How to do this right

[anotherwannabe]

Hey guys... just anotherwannabe here. I am looking for advice and any help is greatly appreciated

I'm going to keep this brief. I'm currently a sophomore in college looking to join, but I have some major hiccups on medical record. I was hospitalized for depression for 3 days my sophomore year of highschool. I told my psychiatrist that I had thought about suicide. I was truly depressed. Not denying that. But hospitalizing me seemed a little extreme (I understand where my psychiatrist was coming from though. Better safe than sorry). For context, my good friend had just hung himself, my great grandmother died and my girlfriend broke up with me all within a few months prior to this. It is also important to note that I was honest with my psychiatrist about my drug use, so smoking weed and drinking is on my medical files.

After I graduated highschool I asked my psychiatrist if I could taper off anti-depressants because I knew I wanted to join the military. He approved and told me he is more than willing to write me a letter of recommendation. Due to my circumstances, he said theres strong evidence my depression was situational. It's been almost 4 years since my episode, and 2 years since I have touched a drug. I have a 3.2 in mechanical engineering, play an NCAA sport and am overall just doing well. By the time I graduate it will have been 7 years since my depressive episode. I am young and have over a decade before I hit the age cut off. How should I go about setting myself up to join? What would you guys do in my shoes

 

[Spekkio]

, but I have some major hiccups on medical record. I was hospitalized for depression for 3 days my sophomore year of highschool. I told my psychiatrist that I had thought about suicide. I was truly depressed. Not denying that. But hospitalizing me seemed a little extreme (I understand where my psychiatrist was coming from though. Better safe than sorry).

You aren't medically qualified to join the military, let alone become a naval officer.

 

[anotherwannabe]

You aren't medically qualified to join the military, let alone become a naval officer.

So theres no shot for a waiver?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Hey guys... just anotherwannabe here. I am looking for advice and any help is greatly appreciated

I'm going to keep this brief. I'm currently a sophomore in college looking to join, but I have some major hiccups on medical record. I was hospitalized for depression for 3 days my sophomore year of highschool. I told my psychiatrist that I had thought about suicide. I was truly depressed. Not denying that. But hospitalizing me seemed a little extreme (I understand where my psychiatrist was coming from though. Better safe than sorry). For context, my good friend had just hung himself, my great grandmother died and my girlfriend broke up with me all within a few months prior to this. It is also important to note that I was honest with my psychiatrist about my drug use, so smoking weed and drinking is on my medical files.

After I graduated highschool I asked my psychiatrist if I could taper off anti-depressants because I knew I wanted to join the military. He approved and told me he is more than willing to write me a letter of recommendation. Due to my circumstances, he said theres strong evidence my depression was situational. It's been almost 4 years since my episode, and 2 years since I have touched a drug. I have a 3.2 in mechanical engineering, play an NCAA sport and am overall just doing well. By the time I graduate it will have been 7 years since my depressive episode. I am young and have over a decade before I hit the age cut off. How should I go about setting myself up to join? What would you guys do in my shoes

Thinking about suicide is a permanently disqualifying condition, additionally depending on how frequently you were drinking or how frequently you told the psych about your drinking you could be hit with the alcohol dependent tag, same with the weed. The psych drugs are also a permanently DQ condition.

Each of those conditions is "currently" or "history of" to be disqualified for.

It is your right to try when the time comes to get a waiver but I can tell you how it will go, you will talk to a recruiter, they will tell you what is up just like I did, have you get all of your medical documents, those will be submitted to MEPS, MEPS will say you are DQ, then they will send them to N3M to try and force MEPS to give you a physical, N3M will then come back and I am 99% sure will say "not justified".

The thing is N3M generally views most things that are serious as go out and just find another applicant, to be blunt there are plenty of people have dealt with the loss of grandparent/parent/sibling, been through divorce, etc.... and not had the issues you had.

 

[anotherwannabe]

Thinking about suicide is a permanently disqualifying condition, additionally depending on how frequently you were drinking or how frequently you told the psych about your drinking you could be hit with the alcohol dependent tag, same with the weed. The psych drugs are also a permanently DQ condition.

Each of those conditions is "currently" or "history of" to be disqualified for.

It is your right to try when the time comes to get a waiver but I can tell you how it will go, you will talk to a recruiter, they will tell you what is up just like I did, have you get all of your medical documents, those will be submitted to MEPS, MEPS will say you are DQ, then they will send them to N3M to try and force MEPS to give you a physical, N3M will then come back and I am 99% sure will say "not justified".

The thing is N3M generally views most things that are serious as go out and just find another applicant, to be blunt there are plenty of people have dealt with the loss of grandparent/parent/sibling, been through divorce, etc.... and not had the issues you had.

Ok. Thanks for explaining the process and the % chance. Seems like the best route is to plan for a different career. Thats definitely a soul crusher, but theres plenty of other awesome jobs out there. I’ll send in my documents when I graduate, and maybe a few more times throughout the years just in case they take me

Other people have definitely experienced similar or worse situations than me and been fine. I wasn’t trying to blame my depression on those events although they were definitely fuel for the fire

 

[Spekkio]

So theres no shot for a waiver?

I'm not a doctor, so maybe you are or maybe you aren't.

I will say that your life experiences that drove you to be hospitilized pale in comparison to the mental stress you will experience as a naval officer. You aren't equipped to do the job. Find something else to do.

 

[Meyerkord]

Ok. Thanks for explaining the process and the % chance. Seems like the best route is to plan for a different career. Thats definitely a soul crusher, but theres plenty of other awesome jobs out there. I’ll send in my documents when I graduate, and maybe a few more times throughout the years just in case they take me

Other people have definitely experienced similar or worse situations than me and been fine. I wasn’t trying to blame my depression on those events although they were definitely fuel for the fire

Nothing new to add, just wishing you the best of luck in your future. It's never fun to find out you probably won't be able to pursue a career you're interested in. Hope you end up finding something awesome once you graduate ?

 

[RoarkJr.]

I'm not a doctor, so maybe you are or maybe you aren't.

I will say that your life experiences that drove you to be hospitilized pale in comparison to the mental stress you will experience as a naval officer. You aren't equipped to do the job. Find something else to do.

I’m sure I’m wrong about this, but it sounds like you’re making a judgment about the OP’s mental and emotional capacity to serve based on decisions made as a sophomore in high school. Surely that’s not what you mean.

 

[number9]

Go to reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/ and search for "ideation" and see what you find. This subject comes up surprisingly often; I don't know what your chances are but you'll find information there either way.