Recruiter says "Don't mention ADD". Any way to fix this?

[AbnerMalady]

My son was told by his recruiter not to mention to the examiners at MEPS that he was diagnosed with ADD in grade school. His ASVAB score was a 99 and he qualified for the  Nuclear Power Program without the NAPT. He really wants to serve in the Navy and was very excited about the Nuclear Power Program. He is a very honest young man and the lie is eating him up.

Is there any way to fix this? Could really use some sage advice on this. Do we go back to the recruiter? Back to MEPS? Who does he talk to?

Thanks,
Abner

[Samabby]

Your son should talk to another recruiter or the present recruiter's supervisor. No information should be withheld during this process.

[DadofMM-ELT]

Your son should talk to another recruiter or the present recruiter's supervisor. No information should be withheld during this process.

Exactly correct. We had similar issues with our son's first recruiter, though in our case we had to escalate to the officer in charge of our district. In any case, it needs to be corrected before you go any further because the Navy will find out when they request his school and/or medical records.

This document (which may be out of date) may also be helpful: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/613003p.pdf

You want Section 29 beginning on page 46.

[spekkio]

You don't provide info about your son's current condition and whether he already went to MEPS, which can impact the way forward significantly.

Either way, he needs to come clean. If his condition no longer affects him, it's a matter of the recruiter filling out a few extra pieces of paper and sending it to MEPS along with paperwork from his doc stating he's a-ok. It's possible your son can get a waiver.

If he's on meds, he might be DQ'd, but lying about it will deny him access to meds he needs or he'll just get discharged in the pipeline for lying when he requests them.

If he doesn't come clean, there's a distinct possibility that they catch it when reviewing his medical records he submits to MEPS and he gets separated.

Also, your son should report the recruiter to his chain of command.

[AbnerMalady]

My son called MEPS and told them that he had misinterpreted instructions from his recruiter and that, on reflection, he needed to correct the record. He will be working with this office until he leaves for basic, which appears to be 8-11 months down the road, so he told them that the recruiter said "not to mention" that he had been diagnosed with ADD and it wouldn't come up unless he brought it up. MEPS told him to make an appointment with the recruiters office and fix the forms there, since it's all digital now. In the time that it took him to look up the number and call, MEPS had already spoken with the officer in charge at the recruiters office and they were expecting his call. He had to sign a hand written explanation of events and correct his answers on his application. Apparently the senior recruiter was instructed to council my son's recruiter on the subject of being more explicit in his directions to recruits. I got the sense that everyone involved knew exactly what happened but the recruiters office gets to save face. Everyone is now busy collecting medical records and HIPA releases from pediatricians, doctors, and schools.

I hope this doesn't impact his getting into Nuke School. He already needs a waiver for his age (25). He has been off of any medication for more than five years with no issues with employers or school (local community college). The only problem is he took adderal for more than "24 cumulative months after the age of 14". That was during a time when in the eyes of some "educators" every male child with an IQ above 130 needed to be medicated.

The good news is they didn't arrest him, and they are moving forward on his waivers.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and insights.