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To be quite honest, as long as you don't have an arrest record or fail a drug test, there was pretty much no way a recruiter would be able to tell if you had issues with drug abuse or mental health in the past. Even if they did know, I know for a fact that many of them would straight up tell potential recruits not to mention it. The more you open your mouth about that kind of stuff, the more paperwork the recruiter has to fill out for less of a payoff.

When I joined, my recruiter gave me a couple of take home drug tests and told me that if there was anything I had to worry about, better to make sure I could pass before scheduling a trip to MEPS. I also disclosed a previous medical issue which required a waiver, against his advice. I ended up getting the waiver, but it was a pain for both of us and a lot more work for him.

Your medical history is private, and in most cases the military will not even bother trying to obtain it unless it's evidence in some kind of investigation against you in which case you have already screwed up. So if you "forget" to disclose something like counseling or being prescribed antidepressants, the only way anyone is ever going to know is if they have to look into your medical history, which they don't have the time or manpower to track down for every single recruit.

In short, if you wanted into the military before this and you had one of those types of issues in your past without any outward indications such as scars or a criminal record, you could get in anyway.

If you don’t mention an issue that you have, and it causes an issue later, it could result in a lot of problems for you. Bad discharges, no VA benefits, potential fines, etc.

Now realistically, what are the odds that the military is going to go through the issue of trying to dig up your fethed up back history from playing HS football after your back causes you an issue in the military? It’s most likely not going to happen, but you can also slip up and mention “yeah, I had to do PT my Junior year after a bad tackle” to your military doc who will enter it in your record, right next to your claim of never having had any back issues when you went to MEPS and then there is an instant case of lying on your record. It’s easy to screw these kinds of things up.

I agree, which is why I disclosed that I broke my back at one point and went through the process of getting the waiver. Can't get caught in a lie if you tell the truth. However, having been through the whole rigmarole and seen other people's experiences as well, I just have to honestly say that if someone wanted to get away with hiding something like that before, they probably could have. I probably could have lied about breaking my back and had nothing come of it. Not the right thing to do by any means, but I'm positive that it happens.

 Luciferian wrote:
I agree, which is why I disclosed that I broke my back at one point and went through the process of getting the waiver. Can't get caught in a lie if you tell the truth. However, having been through the whole rigmarole and seen other people's experiences as well, I just have to honestly say that if someone wanted to get away with hiding something like that before, they probably could have. I probably could have lied about breaking my back and had nothing come of it. Not the right thing to do by any means, but I'm positive that it happens.

True. But karma has a tendency to bite people in the ass. It's not worth the risk. Plenty of people have been caught, and burned, for every one or two that get away with it.


As d-usa points out, there are consequences. And one of them, a dishonorable discharge, will follow you for the rest of your life.


From my personal view, honest people like yourself have my respect. You went and did the right thing, and went for a waiver. Then, if something happens, it's on the military's ass. And it shows your dedication to serving your country to make the effort.

But people who lie, by omission or directly, about medical issues have the potential to jeopardize the mission and/or their brothers/sisters in arms during a combat situation. That's something that ain't kosher in my book.


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 LordofHats wrote:
Honestly part of it is just that a lot of the fleet is old. You can replace parts sure but machines just break down over time. Problems build up. The Air force needed to seriously start replacing their planes a decade ago imo, but all the projects to do that have gone wildly over budget, are littered with technical issues, and have been dragging behind schedule since the 90s.

It's not really a budget problem at all. It's just plain mismanagement on multiple levels.

Or, like the Raptor program, were cut because the Secretary of Defense and his cronies in the DoD didn't see a "need" for the F-22A. The usual line is that it's "a relic of the Cold War" and "not a pound for air-to-air" doesn't fit the USAF's current mission (as if we're going to fight goat herders with forty year old Kalshnikovs forever).


In the meantime, F-15Cs start breaking in half in the air, China is developing rudimentary stealth aircraft like the J-20, J-31, etc, and Russia/India the PAK-50 program. The F-35 won't be enough to meet the air defense mission by itself.


The USAF brass have been talking about pushing for a re-start of F-22 production to meet future needs and requirements, but the SecDef and DoD won't budge. I'm surprised that they didn't pull a Cheney, and destroy the jigs, molds, and tooling like he ordered Grumman to do with the F-14D Super Tomcat program.

The F-22 does seem to have gotten killed off much sooner than expected, but I suppose you can't inflate need for the F-35 while it was still in production.

 Ouze wrote:
The F-22 does seem to have gotten killed off much sooner than expected, but I suppose you can't inflate need for the F-35 while it was still in production.

Yeah, especially with the F-35's cost overruns and delays. Somebody was sure to start questioning the troubled F-35 when you can strap bombs in a Raptor's weapons bays, and the Raptor program was a mature one.



I'm not knocking the F-35. I'm sure it will turn out to be a good multi-role platform. I just subscribe to the old "belt and braces" theory of fighter procurement (i.e. A few top of the line fighters rounded out by a larger number of capable, cheaper fighters, ala the F-15/F-16, F-14 and F/A-18, etc.). The things that bug me is that we don't have enough Raptors to meet future needs and the Lightning II isn't cheap. So, that's out the window.

 Ouze wrote:

 Just Tony wrote:
How Goddamn DARE YOU use facts?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!




I'm actually shocked at how many people I've met think that the VA is part of the Army. Shocked and embarrassed.

I'm perfectly aware that the VA is not part of the Army. I'm not sure why the distinction needed to be spelled out - it's needlessly pedantic, like me pointing out the VA also isn't part of the the Marines, Air Force, and Navy, and so on, and not just "the Army" - see how that's just inane nitpicking that doesn't score any important point at all?

OR


You could realize my post wasn't about you at all. If I am aiming something towards you, there will be no mistaking it. My comment was about general populace. Reread it, it's enlightening when you don't apply yourself as the center of every comment...


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And to add to the last page of commentary, I fully support pressing out new aircraft, but I'm not at all impressed with what the F-35 is showing. It's like how the Air Force does a review to try to come up with a replacement for the A-10 every couple years, yet nothing can fill the role as well.