Adhd

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ADHD IN THE MILITARY? HOW WILL IT EFFECT MY CAREER AS AN OFFICER?

That's a good question. I've heard of people with ADHD been rejected from the army on the basis that their condition would interfer with training, supposingly their impulsive nature would get them killed on the battle field, furthermore, people with ADHD have been known for oppositional behaviour, which can be a one way ticket to a dishonurable discharge for disobeying orders, then again as an officer you give the orders, right?. Makes sense, but still rather judgemental. When you say officer what exactly do you wish to be an officer of? After all there are many divisions within the military and some would be more affected by ADHD than others. On the other hand many people overcome their condition and go on to be very successful, why can't the same be applied in the military? It has also been suggested that in the early days of man, ADHD may have been advantagous as one such afflicted was susspectable to distractions and had a greater chance of spotting a potential predator, which may have gone unnoticed by their more focused peers, if the same principle applies to the battlefield you would have an advantage. Of the few people I know with ADHD none of them are enlisted in the armed forces.

Being an officer doesn't allways mean a position in combat. There are many other postions in the military.However, there are a few meds that really help people with ADHD.Of course with any med, it's the ole "trial and error" method on which med works best for each person. Check out a shrink either on base of in the private sector if you don't wan't your CO to know.

I have good news and bad news.The bad news is that I am not sure that the military will allow you to take Ritalin or the like. In fact I am almost positive that they won't. The good news is I know a retired Navy LtCommander (and a pilot) who has ADD and obviously did rather well for about 15 years until other medical problems forced him to retire. The best way to get through it would be coffee. Coffee is fine with the military, readily available and no-one with think it strange that you drink alot of coffee. This is the case of 1 person, and I don't know the specifics of your situation. But I know that it has been done ... however it just depends on you. ADHD will not hinder your career if you don't let it.PS-- I am not sure the military knew that he had it (I really doubt it). After he left the service he went on medication, trained and became a stockbroker.Good Luck.

Yeah, Ritalin is crank anyways. Need to get with the Adderall, Dexrine, or Desoxyn...Anyhow, the military doesn't really smile upon people who need to take meds, especially for mental conditions. I'm seriously ADD, and I take my speed everyday. Which means, if we ever go to war, and I oppose, they'll reject me when I tell them I'm a liscensed tweaker. But you could hide the fact, I suppose.Airforce pilots, I've read, are given their own supply of Dexedrin (D- Amphetamine) while flying extended missions. Although it is for fatigue, and they have to sign a waver stating they understand amphetamines have not been approved by the FDA for fatigue...Good luck soldier...

The military has their own rules and don't need to abide by any of the FDA rules.
Thats been well documented over the years.

Uh gem, that's not entirely true, if anything military law is much stricter than civilian law. Ever heard "If you drop a bomb on a civilian, they die. If you drop a bomb on a commanding officer they still die."? That means that it doens't matter what your rank is, you're still human and as vulnerable as any other, why do you think the militants need to be vaccinated whenever they go to an endemic area?