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  • Defence Force Medical Standards

    This one is gonna touch a sore spot woth some of the more hard core users. I'm a new user, but i've seen this board before. I'm a member of the reserve and my dream in life is to go to the cadets and become an officer in the defence forces and serve my country. My leaving cert results, fitness, and activities meet all standards set for eligability. Enter my problem. I am Diabetic.
    Not a major condition but still frowned on by the defence forces. There are at least 18 diabetics in the defence forces and in Finland, a fellow EU member and the country we serve with in Kosovo, there are 11 diabetic cadets who have passed out with no complecations. All were insulin dependant like myself.
    Diabetes was once a major condition which was feared and thought dangerous. Now it is not. With good control, diet and exercise it is easily controlled.
    If there is anybody on this site who can give me an opinion or any information on this subject it'd be very helpful.

    Thank You,

    MAXI

  • #2
    so nobody is gonna touch this one eh??

    Comment


    • #3
      You will have to wait till people read it.

      Come back on monday.


      Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

      Comment


      • #4
        Talk to JPB, he would know alot about that sort.
        If your not in bed by 4 o' clock it's time to go home!

        Comment


        • #5
          maxi,

          you said it yourself, diabetes is controlled, you have type one, insulin dependent, therefore you are open to both side's of the fence, hypo and hyperglyceamia so take a look at the symptoms and what affect's both, one dose of vomiting throws your balance out of whack, physical activity the same, both state that an episode causes irrational behaviour.

          how can you say that the heat of liberia will not affect your blood-suger level, or even a week on the ground with pack ration's which are full of suger.

          you say that you are a member of the reserve, just step back and think for a minute, would you like to be commanded by an officer that has a chance of being taken out by a condition that he has to keep in balance, knowing what can happen if he get's it wrong, say he is in an outpost in liberia and his insulin get's contaminated or lost , what then... a medi-vac or worse.

          these are just a few thing's to think about, its easy to keep a balance and have a normal life at home in civvie street, but with the constant rigours of the militery....not so,

          keep safe.

          Comment


          • #6
            What is the Armys policy towards asthmatics or even medication controlled epileptics.

            Comment


            • #7
              Both asthmatics & epileptics are classed as being unfit for military service. The reason diabetics are not allowed join the DF is clear & in my opinon correct. My mother is a diabetic so I know what the story is.

              On operations / training you may be eating "on the run" (ie not get the chance to stop & sit down to have a meal), diabetics have to eat regularly & in many cases take insulin. There is no guarantee that you will get a resupply of rations when it is thought you would & the same goes for insulin.

              Sorry but that is the reasoning behind it.

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              • #8
                Rite lads,
                just out interest I was wondering what is the PDF's (Army) stance on very mild Excema/Dermatitis/Psoriasis was ? Cheers :D

                Comment


                • #9
                  You turn up to the recruitng office, some one brings out an old style cuthroat razor and they deal with it in about 20 mins. then send you home in bandages and instructions on how to clean yourself properly!
                  :p

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                  • #10
                    the points you made are valid....but still it is a controllable condition and other countries have already taken on diabetic cadets. its only a matter of time. and as for my officer on the ground well as long as he can do his job, if he is diabetic or not is none of my business, i don't care. there are different levels of diabetes and every case is different. so if i want to join up my case should be judged as an individual case which is not comparable to any other. that would only be fair

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      soory maxi not so, how can they judge every applicant individually, and if there is an applicant that is not chemically dependant who do you think they are going to take.

                      I am not saying there is a problem with diabetic'sin everyday life...just in militery life, you quoted about the amount of diabetic's in the DF, none of them are in frontline job's, it is the nature of the condition that prevent's this and every individual is not different, insulin dependent is still insulin dependent, you say you would have no prob with with your officer being a diabetic and that it was none of your business, well if you are in a situation where diplomacy matter's and that officer is having an episode unknown to himself due to an inbalance and you or one of your comrade's die's..........well......

                      one test would be to leave you in a room for eight hours without your med's or food and see how you get on after and how you behave to other's, as you well know you would not be in good form...and please do not give mem the excuse that you control it by self medication, you are not factoring in the rigour's of militery life.

                      in my job i come into contact with diabetic's a lot...too much actually, and all due to metabolic inbalance due to illness or error's in self-medication,

                      keep safe.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        actually some of these diabetics are insulin dependant and at least one who i know of personally has served on the front line in the leb. diabetes is not a problem when controlled. i've lived with it for 12 yrs and have had 6 hypos, none in the past 4 yrs. thats just 1 for ever 2 yrs. it shouldn't matter. if it happened in the finnish defence forces why not in ireland??plus fin cadet training is 4 yrs long.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          well maxi,

                          i think the best thing you can do is learn finnish and apply to the finnish cadet school, this is a discussion board and you are not going to change policy here,

                          keep safe.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            i wont change policy here but god damn it i will change it one way or another jpb....i will fight this all the way....its down right discrimination and i will not stand for it....but thats my opinion.....your comments are valid to an extent...i'm not sure what profession your in(healthcare i assume), but not all diabetics have a big problem in their control like you've seen...each case has to be look at differently...
                            i will keep fighting this til i get in and prove you and the army wrong on this matter

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              What about people with colourblindness? No justifiable reason that they cannot serve in the DF,yet they cannot. Given the choice between a Diabetic or someone with colourblindness,i'll take monochrome man any day.


                              Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                              Comment

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