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Military Service (USA)

lilsunshine

By lilsunshine
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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lilsunshine Newbie
lilsunshine
Posted

I know this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find a recent thread (like from the past 5 years). 

Are you unfit for military service in the United States if you have Celiac disease? Does this also include the NOAA Corps?

Thank you!

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I think the place to ask is a recruiter for the branch you are interested in.

 

I would be curious to know what you find out.

AmberJ Rookie
AmberJ
Posted

I'm a first sergeant's wife (ret.). Yes, it disqualifies you from serving. If it is diagnosed during service, you will be med boarded out of the military because all MRE's and d-fac's are unsafe for a Celiac. I'm not sure about NOAA Corps.

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

There is something like a "don't ask, don't tell" policy...many people serving have celiac disease. We did an article on this topic:

https://www.celiac.com/articles/24271/1/Celiac-Disease-in-the-MilitaryDont-Ask-Dont-Tell/Page1.html

and this guy wrote a book about his combat service with celiac disease:

CPT B. Donald Andrasik is the author of "Gluten-free in Afghanistan -€“ A Soldier's Dietary Memoir" 

lilsunshine Newbie
lilsunshine
Posted
  • Author

Thank you all! I was hoping that I could just fake my way through, but I was worried that they would find out during MEPS. Also, I was officially diagnosed with celiac a month ago and I've been on a total gluten-free diet since. I feel so much better--I honestly can't imagine what 9 weeks of basic training would do to my gut if I pretended like I didn't have celiac. Anyway, thank you for all of your helpful responses! Also, I will contact someone from NOAA corps and ask about their medical requirements. 

pdm1981 Collaborator
pdm1981
Posted

I was in the Army for 5 years but didn't have celiac disease at that time. I would definitely say that yes, you would be disqualified from service. You go through a process before entering the service which includes medical screening. While celiac disease isn't a question on their form or something they'd be looking for, it would quickly present itself in basic training. There would be no way I could possibly see in hiding it between the MRE's and food served at the DFAC. I went to MEPS and some kid who went with me was sent home because he marked down that he got headaches from time to time. It wouldn't hurt to ask a recruiter though.

  • 3 weeks later...
pdxmotorhead Newbie
pdxmotorhead
Posted

I would really think twice about this, one thing the military is NOT is flexible.

You would find that the issues with dodging the meals is crazy, I did 4 years in the air force, there were weeks where our only option for food was what they brought us in a truck, and that was always a box lunch with a sandwich.. The don't/wont even guarantee vegan/vegetarian meals... And I was not overseas..

Something else,, your medical history is NOT protected from the military background investigation. Part of the enlistment contract implies 100% disclosure. Since you have a documented diagnosis, you can fake it but if they find out you did they wont treat you well.. General/Dishonorable discharge for falsifying a federal contract. The mighty computer knows all, eventually they will figure it out, what would really suck is that they give you a full blood workup at enlistment, but it takes a while for it to process, by that time your in basic or maybe you finished, to go though all that and get booted would suck. We had a guy in my flight in basic get bumped on his last day because they found something in his blood, (I suspect Hep B or C) but we were never told.

At basic training you are told what to eat, you have about 10 minutes to eat (And we had to drink 6 glasses of water). Their target is 2500+ calories a day, and they come from fat and carbs.. Can you handle hard 12+ hour days being fed a Wheat rich diet. There are not many opportunities to get to a restroom.

 

Good luck!

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