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Question For Air Force or ROTC people
Artreus
I'm a wizardAnd that looks fucked upRegistered User regular
I'm a wizardAnd that looks fucked upRegistered User regular
So I am going to Indiana University and decided to try out the AFROTC program here. Overall I think it is a pretty nice setup. I grew up on Air Force Bases, my dad was in for 20something years and retired about 9 years ago.
So I am actually really looking forward to being in the Air Force and getting some sort of job in Intel, or something along those lines. Majoring in Japanese and Political Science, so there is that. Also taking Chinese.
But the important thing is, I have done everything needed to get in so far, and I hit some roadblocks but managed to get past them. Now the only hurdle left is the fact that I have to go to a Dodmer physical. (Or something similarly named.) The thing is, last year I was diagnosed with clinical depression (Again, not exactly sure if that was the exact diagnosis, but I know it was the depressions of some sort). I went to counseling for a few months and was put on cetalopram, an anti-anxiety/depressant medication. Over the summer I stopped going to the counseling and stopped taking the meds. The year before I'd had one half-hearted suicide attempt, and various other things, none of which were worse than that. I never went totally crazy or anything.
So this year I have not really been having much in the way of problems with it. I mean, aside from general feeling shitty most of the time, really low energy, and random crying sometimes. (Those could be partly attributed to terrible sleep schedule and awful college diet, combined with no exercise. All of which are changing now that I am in the ROTC, I am eating much better, the sleep is a little better and I have to wake up at 5:30am two to three days a week for PT. This involves an hour of running/crunches/pushups/general military workout.)
I went in for a quick sports physical and checked the fact that I had felt "hopeless, sad, etc." in the past two weeks on a form. The nurse took note of this and told me to check back in with the counselors. Which I will do. However, I mentioned this to the MSGT who is in charge of personnel. She said there was a chance that at the next physical, there is a chance that they will declare me unfit for military service.
I had originally been worried that this would keep me out of an intel position, what with security clearances and whatnot and me being worried that depression is a risk or something. However, now it looks like there is a chance I will not be allowed into the Air Force at all. Which would suck. So, do any of you guys know what the chances are of this kind of thing keeping me out of the Air Force? Will getting more treatment increase my chances of staying in, am I screwed, etc.
tl;dr I got the depressions and the Air Force might not let me play with them.
So I am actually really looking forward to being in the Air Force and getting some sort of job in Intel, or something along those lines. Majoring in Japanese and Political Science, so there is that. Also taking Chinese.
But the important thing is, I have done everything needed to get in so far, and I hit some roadblocks but managed to get past them. Now the only hurdle left is the fact that I have to go to a Dodmer physical. (Or something similarly named.) The thing is, last year I was diagnosed with clinical depression (Again, not exactly sure if that was the exact diagnosis, but I know it was the depressions of some sort). I went to counseling for a few months and was put on cetalopram, an anti-anxiety/depressant medication. Over the summer I stopped going to the counseling and stopped taking the meds. The year before I'd had one half-hearted suicide attempt, and various other things, none of which were worse than that. I never went totally crazy or anything.
So this year I have not really been having much in the way of problems with it. I mean, aside from general feeling shitty most of the time, really low energy, and random crying sometimes. (Those could be partly attributed to terrible sleep schedule and awful college diet, combined with no exercise. All of which are changing now that I am in the ROTC, I am eating much better, the sleep is a little better and I have to wake up at 5:30am two to three days a week for PT. This involves an hour of running/crunches/pushups/general military workout.)
I went in for a quick sports physical and checked the fact that I had felt "hopeless, sad, etc." in the past two weeks on a form. The nurse took note of this and told me to check back in with the counselors. Which I will do. However, I mentioned this to the MSGT who is in charge of personnel. She said there was a chance that at the next physical, there is a chance that they will declare me unfit for military service.
I had originally been worried that this would keep me out of an intel position, what with security clearances and whatnot and me being worried that depression is a risk or something. However, now it looks like there is a chance I will not be allowed into the Air Force at all. Which would suck. So, do any of you guys know what the chances are of this kind of thing keeping me out of the Air Force? Will getting more treatment increase my chances of staying in, am I screwed, etc.
tl;dr I got the depressions and the Air Force might not let me play with them.
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However, when/if you are interviewed, tell whomever asks that you have been off the meds for sometime and feel great. This will be your time to convince whomever that you are perfectly fine, even if that is not the case.
Do not lie about things that would be in your medical history, which you haven't - but there is no way for them to confirm a statement like what I mentioned above. Sure, you may have had your prescription refilled 10 months ago (example), but who says you took them? Maybe they are just sitting in your cabinet?
Be confident as hell, but not cocky. It hasn't hindered your ability to come to PT on time, to complete your ROTC forms, to attend college and get decent grades, etc. Say shit like that.
On another note, why do you want to join the AF?
I've been interested in some type of government service for quite some time. It was the CIA for a while, and then I decided I was more interested in general state department work. Maybe with the CIA, NSA, or other similar agency. Right after high school I looked into the Army. Of course my dad was pretty damn against this, especially when I had free tuition for 4 years (he is a "disabled" vet.) So I started going to college and here I am. What I really want to do eventually is end up in an embassy position somewhere along the line, and I figure a 6-10 year career in the Air Force will put me on the path to that. I might end up staying in longer, if I get in and depending on how things go.
2 years back, a friend of mine was disqualified because he could not attend Field Training (which is now called Expeditionary Training, but I digress)...
Basically, he had been on anti-depressents within the past year. They basically told him "If you're off them in time for next years Field Training, you can go."
So basically he had to be totally off the anti-depressants for 1 year before they would allow him to progress.
So if you've been off them for a while, you should be fine, and POINT THAT OUT. Make it ABUNDANTLY clear that you have not been dependent on them.
Other than that, you should be fine.
Like someone already mentioned, if its in your official medical history, you can't really lie about it. You could *ahem* forget to mention the specifics, however, though I'd never condone that.
Do not lie. If you lie and get caught you could go to jail. That part on the form that says that is not a joke.
But just because you cant lie doesn't mean you have to roger up HEY I TRIED TO KILL MYSELF ONCE 8)
Like everyone else said stay off the meds. and pretend like it was some high school drama deal and your parents said you should take them blah blah. Down play it a bit and you should be fine. There are people who make it through ROTC that have taken anti depressants.
When I went for mine it was done for flight and was a lot more intense. They went back and were giving me shit about an ear infection I had when I was 4. I acted like a mute unless they asked me something directly. And then I tended to be as noncommittal as possible. And there wasnt even anything wrong with me. Those dudes dont fuck around.
Once you finish rotc and get a commission you can see a base doc and probably get back on them no problem. Obviously there are plenty of active duty people who get depressed especially with a war going on. its one of those things that once your in your in and before your in you are totally expendable. And it literally all changes the day you get that commission.
On a differnt track though. Is it safe for you to be off the meds? If you feel shitty without them then why not take them? There are other ways to get into government work besides the military. And especially with the airforce you might end up guarding missiles in Iowa instead of actually doing state department type stuff. Why not just apply for the state department in the first place? You don't need a military stepping stone to get those kind of jobs. You just need to be smart. They take people fresh out of college all the time. As for the free school. If you get NPQ'd (not phyiscally quallified) you generally have to pay them back.
If the TRUTH of the matter is that you've been off the meds for some time and are fully normally balanced and adjusted without them, then you can say that. If that's not the truth, then you need to not pursue this career path. If you have trouble now you'll snap under the stress later if you somehow manage to trick them into letting you in.
Also, purposefully withholding vital information can be in many ways just as bad as lying and while I'm neither American nor a lawyer, I really wouldn't think it would be wise in a legal sense either.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Yeah, the medication only helped a bit with anxiety. My case is not nearly as bad as some people I have known. Most of the time I am pretty okay, and the worst I get is a bit mopey. Unfortunately highly stressful situations that can decide the fate of my entire life (college has been full of those) tend to unravel me a bit. So I figure going to counseling for stress stuff would be a pretty good idea.
And like I said, a lot of this was really exacerbated by my horrible sleep schedule, complete lack of exercise, and poor nutrition. So I doubt the medication will even remotely be needed with me getting into a healthy routine. I will update later once I get the physical. I just wish I could go ahead and figure it out instead of having to worry about my future for so long.
These two sentences right here should make you re-consider military life. Seriously, if you're the sort of guy who'll do well there, you're the sort of guy who can do well while working under stress and manages to keep in shape on his own. And if you need a good, consistent, restful sleep schedule to operate properly...
Really, I think you should prepare yourself to look for alternatives.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I don't need perfect sleep, but there is a lot of evidence that suggests a really crazy sleep schedule will exacerbate effects of... things.
edit: okay I did not take the time to think out this post right here. What I meant was that I was told by my father (who is an RN) and also by my psychiatrist that sleep is very important, and throwing it way out of whack is really, really bad for you. (I am talking about the kind of sleep I was getting last year, where I would stay up for 24 hours, then get 12 hours of sleep and.. well it was messed up)
Either way, thanks for the advicing and I will take it all under advisement