New to the forum; Applying SNA only

[soho]

Dear all,

Thanks for taking the time to read my introduction. I have had the desire to be a pilot for as long as I can remember. I was admitted into the Naval Academy but asked by my mother back in 2003 not to attend. I graduated from a top liberal arts school in 2008 with a 3.5 GPA and have been doing medical research since then. I had set my path in the direction of medical school but my heart has been pulling me back towards the notion of being a Naval Aviator.

I'm currently 24 years old and am looking to submit my application as soon as I possibly can. Like I said, I am new to the forum and would appreciate any help along the way. I still have to get in touch with a recruiter and take the ASTB but I am not worried along those fronts.

I do have one concern that I have had mixed responses to from various Flight Surgeons. Over three years ago, I was seen for a brief period of a few months for an eating disorder, urged by my parents, although I denied it and still do. I had gone through a period prior to and following a surgical procedure to remove breast tissue where I was having trouble keeping food down and my family was cautious. This was brief with no occurrences outside of that period. However, I know that my medical records indicate a diagnosis of bulimia. I have not seen anyone since that brief period.

A few flight surgeons have indicated that given that this was during a brief period, that I maintain is symptom free, I should not have a problem with getting a waiver. Others are unsure. Anyone here know of any similar circumstances?

Thanks again for all of your help. I look forward to a bright future in the Navy.

 

[Boomhower]

Welcome aboard, soho! Best of luck with the application process.

As to your medical conditions, it seems to me that when you talk to the docs just be open about what was going on, and tell them that you don't have any of this stuff anymore and odds are you can get a pass (feddoc, back me up here).

I will say that the service take bulimia pretty seriously. There was a girl that was kicked out of my OCS class pretty much just for suspicion of bulimia (although everyone knew it was so).

Start searching the ASTB threads and get gouged up on what to do to prepare for that. There is a wealth of information on these boards that I, quite frankly, wish I had when I was applying.

Again, welcome aboard, and keep us all updated on what's going on with your application process.

 

[Uncle Fester]

What Boomhower said. The thing with medical conditions, very generally speaking, is not what you had, but whether you still have it or not, and whether it's affecting your performance.

You probably piqued a lot of people's curiosity with that comment about your mother asking you not to go to the Academy. Care to elaborate?

 

[soho]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Just to give some of the official language in regards to the condition that I found in the Flight Surgeon manual:

I guess I'm concerned as to whether or not that entails a HISTORY or if it implies CURRENT. I'm assuming that is up to the Flight Surgeon.

In regards to why my mother wouldn't let me go to the Naval Academy... I had convinced my parents that I wanted to serve very early in high school and they were on board, expecting that any service I had would have been relatively danger-free. Unfortunately, in the year + following 9/11, with us going into Iraq and patrolling the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, my mother changed her stance, even though she still let me apply.

Long story short, that is no longer her decision.

 

[Boomhower]

Long story short, that is no longer her decision.

Well done.

Based on the text you provided, you should be good to go. Tell the docs that you don't even agree with the diagnosis and let them in on the whole story. Odds are, you'll be fine.