but I've never met anyone who has received one before but I am an active jumper already.

All I want to do is serve, I wasn't able to do it in the past. I don't need the money, I'm not looking for another career, I just want to do what I do well in the serve of my country. I come from a military family and I got caught up in a career / family. Now I have the ability to take leave from work as needed and do this. I'm trying to enlist with the 3/20th SFG which is a Florida NG position as a basic Airborne rigger and then work on going to MFF because I'm already a freefall instructor. Currency won't be an issue because I jump more in a week than most military personnel do in a year or even a career at times. I just need my foot in the door before I'm too old which thankfully after how long this is taking I have a few more years before that cuts me out.

Richard Turner - If you just want to serve then go to your local recruiters offices and see what they can get you in wherever that leads you.

I'm try that route as well, but with a potential to have an MOS that I'm already proficient in would be the best. If I'm going to be a part time soldier I at least want to be able to hold my ground with someone who does it full time. I don't want to be that hooah guardsman ho runs and fetches a new canteen from supply like any other warm body could do when I have a skill set that could do a lot of good. I can stand in the door as a JM on a MFF jump with an SF and get back to the ground and coach him on a better exit, fix body position issues, or catch something on an inspection that another part time rigger could have missed. Especially considering that where I'm trying to go is a part time MFF qualified SF group. It's no offense to those guys but I help active duty MFF guys do the same thing every weekend. That's actually how this all came about, a few of my active JMs said man you should look at doing this. I wasn't even aware a year prior that they had reservist MFF personnel.

But yes as a last resort that is exactly what I'll do, enlist in any available MOS and try to cross over afterwards. I'm trying to save the time and tax money on the front end and just go straight in where I do the most good. I'm taking a huge monetary sacrifice going in either way. I have been called stupid by plenty of people because I have a great career I'm going to take a leave of absence from as well as a business of my own to go to BCT and AIT for 6 months at E1 pay because this is something I feel so strongly about. I mean they have a reason there is an ETP for basic Airborne apparently it's just nobody uses it, I think a reservist rigger with more jumps than the average 10 combined JMs would be a pretty decent excuse to use that. If the ETP wasn't even out there we wouldn't be having this conversation at all. I would just do what I had to do and switch my MOS down the road. I'm supposed to meet with an SF doctor when I return home again who should be able to pull some strings as well. I was hoping someone in the RP community would have some type of relevant information to assist. If not I'll take the post down and post something to help others in the future if it goes through.

The medical waiver for your deformed finger isn’t just for airborne school it’s for rigger as well, anything have to do with your hands, and the exception of policy through Meps you should talk to the head of your liazon and they will point you in the right direction.. the recruiters don’t care as long as you join all your question lay at meps it’s just the matter if your coming off as an ass they won’t help you lol don’t go in their like you know shit cuz you skydive cuz a lot of people that are rigger skydive too and they can’t hack airborne and don’t want to jump. Richard Turner