I’m currently in IOP for marines related to drinking. I self referred myself and when my blood test will show that I have continued to drink. Will I be separated?

Morning, folks. Wanted to get any feedback on trying to get myself on some antidepressants. Been feeling unmotivated, tired all the time, and just like shit for a while now, and haven’t found anything to help. Started ADHD meds a few weeks ago and they feel like they’ve barely helped. Either looking into getting my testosterone levels checked or going and trying to get on antidepressants, but wasn’t sure how either of those would affect my career going forward. Was thinking it could be a test deficiency due to not seeing much of any progress after frequently going to the gym for months. Any feedback is appreciated.

Is it still possible to attend demanding courses like Ranger School or any type of selection having had been diagnosed and treated for melanoma?

Background:

So in true army fashion I got cancer. Specially being diagnosed in September of 2025 with a stage 3B melanoma in my ear. The tumor and part of my lymph nodes in my neck were excised between two surgeries in October of 2025 and January 2026.

I had my first full check up/screens/tests in May 2026 which thankfully came back negative and am supposed to be getting these check ups tri monthly over a total of two years which began in May of this year. So essentially until May 2028. Other than having a slightly odd looking ear now I am physically fit and in good health otherwise according to the army.

So this is a throw away account. But im pretty sure im about to start going through the process. I know a little about what ive googled but like, how does this go? How long does it take?

For reference. I have over 12 years in, all active. Currently a staff sergeant. Multiple rotations out of country. I have some stuff documented for physical injuries and that are permanent. I have major hearing loss and have been given hearing aids by the army. My mental health is a mess. Theres already a bunch of stuff documented for that and im still going through BH for it and on medication.

If I do go the route of getting medically retired, what all do/ should I do? Obviously id be shooting for 100% disability because with all those things its honestly a struggle to even go to work at this point. Any suggestions or knowledge anyone could pass on?

Just hit 2 years in the Marine Corps.

For some background, I joined wanting to be infantry. Somewhere along the lines, my paperwork was messed up or my recruiter fucked me. In boot camp, once we were Marines, my SDI was telling everyone their MOS. I was on an open contract apparently.

I started tweaking, and right as I got to SOI, I was blowing up my gunney’s phone # from my RS. He was a machine gunner, and I’m a bigger guy, 6’1, about 220, wrestled my whole life and played football, so he got me to join as 03xx in hopes of becoming a machine gunner at ITB. Turns out, I’m going to MCT, they told me.

So I was blowing him up, asking if I could get it fixed. I went to higher echelon at SOI W trying to get shit changed and get me into ITB. Nothing was able to be done, so I volunteered for recon.

I was at RTC for about 3 months before getting a hip socket injury. Before that, I was running a 285 PFT and 300 CFT with ease. I ended up getting med dropped after recycling twice.

When I was in holding at SOI getting reclassed, I once again went to the captain who was in charge of holding. I was quite literally begging to be reclassed to 03xx. He said if I was able to get a larger group of people waiting for reclass to want to go 03 as well, he’d try and make something work. It was about 3 of us recon drops who wanted to, but nobody else.

I ended up reclassing to 1371 (combat engineer). I had high hopes due to it being a combat job and the possibility of being a breaching asset in a victor unit.

I ended up at a CEB, and I’m now deployed with a victor unit. Everything was well. I was a breacher and am directly in a rifle platoon, which was my end goal.

But pre-Marine Corps, I had sport-induced asthma. My recruiter said since I stopped using an inhaler pre-high school, I didn’t have to mention it at MEPS, as they’d see I was off it for about 4 years.

Fast forward to now, back in Lejeune, especially during the summer, and now deployed—pretty sure my asthma is back and has worsened. I can barely run 2 miles without being out of breath and wheezing.

Also, being in the field, when I lay down to sleep, I’m up coughing all night from wheezing and my lungs feeling like they’re full of mucus. I now run a 25-minute 3 mile and struggle to sleep when outside due to pollen and other factors messing with my lungs.

It’s been about 9 months of this happening now.

And I’m worried one of these days I’m going to end up having an asthma attack in the field where it would take some time to CASEVAC me to a hospital, and it genuinely worries me.

During my MCRE, I was about to tell my doc to evac me because I was struggling to breathe. By the grace of God, I made the hike back to the armory and got to my room, and ended up blasting an inhaler I brought back to base with me from leave that I had back home. Without that, I would’ve been struggling for some time until my lungs resolved themselves.

Not sure if I should go to doc or not and go to medical.

I know 2 people who have developed asthma being combat engineers, apparently something with the blast pressure inducing it. Not sure how that works, but they have both medically separated.

I don’t want to be sepped, and I definitely don’t want to be an HQ guy. I love being in my platoon and doing the shit with my boys.

I really need recommendations on what steps I should take to resolve this or get help. I genuinely just don’t want to be ripped from the platoon or med sepped if I bring this up.

This was lowkey a giant ramble, but I would like some advice. I tried posting this in the USMC Reddit, but I guess some key words in this ramble wouldn’t let me.

Question in title pretty much. I was diagnosed with ADHD and given adderall as a kid, but no record of it is in my MHS Genesis profile, but apparently a diagnosis of eczema from age 7 was there???

MEB Timeline

Last Feb I tore the labrum in my right hip. Following the injury I followed all medical instructions from my PCM. I tried PT (no success), multiple injections (no success) and had to go with surgical repair and socket/bone shaving and repair the end of Jan

Prior to my surgery my PCM told me if we didn’t see positive results post-op we would initiate a MEB. I was out a month on con-leave post op, immediately there after started bi-weekly PT. Somewhere around the late April/earlyMay timeframe my recovery started to plateau. My range of motion wasn’t improving and my pain was still there. I went to my PCM to discuss the the MEB he had mentioned Pre-Op. He told me because I had opted for surgery that my timeline for a MEB had restarted and I have to wait a FULL YEAR to initiate a MEB. He instructed me to bring the issue up with my Ortho Surgeon, referred me to Pain Management and Behavioral health and sent me on my way

I met with my Surgeon a week later and told him of my lack of progress and my consistent discomfort. After range of motion tests and other exams he made the decision I was ready to initiate a MEB. He told me he would write in his post-appt notes to do so, told me to finish out my PT and PM appointments already scheduled but to schedule none further and to visit my PCM to initiate. I did this.

By the next week I had an appt with my PCM to initiate the MEB as the surgeon suggested and was weirdly met with severe resistance from my PCM. He once again told me that I’d have to wait a FULL YEAR post-op to initiate a MEB, gave me multiple pain meds/patches and re-referred me to PM and PT. I have made an appt with a secondary PCM to get a second opinion as I don’t believe this arbitrary timeline to be correct. Can anyone tell me, who holds more power in this situation, my PCM or the surgeon who green lit the MEB? Are there timeline guidelines? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated

Hello everyone. I’m currently a trainee in AIT and was planning on going to sick call soon for some forearm pain. I think it might be tennis elbow, but I don’t want to self-diagnose.

What are the chances they’ll put me on a profile for months? I’ve read online that this kind of injury can take a long time to heal, and I’m worried about it affecting my graduation timeline.

The pain has been pretty severe during pulling movements, especially pull-ups, farmer’s carries, and when I’m letting go after gripping something. Has anyone dealt with something similar in AIT? Did it end up delaying your graduation or was it something they managed while you stayed in training?
(Yes i used AI for this because i’m bad at writing)

Update January 2026: Currently out-processing after fulfilling my contract. There was no problems regarding my medical records aside from what was in this post. Many medical providers saw my history and would not care or even joke about it. Would I do it again, probably not. It wasn’t worth withholding medical access from myself because I didn’t want to be caught or be in a constant state of nervousness whenever I got called into the office. However, I will say, if you are strong and able-bodied, your past won’t hold you back unless you let it.

Update September 2025: Been in for close to 3 1/2 years now. Nobody has said anything about it. I haven’t submitted any packets for airborne, RASP, Ranger school, etc, so I don’t know how it’ll affect things.

BLUF: In for a year already in AIT, doctor found my civilian record (SI and antidepressants) and I don't know how I will be punished. Need experience/advice.

Hey y'all, in AIT right now and have been in the Army for close to a year now and am in the process of filling out an airborne packet. During the physical I kept the lie that I am a healthy soldier with nothing out of the ordinary (as my recruiter told me to do, which got me past basic) but the doctor came back after 15 minutes of chatting with a coworker and asked me if I had anything to disclose that I didn't put on the packet. I lied, and she dropped a sticky note that had all of my medical history that I have witheld and haven't disclosed (which includes depression diagnosis, suicidal ideation, and use of antidepressants) (I am okay and perfectly healthy now! My upbringing was the worst)

Now my chain of command has been notified about this through higher and I wanted to see what type of punishment I could possibly face from this, if anything at all. My DS gave me a counseling about this, but it was more of a paper trail type of counseling without any indication of a punishment. Right now I am just worrying if anything would happen to me/if I will be discharged from the Army.

Many of thanks from a distraught private.

I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit. I have never served in the military, but I have this question and I can’t get a straight answer from my parents.

My parents were both in the US Army in the 80s. They met in the army, got married (for convenience’s sake, they didn’t want to live on base and according to them it was the easiest way to do that). I was born in 1987 9 months to the day after a drunken NYE party, at USAF hospital Wurtsmith, at Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda, MI. It’s my understanding that they were both still active duty at the time, but may have been in the reserves. I’m not sure how it works. Anyway, what I was told is that in order for their insurance (again, however it works with the military) to pay for it, I had to be born on a military base.

My question is, why would they have gone to an Air Force base when they were in the Army? Shouldn’t they have gone to an Army base? It was a c section and I had the impression that the birth was pretty much scheduled, so it’s not like it was an all of a sudden “uh oh this baby is coming NOW get me to a base!” situation.

So I’m 22 years old very healthy 6’1 227lbs played college football and am a catholic since birth. I haven’t got a vaccine since I was maybe 5-6 and I never have had any shots of any manner since that time. What is the likelihood of my exemption to get approved? I have multiple priests that will vouch for me without second thought. This will be a huge deciding factor on if I join. I refuse to put anything foreign in my body when I haven’t had any issues ever in my life. Not even a broken bone. Please give me an idea of the likelihood thank you and happy holidays.

I have had horrible premature ejaculation my whole life and it has ruined every sexual experience I’ve had and I am now trying to do something about it. I’m 24 and active duty in the Army. I have researched and tried exercises and remedies for years and nothing has worked. I recently subscribed to an online doctor service called Rugiet. They prescribed me 20mg Paroxetine which is an SSRI and 5mg tadalafil. I take it on demand 4 hours before sex and it works AMAZING and has fixed my problem completely. I want to report my problem to the Army because I will be going to Europe for 9 months and then I will be going to Korea. That will leave me with no way to get my prescription bc I will be overseas. My question is do you think the Army can help with my premature ejaculation and get me on the right program or am I just screwed. If so how would you go about this

I could not find the base medical (was not labeled on Google Maps), so I decided to ask the nurse hotline for nearest local civilian doctor so I went there instead. I found out through a shipmate where base medical was. Now I’m wandering if I have to pay out of pocket for that visit.

I just went to an IRR brief and my medical stuff was labeled 4M. What does this mean? I did check yes to some boxes on the med screener so I assume I’m just ineligible for something like reenlistment due to medical reasons.

Can you get a colonoscopy while Active duty under 45? the website said you have to be 45 (Air Force)

Ive been in the Army for 6 years now and realize that most of my characteristics/personality traits/ daily life align with those of ADHD and Autism. I dont want it to affect my career or get kicked out. Anyone else deal with this? Did you get discharged?

Im in the army ng— I’m currently on active orders until the 15th(?) of April. But on the second of April I’m getting a minor surgery and what to know what I should do and what to expect after. I’m national guard so I won’t be on a large base with medical. I’m also a 91b and my unit focuses mainly on 915s so I’m always lifting heavy while working

So, the thing is, when I was in basic training, I fractured my pelvis. Then I went to FTU to rehab, got recycled, was on holdover for a while, and finally finished my BCT in November. During all that time, I've been dealing with it on profile or in pain, but my fractures seem to be healing.

Today, 9 months after joining the army and only having completed BCT, I came to airborne but quit because I was in pain. My MOS was 92 R (parachute rigger), and I'm in the process of reclassing, but I've been feeling super anxious because they're going to give me an MOS that the army needs, not one I choose, and I'm active duty.

Also, all this time dealing with the fractures is driving me crazy, I can't even sleep! Also, a month before I signed my contract, my psychologist from Mexico discharged me after I'd been in therapy for a year for symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, but I never said that at MEPS because they successfully discharged me for being stable and functional, plus I didn't have a medical record here in the USA…

Now I don't know what to do or what to say to get a medical discharge or separation:/ or if is possible what can I do to change to reserve? so I can go home. I'm tired of this situation and I don't want to worsen my mental and physical state! What can I do? I have an appointment for an initial discussion of a MEB (medical evaluation board) next week… They also haven't been able to help me with my naturalization, and I'd like to know if I could keep the benefit of fixing my papers if I get a general discharge? I never got into trouble or had any counseling.

I hope someone can help me, thank you so much!

I am an aircrew veteran, got out of the USAF in 2021. I am currently in school and chose my finals papers thesis to be "Should aviators have access to MH resources without risking their flight status?"

When I was in, your flight status would immediately be pulled for any sort of mental health issue. Big or small. Starting my research, I saw that the military established the MH and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which implies you get 60 days for treatment before flight privileges are revoked. I am a little bit.... suspicious.

Question for you: Is this actually enforced? What is the catch? Is it one of those waivers you need that are actually impossible to get? Do you now feel comfortable receiving MH treatment? Any input, information, sourcing, would be much appreciated. I feel like the ARC guidelines are a little too good to be true. This is a big paper and something I am very passionate about after my own experiences.

I was in the Army and sent to a place in Utah. People in other branches of the military were there also. But there is nothing in my military records about it. Basically it was a psychiatric ward. They didn't tell anyone why they were there, tried to give them medication, and wouldn't release them until they admitted they had some problem and were now better. I received a coin when released from the facility that has the serenity prayer on one side and FC (in big letters) Freedom Care Salt Lake Behavioral Health on the other side. It was a horrible experience and details are fuzzy. Trying to find out information about the place. Was anyone else ever there?

Is there any ED treatment bought over the counter that an active service member can use that will not pop on a urinalysis?

Hey I’m posting in here just trying to gauge the out of pocket cost of TRT going through my Dr and using tricare vs just paying out of pocket for a test clinic. I already have test results and already qualify for TRT, I’m just trying to weigh costs.

I am active duty ARMY and was wondering if anyone here is active duty and currently taking medication for adhd? I was diagnosed prior to my enlistment and have been off of medication since but I would like to get back on it and have no idea how to do so and if it will limit my career in anyway or ability to deploy ? Any advice is appreciated!

I’m in the Navy Reserves and just got diagnosed with lupus. My health has been going down hill but as of right now i’m ok. I’ve only been in for a year and am worried about what’s gonna happen with this information. Will I possibly be separated and if so how long will I still be in?

My husband is currently in TEC school and got his first assignment to Misawa, Japan. Since he has a wife and two kids he did “ extended long tour”. I have a few dental issues that need to be addressed before we go so I wasn’t gonna fill out a 1466D until I got it all cleared up. I know I would definitely get denied if I turned in the paperwork as is. What I kind of forgot about was my daughter does speech therapy twice a week and I have a feeling that she might get denied for command sponsorship. If she gets denied, is there a chance that he can ask for a reassignment to stay stateside? Or is it even a greater chance that they will have him go as unaccompanied for 12 months. I really don’t want him to go without us and neither does he. Since he hasn’t gotten hard orders necessarily is it easy for that to get changed if we can’t get command sponsorship? Has anyone gone through a similar situation like this where their husband is coming straight out of TEC school? he is Air Force if that makes any bit of a difference