This Law Requires A Health Examination (Physical Exam: Fill & Download for Free

You know you're born for the job since day 1, and you feel special because it's a unique job to work in. In Taiwan (where I'm from), air traffic controll is a well-respected career, and the pay is twice above the average. We are seen as elites. The job is demanding, stressful, and requires certain qualities of personality that aren't easy to find in people. It's very interesting, actually. You need to take a lot of tests, including subject exams (aerodynamics, civil aviation law, aviation meteorology, English, etc), interviews, health examination and physical/psychological assessments (working memory, spatial cognition, processing speed, hand-eye coordination, multitasking, etc), for you to be determined if you're qualified to be a trainee. You also have to take a long assessment on mental illness. The job has to avoid applicants that may have personality disorders. I said it's interesting because the job favours people that have these two personality traits:(1) can stay highly focused in whatever situations, not being mentally affected easily by anything, not even when they have just lost someone they love.(2) have a low level of anxiety in whatever situations, so calmness will be easily maintained and obtained, even when a pilot has just declared “Mayday" to them and said all engines down, and that they aren't high enough to glide-make it to the nearest aerodrome, and that they will crash; the ATCs can tell by the depression and fear in the pilot's voice that he has given up trying; that's what a man sounds like when he knows he is going to die.These personality traits are not common, and I believe, people that have such personality traits are more likely to have characteristics of personality disorders; it's only a question of “to what extent”.Us air traffic controllers are cocky people. LOL I've had colleagues that might be well considered “narcissistic” by clinical psychologists. It seems that this job attracts these types of people, although psychological assessments have been employed to filter them. Sure, we can be friendly, but you can still smell the arrogance in the air. We are fast thinkers, and that makes us very impatient. We are affirmative and have been used to giving commands, and that makes us look like arrogant assholes in front of people that don't work in an air traffic controll career. Air traffic controllers are a very interesting lot of men and women. There're certain personality traits that they all share.It's wonderful to work in a job that is so mentally demanding and stressful. Some tens of thousands of lives are dependent on you every time you're on duty. This may sound a little bit sick but it does make you feel like God, one that is to protect, to guard. That's huge responsibility. It gives the job meaning.Just awesome.

Take a look at this photo and try to guess what’s happening:Let me give you some hints:Where? A school in VietnamWhen? After a high school graduation examWhat’s the white stuff? PapersWhat’s the subject of the papers? HistoryHave you guessed it yet?These students were tearing and throwing out the study materials for history after the graduation exam was finished!This event attracted a lot of attention and controversy in Vietnam a few years ago. These students deliberately filmed the spectacle to make a clear statement: We detest studying history! We absolutely fucking hate it! We want nothing to do with it from now on!! This sentiment is common, why so?Because our history textbook is full of stuff like this:On the Bolshevik revolution: “The first and second five year plans were completed before the deadline. Great strides were made on the road to socialism, turning the Soviet Union from a backward agricultural country to an industrial powerhouse… Apart from economic changes, the class structure was also transformed. The exploitative class was eliminated and only two classes remained: the working class (workers and farmers in collectives) and the socialist intellectuals”.On the collapse of the USSR: “The mass protests across the Soviet block and were supported by the external imperialists and the forces opposing socialism to provoke the people and step up destructive activities. The collapse of the USSR was a heavy blow to the world revolutionary movement and the progressive forces and nations worldwide in their struggle for independence, sovereignty, peace, stability and social progress”.On the US: “Even though the Democratic and Republic parties look opposite, they are unified in their policy to serve the interests of giant monopolistic capitalistic corporations. To pursue their ambitions to dominate the world, the US implemented many subversive laws such as banning the Communist party, opposing strikes and eliminating people with progressive ideas from the government. Under the pressure of class struggle, some of these laws were abolished.”On gaining power by the Vietnamese Communist party in 1945: “The August revolution was a great and glorious event in the history of the nation. It brought down the slavery system by the French colonialists and the Fascist Japanese and overthrew the one thousand year old autocratic monarchy. Vietnam was no longer a colony and became an independent country as a democratic republic. The Communist party galvanized the people’s patriotism and united the worker-farmer alliance, united a broad based nationalistic front, combined with skillful armed struggle and political maneuver, winning the government back to the people.”Hello, are you still awake?And you know what grade that was? Grade 9.Our whole history curriculum is a massive propaganda campaign full of how ‘our Party defeated the enemy’, ‘implemented brilliant policy’, ‘scored great victory’, ‘harbored deep hatred against the cruel imperialists and their puppets’, ‘we killed 207 enemies and confiscated 21 tons of weaponry in Province X on day Y year Z’. Perhaps not inaccurate but blatantly biased.The history textbooks even fabricate fictional heroes such as Le Van Tam, who supposedly as a little boy soaked himself in gasoline and blew up a fuel depot of the French colonialists. Or they massively exaggerate other heroic stories such as Vo Thi Sau, who joined the guerrilla war at the age of 15 and was executed by the French. She turned out to have mental health problems.Heroic acts that are praised in the textbooks are now re-examined and re-interpreted as cruel acts of terrorism. They make people feel cynical or at least amused by these silly fantastical stories.History is heavily politicized and no critical examination of events is allowed. It is looked down on as an insufferably boring subject where you just have to memorize and regurgitate tons of detailed text and no intelligence is required.Most students absolutely hate and dread the subject and by the time they walk out of that exam room, they already forget everything they learn from their history education. The propaganda machine is so crude, so ridiculous that even kids have a hard time believing it. History is probably the lowest in the hierarchy of the main high school subjects (which are way too many, 8 out of total 13): math, physics, chemistry, English, biology, literature, geography and history. Because critical thinking is not encouraged, the social sciences are reduced to rote memorization and they do not have the same prestige as the natural sciences. Only dumb people like the social sciences, so to speak.The event mentioned above was alarming to parents and educators. Many people criticized these kids as disrespectful and unpatriotic. But many others also asked: Why? Is it because the way history is taught is a total failure? There were calls to reduce the politicization of history and make it more lively and relatable. They of course fell on deaf ears because hey, who can know better than the party that represents the ‘pinnacle of human intellect”? ;)

First, I hope that a person with self-harm scars has obtained the help they needed.Second, the ASVAB scores and a medical waiver are not related. A person’s ASVAB scores must reach a certain level to be qualified at all for US military service. The higher, the more likely they are to be considered, and to get bonuses and the jobs they might wish to get.A person’s medical conditions — all of them — must be revealed during the recruitment phase. And ANY of them might require a “waiver.” Some medical waivers are done locally, simple things like marginally bad eyesight, warts, a broken bone as a child that obviously healed correctly, etc.Other things require a full medical work-up, possibly with multiple military and/or civilian contracted doctors (or other specialists), who must render opinions on whether the potential recruit’s medical condition(s) are likely to impair their ability to serve globally, in any weather, under combat and other stressful conditions, etc. Both mental and physical conditions may need to be waived.A waiver is an exception to policy, in that the medical condition that is being waived is actually disqualifying for military service. Otherwise, no waiver would be needed…Some medical conditions are not waiverable…by anyone. AT any level. Down’s Syndrome. Spina bifida. Many cancers (even after surviving them). To name a few.Others, go through the work up by the medical experts, who help the Service decide if a waiver will be granted.If a waiver is not granted by one Service, that decision is not binding on others (except the Navy and Marine Corps use the same doctors, so generally the decision of one is unlikely to be challenged by the other because the same doctors will be consulted once again and are unlikely to change their opinions unless the person’s situation changed or they provided new medical evidence). So a waiver by the Army might not have been granted by the Air Force, or vice versa.There is a DoD Manual (see below) that governs the majority of medical waivers, and describes the majority of conditions that might require a waiver, and when. Some conditions only require waivers after certain lengths of time, or specific conditions, and otherwise allow for it. But unless otherwise stated, any condition listed, mental or physical, is disqualifying and must be waived for enlistment/appointment to continue.This Manual is virtually identical to the standards for the US Coast Guard (as an agency of the Department of Homeland Security), Senior ROTC programs in colleges, the Federal Service Academies (cadets and midshipmen), and for commissions in the US Public Health Service (USPHS) and NOAA.See: DOD INSTRUCTION 6130.03, MEDICAL STANDARDS FOR APPOINTMENT, ENLISTMENT, OR INDUCTION INTO THE MILITARY SERVICES, https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003p.pdf?ver=2018-05-04-113917-883If a person presented to a recruiter with “only” the condition asked here, “self-harm scars,” let’s review the Manual to see what it says about it, starting in Section 5:“5.21. SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE CONDITIONS.…v. Current scars that can reasonably be expected to interfere with properly wearing military clothing or equipment, or to interfere with satisfactorily performing military duty due to pain or decreased range of motion, strength, or agility.”and, the most pertinent sub-sections of paragraph 5.28 (see below for the full paragraph text) that pertain to this inquiry:5.28. LEARNING, PSYCHIATRIC, AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS.…m. Suicidality, including suicidal ideation with a plan, suicidal gesture(s), or attempt(s).n. History of self-mutilation.See paragraph 5.28 (below) of the reference for the complete list of “learning, psychiatric, and behavioral disorders” that are disqualifying…without a waiver.Remember, if it’s listed, it requires a waiver unless the text specifically says so.But, there are many medical conditions that are not listed, and might or might not require waivers, and thus they ALL must be disclosed…or a fraudulent enlistment situation arises, which might have very bad consequences later, up to and including court-martial or discharge with less than honorable conditions:5.28. LEARNING, PSYCHIATRIC, AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS.a. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, if with:(1) A recommended or prescribed Individualized Education Program, 504 Plan, or work accommodations after the 14th birthday;(2) A history of comorbid mental disorders;(3) Prescribed medication in the previous 24 months; or(4) Documentation of adverse academic, occupational, or work performance.b. History of learning disorders after the 14th birthday, including but not limited to dyslexia, if any of the following apply:(1) With a recommended or prescribed Individualized Education Program, 504 Plan, or work accommodations after the 14th birthday;(2) With a history of comorbid mental disorders; or(3) With documentation of adverse academic, occupational, or work performance.c. Autism spectrum disorders.d. History of disorders with psychotic features such as schizophrenic disorders, delusional disorders, or other unspecified psychoses or mood disorders with psychotic features.e. History of bipolar and related disorders (formerly identified as mood disorders not otherwise specified) including but not limited to cyclothymic disorders and affective psychoses.f. Depressive disorder if:(1) Outpatient care including counseling required for longer than 12 cumulative months;(2) Symptoms or treatment within the last 36 months;(3) The applicant required any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility;(4) Any recurrence; or(5) Any suicidality (in accordance with Paragraph 5.28.m.).g. History of a single adjustment disorder if treated or symptomatic within the previous 6 months, or any history of chronic (lasting longer than 6 months) or recurrent episodes of adjustment disorders.h. History of disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorder to include but not limited to oppositional defiant and other behavior disorders.i. Any personality disorder including unspecified personality disorder or maladaptive personality traits demonstrated by:(1) Repeated inability to maintain reasonable adjustment in school, with employers or fellow workers, other social groups, or psychological testing revealing that the degree of immaturity, instability, of personality inadequacy, impulsiveness, or dependency may reasonably be expected to interfere with their adjustment to the Military Services;(2) Recurrent encounters with law enforcement agencies (excluding minor traffic violations) or antisocial behaviors are tangible evidence of impaired capacity to adapt to military service; or(3) Any behavioral health issues that have led to incarceration for any period. j. Encopresis after 13th birthday.k. History of any feeding or eating disorder.l. Any current communication disorder that significantly interferes with producing speech or repeating commands.m. Suicidality, including suicidal ideation with a plan, suicidal gesture(s), or attempt(s).n. History of self-mutilation.o. History of obsessive-compulsive disorder.p. History of post-traumatic stress disorder.q. History of anxiety disorders if:(1) Outpatient care including counseling was required for longer than 12 cumulative months.(2) Symptomatic or treatment within the last 36 months.(3) The applicant required any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility.(4) Any recurrence.(5) Any suicidality (in accordance with Paragraph 5.28.m.).r. History of dissociative disorders.s. History of somatic symptoms and related disorders.t. History of paraphilic disorders.u. Any history of substance-related and addictive disorders (except using caffeine or tobacco).v. History of other mental disorders that may reasonably be expected to interfere with or prevent satisfactory performance of military duty.w. Prior psychiatric hospitalization for any cause.BOTTOM LINE: a person with self-harm scars will need at least two waivers, and probably more:The scars themselves, which might or might not be found disqualifying in and of themselves, andThe underlying psychological issues that give rise to the harmful behavior, that result in:Suicidality, andHistory of Self-MutilationSince it is unlikely that a close examination under the bright lights at the MEPS processing center for the medical exam will not discover the scars resultant from self-mutilation, they will need to be disclosed up front, which will thus require discussion about why there is self-mutilation…and waivers for both. Plus whatever else is required to be waived for medical conditions.Good luck.