Introduction: TelasTa

[TelasTa]

Greetings gentlemen,

Before I begin my introduction post, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my post. It means a lot.

My name is "TelasTa", and I am currently a rising junior in college. I am 19 years of age, and majoring in Business Information Technology with a Decision Support Systems Focus. To be very honest, IT is not my cup of tea, and I have been eyeing the U.S. Military for a very long time now.

However, this is not my first rodeo in terms of preparation for selection & training for U.S. SOF Units. With that being said, I came here to seek some advice from current/former Rangers for my particular situation. I dedicated my first two years of college to training twice a day, in hopes to qualify for an SO Contract with the U.S. Navy upon my college graduation. To make a long story short, I tried to enlist into the Navy last Spring, however, none of the recruiters would work with me due to my need for an asthma waiver and a peanut-allergy waiver. All of them informed me that anything related to pulmonary diseases & food allergens will not go through for a Naval Special Warfare contract of any kind.

With that being said, I refuse to omit my medical conditions because I understand why the U.S. Military would not want candidates with these particular conditions; it can most definitely endanger the lives of other men on the battlefield, so I would like to take the legitimate route towards enlistment.

To elaborate more on my medical conditions, I've had asthma for a very long time. Fortunately, I have not used my inhaler in years, however, I do still believe I have some degree of it today; allergens like peanuts, can and have trigger an asthma attack. My allergy to peanuts is moderate to maybe even severe; if I were to eat a handful of peanuts or peanut butter, there is a very good chance I will die.

I've learned to cope with my asthma, and in humble manners, I do believe I can push myself harder & faster than most people without asthma. There are times where I can barely breathe especially on long rucks, but I simply push on until completion.

The route towards the U.S. Military in general seems dim as of right now with my medical conditions, but I came across similar posts on this forum regarding Option 40 Contracts. I spoke with an Army Recruiter a few days ago, and he informed me that if I can pass the Airborne Physical, and all of my waivers are cleared, I can technically qualify for an Option 40.

I've also read on similar SOF Forums that a candidate can volunteer for Airborne/RASP during training if he did not enter the Army with an Option 40.

There's a ton of conflicting information on the internet, and I would very much appreciate it if you gentlemen could settle what is true and what is not. A common notion of the Airborne Physical, is that if a candidate has any waivers, he is automatically disqualified for Airborne School for a direct enlistment. With that being said, there seems to be a few guys on this forum that have bypassed this notion, and are on route towards RASP.

In culmination, I would very much appreciate it if I could get some advice towards enlisting into the U.S. Military with my medical conditions.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my long post. Have a great day.

[jth456]

Welcome to the site.

We had a guy in my RASP class with asthma so it shouldn't be a problem. I also don't see the peanut allergy disqualifying you. Hopefully someone else on this forum can be more clear. How is your PT looking?

[TelasTa]

Thank you for replying.

That's awesome to hear that someone with a similar situation was placed in RASP. This might be the first time I've actually heard of someone with asthma being in a SOF selection.

My last PST (For NSW), which was about a month ago, was the following:

500-Yard CSS Swim: 10:05
2-Min Push: 97
2-Min Sit: 86
Pull-Ups: 23
1.5 Mile Run: 10:01

[jth456]

Those are some good numbers. Stay focused and don't fucking quit!!!

[TelasTa]

Thank you sir. Always room from more improvement though Haha.

Thanks for the reply.

[jth456]

Don't call me sir. I'm not, nor was I ever an officer. Just doing my job.

[jth456]

Always room from more improvement though .

Yes, never be satisfied with your PT numbers. Always strive to improve. Keep that mentality.