Anonymous
07-07-2005, 11:31 AM
Hi
I was wondering what kinds of medical conditions are disqualifying
i.e. depression, thyroid problem etc
also, do they ask you to submit a full file from your family doctors for proof what condition you are in (i.e. to see if you are lying about medical history?)
Anonymous
07-29-2005, 12:31 PM
I don't know what happens now because I'm retired, but I was not required to sumbit any previous medical records ... just fill out a form outlining my medical history, and then make a declaration that I had carefully considered the statements that I had just made, and that to the best of my belief they were complete and correct, and that I had not withheld any relevant information, or made any misleading statement, etc., etc., etc."
It would not be a good idea to lie about a medical condition (or anything else) because the truth will usually catch up with you, and when it does, both you and your career will be in a lot of trouble.
What a person has done (or been through) as a civilian is very important, but being truthful about it is even more important. You will, for example, have to fill out a personal history form when you join, and then update it every few years after that. On this form you will have to list all of the places that you have ever lived, gone to school, or worked, or travelled .... and then someone will actually go out and talk to various people to check up on you before you can be given a security clearance. If they find that you can't be trusted, then you won't be cleared, and if you can't cleared, then you will be of no use to the military.
Even though I spent most of my time in the personnel field, I never used (or even saw) a list of the medical conditions that disqualified someone from military service. If I had any questions about any of this, my job was to refer the matter to a medical officer, and they took it from there and did individual assessments.
I expect that many conditions are dealt with on a case by case basis, i.e., that a diagnosis doesn't automatically disqualify a person for now ... or forever. I had hepatitis during my last year of Junior High, but it was treated (and considered cured) and although this is a very serious liver disease, it did not prevent me from joining or from serving 20+ years. You mentioned depression and thyroid problems, and my guess is that your status would also depend on your case history and circumstances. Sometimes these things would be disqualifiers, and sometimes they wouldn't.
The only way to know for sure is to contact a recruiter and see what he/she has to say. If you haven't already done so, you can go to www.recruiting.forces.ca or call 1-800-856-8488. Good luck.