touretts syndrone and the army

[chasser]

ok so i just stumbled across this site and i need some advice

im 16 years old, born in southen england and i have had tourette cyndrone for around 7 years now, for those who dont know what it is, its where you have these things things called ticks, that make you do things you dont necessarily want to. Not major things, well for me it used to be stuff like tensing my shoulders or slight twiching in certain places, but in the last two years it has cleared up, and i no longer get any problems


i have always wanted to be in the army, so when i finished school last year i went straight down to the (british) army recruitment office to be enlisted, i passed the BARB test and got a high enough score for infantry. Then came the medical part and because tourette syndrone is on my medical records i was instantly turned down for a medical, now bear in mind my tourettes is an extremly mild case.

so obviously i wrote back to the medical officer asking why, and he replied in very long fancy words basically saying that i am not mentally capable of army life. I was so bloody offended by this, i mean, he dosnt even know me, and he wouldnt even accept me for a interview, so he's just assumed that because of the disorder im not capable, which is boll**ks because im sure their lots of people in the army with tourettes, but because they dont know it, they are fit for army life, and im not?

even my speacalist wrote in and said that i could cope. But still the medical officer heartlessly declined. So does that really mean im totally incapable of any military service? il say it again, b*****ks, its totally irelivent, its how much you want it, and i want it bad.

so the question is, is their anyone in the army with tourettes syndrone who can help me out, or are in the same situation, or is their any ways around this problem?

its the only thing ive ever wanted in life, and to be turned down by someone who stares at p*** samples all day is heart breaking. He has basically told me that i cannot handle stressful army life, where actually i handle stress really well and enjoy pushing limits.

this is a last ditch attempt now, so any help or advice is appreciated

[Wholley]

Chasser,
I'm sorry mate but you have no chance of entering the Military.
I had a buddy who was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome whilst in the Navy.
He was Medically Discharged.
As you probably know it's a Neurotransmitter problem involving unusually high levels of Dopamine and Seratonin.
Do either of your Parents have the same thing?
It's genetically transmitted and unfortunately young men have a 99% chance of displaying symptoms(For some reason it's only 50% in girls)
Again,
I'm sorry to rain on your parade.

Wholley.

[chasser]

my dad has it just a bit but he lost most of his symtoms at 19 - 20 years old

i don't think i can let this one drop m8 , there's no way im not mentally incapable of this, it is also a fact that most tourette sufferers excel at physical and creative activities, i think im gonna have to go to the top with this one, its a rediculous to rule out everyone, because only a tiny percentage get the swearing outbursts, while the rest (like me) are barely reconisable.

All they need to do is let me have a medical interview. How about if someone swipes my medical records for me

its a shame about your mate, but what that means is that there are blatently tourette sufferers in the army, so they are completely contredicting themselfs when they say im not mentally fit because they most likely have good soldiers who are in fact tourette sufferers, but because they havent been diagnosed they can still be a soldier.

its not fair

[Chris Deeside]

unfortunately mate rules are rules

[Tartan_Terrier]

Hi Chasser,
I can well understand your disappointment, but am also certain that the MO was correct in his decision. He has to work to a set of guidelines, and there are unfortunately some medical conditions which the forces won't accept no matter how trivial they seem.

Perhaps in a few years you could consider joining the Army Cadets as an adult instructor? Apart from getting you in green, it'd give you plenty of fresh air, valuable leadership experience......and you'd get paid too!

Regards
T_T

[Sully]

Hi Chasser,

I have no experience of armed forces law (apart from getting in trouble once or twice when I was serving) but the refusal of a medical sounds a bit harsh. I know that the Disability Discrimination Act does not apply to the armed forces so you'll need to find out whether the MO in question was following the right internal procedure.

Have a look at this site:

http://www.forceslaw.com/

It has details of lawyers who know about armed forces procedures and the interaction with civil law. Perhaps phone a few up and sound them out on it. I can't imagine they would charge you for telling you if you have a case or not.

There has been some debate about whether the DDA should apply to the forces, I can't see any harm as the act itself has all the get out clauses the forces may need. If it were to apply at some point in the future it would at least ensure that proper procedures have to be followed by recruiters - it sounds too easy to just say "no". It's a shame to see someone so apparently committed have a door slammed in his face just like that. Good luck. Let me know how you get on.

[sloth]

sorry to say it but one of the symptoms of tourertes is twitches (that can start at any time)
and if you suffer from one whilst sitting with the gun on SF role imagine the damage that can be done
also trying to supress an outburst whilst in an ambush could give your position away
i feel for you son but rules is rules apeal if you want but i cant see it helping

wee bit of humour two though touretes must be ripe in the army half the sgt majors i met seemed to have it lol

[Sully]

I think Chasser knows how the syndrome presents itself to him and isn't basing his knowledge on TV programmes of extreme cases - which some find amusing. A syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms and these may be severe or mild.

Not everyone has the dubious pleasure of operating a gun in SF role or to sit in an ambush and not everyone joins up to do that sort of thing. Chasser clearly recognises this so I can't see any point in 'reminding' him of it.

The lad came here for advice not bigotry It sounds like he's faced enough of that already.

[sloth]

there was no bigotry intended meerly practicality (not every one does the above mentioned activities but first and foremost everyone is a soldier and therefore has access to weapon systems)
i dont know the limit of his symptoms but i do know that the forces regardless will not take any chances on enlisting anyone with a disibility (mental or physical)
no one wants to piss on someones parade or there dreams but i think it would be futile for him to pursue this at present to the losse of time and experiance doing something else
he could for example see about going to college to do a uniformed services course where he will get green skin experiance and have the best possable help in attempting to join the forces
or he could go train to be a plumber
the simple fact is while he suffers from touretes and requires medication/treatment then he will not be admited to the armed forces

[Sully]

there was no bigotry intended meerly practicality

Fair one sloth - apologies on my part. I think Chasser may not have had a fair crack of the whip but there's no particular sympathy here (well, not too much ). I appreciate operational effectiveness but birds and shirtlifters are allowed in most services ffs ( my turn for bigotry). Chasser, I make no comparison mate.

I met some complete arseholes when I was thinking of joining the forces such as two recruiting officers who said that I needn't bother applying for a commission (para regt of all things not the Guards) because of my social background. I know AFCO's seem to be staffed by passed overs or men on their way out but sometimes I think some of them want an easy life. That's where I'm coming from (bitter? moi?)

[mitch_boxing]

Never give up what ever it is in life you want. Keep trying if you really want it you will do it, that is what I believe anyway.

Good Luck,

Mitch

[mfat_man]

and if you suffer from one whilst sitting with the gun on SF role imagine the damage that can be done

I don't think there is any harm done and maybe the lad does not know what "SF" - Sustained Fire, means in a practical way when you have seen a GMPG in action then it makes more sense to realise it could be dangerous if a spasm occurred..

Sully, yes far better to think about the positive things the lad could do rather then the negative

Correcton

Calibre: 7.62mm
Weight: 13.85kg (gun plus 50 round belt)
Length: 1230mm (light role)
Barrel Length: 629mm
Muzzle Velocity: 838m/s
Feed: 100-round disintegrating link belt
Effective Range: 800m light role, 1800m sustained fire role (tracer burn out at 1100m)
Cyclic Rate of Fire: 750 rounds per minute

More than I remembered