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Ok. Not a problem. Ill give you some good reading material so you can understand some of the history. Remember with Marines... alot of what we do thrives on our history/heritage.

Force Recon Faq's

http://forcerecon.com/strongmenarmed.htm


To elaborate more from the first url I sent you,
1. you have to be going into an infantry postion in the Marines. Period.
2. It is imperative in bootcamp that you bust your rear to try to get a 1st class PFT. Ask your recruiter to give you a current test to see where you are at and work hard before going to boot to train to meet that goal.
3. Additionally in bootcamp you have to bust your a** and learn all you can. As Force Recon requires the best of the best. Graduating as a Platoon guide or squad leader is a good way to show that you are in the top of your graduating class.
4. upon graduation from bootcamp (whether you are reserves or active duty) you are sent to SOI (school of infantry) for your MOS training.
5. during forming at SOI you will be given the opportunity to take the Recon Indoc PFT. Anything less than 1st class PFT (3 mile run in aprox 18 min, 20 dead arm hang pull ups, 100 crunch/situps in 2 min.) and you probably wont be considered. Once you take the Indoc you will continue on to complete SOI and learn the MOS you were selected for, then you will have to go to BRC (Basic Recon Course) and complete that training.

I have no clue what is in that training as I was never recon. (I wish I was but I wasn't) I had a few buddies who were so Ill ask and try to get some info from them. I do know that once you complete BRC you are assigned to one of the Recon Divisions and then train and prepare to go to schools for dive/scuba and parachute/airborne and many others. Your life pretty much will revolve around getting you school trained in as many things as possible and being constantly in action to upkeep that knowledge.

I will also say that even out of those that do try out and get past the intial indoc it has a 75% dropout rate (whether it is from sustaining an injury that dis-allows further training for a while, or you just get tired of it as it is alot to cope with) However if you make it the retention in recon units is amazing.

I hope that helps and definitely if you have more questions feel free to ask.

Semper Fi!

Ok.. here is the thing. All branches of the military fall under the DoD. MEPS is where people enlist at. When you go to MEPS to enlist and deal with the paperwork you have to fill out and medical screenings you have to go thru, there is no one magical number that will get you a waiver.

Why.

Because when you go in there for a medical screening the doctor will either be a Navy Doctor or an Army Doctor of at least a Lt. Colonel Rank or above. They have many years of experience in the military along with many years of being a doctor. The employers for the military are the Department of Defense. They are the ones who ultimately say who can stay and who goes. When it comes to medical screening the DoD keeps its policies under constant scrutiny. Every year or so they evaluate their current policies and adjust them to allow for them to meet the needs of the living military as well as to accomodate the changes of modern medical science. That is why no one person can give you a straight answer. It is because there is no one magical number that will get you a waiver. A waiver is just that... a possiblity (after review of your previous condition) that you will be granted access into the military. The doctor holds by the standards handed down to him by the DoD and screens accordingly. As I don't know what type of condition you had I have no reference point to give to you specifically for you to look information up but I do have this....

Assessing Fitness for Military Enlistment: Physical, Medical, and Mental Health Standards (2006)

This is a book that has reviewed the policies back of 2006 and defines what the base standards are. The thing is alot of things are open to interpretation which is why some people go and are granted waivers.. and others are not. In all honesty you will never know unless you go and try. If you want in the military and are sure of it. You are making an informed decision and feel you are physically and mentally sound and stable to meet the base requirements listed in that article at the link I sent you. Then go to the recruitier. If you are in all honesty sincere in your desire to join the military (as they are the first screeners so to speak of you) and you are honest with them and detail for them all the information and let them weigh the information. They will either tell you no or yes. They may hem and haw about putting you in because of the problem, but as they are not doctors they do not have the final say so. Part of the application process is them trying to weed out those that may not make it thru the screening process. And they may have documentation that has been put out by the doctors that they will not accept any waivers for certain conditions. But you never know unless you ask. If its just they don't know and cant provide proof, show them your conviction that you believe you can be the one to get the waiver and keep at them to let you go to MEPS for your chance. Once at MEPS it will be up to the doctor and his knowledge and experience of the military, policy & procedure, as well as medical knowledge that will determine if he can grant you a waiver.

Mental Health is much different from say a drug abuser who only experimented a few times with Marijuana. They grant waivers for that all the time. Because other peoples lives hang in the balance, your mental health and ability to cope by choices you make is a key factor that they dont play around with. And when you are incapable of making choices because of a mental issue that (is not your fault) the probability is they will not risk those lives. But you never know until evaluated how your specific condition could affect you.

I hope that helps.

Semper Fi

I'm glad I could help out in anyway possible!

Semper Fi!