Hi guys,
Just want some advice please. My Son has been in hunter troop for 3 months with trench foot. He went for a scan today and was told that they hadn't improved enough and they were going to MD him. They told him it was now upto his officer in command to make the final decision.
Has anyone got any advice on how he can persuade them to keep him in.
His feet have made a little improvement and he does have his feeling back in them so surely that must count for something.
Any advice would be great as he is due to see them tomorrow to get the decision.
thanks
Caroline
Share This Page:
Medical Discharge
-
Doc
- Guest
Hi Caroline
Sorry to hear of this bad fortune, and if I may Id like to answer this question twofold.
The first answer is inline with the emotional aspect of this. Its always sad to hear of a dedicated lad getting binned out of training for medical issues. It affects him and his family as it is dream shattering news. With all the emotional effort and hard work put into applying and entering the forces, to be cut shot is devasting. It is only right and normal that both you and your son are now feeling distraught by the news and hopng for an answer that will keep him in. The Corps will appreciate this, and to a certain extent this is why Hunter Troop was created, to mend and support instead of kicking out. The Corps also has a duty of care to mend the people they break and also (somewhat cold heartidly in this respect) a financial reasoning, its cheaper to mend a broken nod sometimes than it is to recruit a new one. So believe me that whatever can be done for him is being done for both your Sons and the Corps benefit and no decisions are taken lightly. The mind carries a lad through training more than the body in alot of circumstances and its a shame when that mind, the sort of character the Corps requires and cherishes, is still strong but the body fails.
Now lets look at the non emotional side of things and apologies if I appear quite harsh.
The duty of care the Corps has is to not only fix that which it breaks, but also to prevent future illnesses and conditions that can affect the health of an individual, and the effectivness of his permformance and therefore his unit must also be taken into consideration. The way in which the corps operates and the areas it operates in make Immersion Foot a constant threat and though to the lay person it sounds a minor element, it is actually a serious issue. Once you have had it you are prone to having it again, the tissue as in frost bite actually dies and there is nerve damage that cannot be reversed.
The medical Staff will approach this in a way to initially treat the condition, and then assess the long term affect. I am somewhat baffled why his OC or CO has the final say, and not the PMO (doctor, or even the cold injuries consultant).
He is now prone to further issues of Trench foot during training, deployment to the cold (Norway) and even the Jungle as trench foot is a matter of wetness and not so much coldness. So there are two areas the Corps wouldnt want to deploy the lad for risk of further injury. It also rules out Scotland , Wales and Salisbury Plain etc This only leaves Iraq or Afghan and with Iraq soon to be a non deployed area that leaves Afghan. He will also miss out on future promotion as these courses are held in the wet UK. So his future ambitions are nil, and whilst his heart is set on getting a green lid now, once it is on your head and you are in a unit the character your son is like 99% of Marines will be looking for the next challenge.
So whilst this news is bad news, if his injury is enough to discharge him then he will be. All efforts wil be made to keep him for emotional and pratical reasoning, but at the end of the day his feet havent handled the UK in a mild winter, so will they handle the jungle, the artic or sitting in a trench ful of water in an afghan winter or a Sennybridge summer?
To be removed from training and then MD'd is horrible, it isnt done lightly for lots of reasons, even if the medics want to do it easily they couldnt because of all the hoops that have to be jumped through to MD someone, and why would they do it easily anyway, they want to help the lad.
Prepare for the worst and have a very saddened lad home, and plan for the future, if he stays in bonus. Keep us updated and any further advice please PM
Doc
Sorry to hear of this bad fortune, and if I may Id like to answer this question twofold.
The first answer is inline with the emotional aspect of this. Its always sad to hear of a dedicated lad getting binned out of training for medical issues. It affects him and his family as it is dream shattering news. With all the emotional effort and hard work put into applying and entering the forces, to be cut shot is devasting. It is only right and normal that both you and your son are now feeling distraught by the news and hopng for an answer that will keep him in. The Corps will appreciate this, and to a certain extent this is why Hunter Troop was created, to mend and support instead of kicking out. The Corps also has a duty of care to mend the people they break and also (somewhat cold heartidly in this respect) a financial reasoning, its cheaper to mend a broken nod sometimes than it is to recruit a new one. So believe me that whatever can be done for him is being done for both your Sons and the Corps benefit and no decisions are taken lightly. The mind carries a lad through training more than the body in alot of circumstances and its a shame when that mind, the sort of character the Corps requires and cherishes, is still strong but the body fails.
Now lets look at the non emotional side of things and apologies if I appear quite harsh.
The duty of care the Corps has is to not only fix that which it breaks, but also to prevent future illnesses and conditions that can affect the health of an individual, and the effectivness of his permformance and therefore his unit must also be taken into consideration. The way in which the corps operates and the areas it operates in make Immersion Foot a constant threat and though to the lay person it sounds a minor element, it is actually a serious issue. Once you have had it you are prone to having it again, the tissue as in frost bite actually dies and there is nerve damage that cannot be reversed.
The medical Staff will approach this in a way to initially treat the condition, and then assess the long term affect. I am somewhat baffled why his OC or CO has the final say, and not the PMO (doctor, or even the cold injuries consultant).
He is now prone to further issues of Trench foot during training, deployment to the cold (Norway) and even the Jungle as trench foot is a matter of wetness and not so much coldness. So there are two areas the Corps wouldnt want to deploy the lad for risk of further injury. It also rules out Scotland , Wales and Salisbury Plain etc This only leaves Iraq or Afghan and with Iraq soon to be a non deployed area that leaves Afghan. He will also miss out on future promotion as these courses are held in the wet UK. So his future ambitions are nil, and whilst his heart is set on getting a green lid now, once it is on your head and you are in a unit the character your son is like 99% of Marines will be looking for the next challenge.
So whilst this news is bad news, if his injury is enough to discharge him then he will be. All efforts wil be made to keep him for emotional and pratical reasoning, but at the end of the day his feet havent handled the UK in a mild winter, so will they handle the jungle, the artic or sitting in a trench ful of water in an afghan winter or a Sennybridge summer?
To be removed from training and then MD'd is horrible, it isnt done lightly for lots of reasons, even if the medics want to do it easily they couldnt because of all the hoops that have to be jumped through to MD someone, and why would they do it easily anyway, they want to help the lad.
Prepare for the worst and have a very saddened lad home, and plan for the future, if he stays in bonus. Keep us updated and any further advice please PM
Doc
-
sportbilly42
- Member
- Posts: 644
- Joined: Tue 08 Jan, 2008 10:34 pm
- Location: over here, behind the PC
I echo what Doc says. The nature of RM operational duties can require them to move long distances across difficult terrain, in different environments (jungle, arctic, desert, mountain), in all weathers, for very lengthy periods, carrying all worldly possessions (and more) on their back. The feet, knees and limbs take a hell of a pounding from all this abuse. The same can be true of training exercises on Dartmoor to a certain extent.
Despite having some of the best combat footwear around, if your particular genetic make-up means that, for reasons beyond your control, your feet sweat more than some, or the skin of your feet can’t cope with being cooped up in tight damp boots for days on end, then you’re going to end up with an ‘immersion foot injury’ unless the medics pull you out before it gets to this stage.
Think ‘athletes foot’ times 100. No amount of foot powder can sort you out when you’re actually in the field if you’re susceptible........ and often there just aren’t enough opportunities to stop your patrol and change socks!
Foot care sounds such a trivial issue, but with the RM and many other infantry roles it’s key. Trench foot is not a condition confined to World War One.......we’ve just renamed it ‘immersion foot’, that’s all.
I do hope the situation improves for your lad. He will be down in a big way. If he has had a severe case of trench foot (3 months with little improvement isn’t good) he may not be eligible for ANY future military service, but I’d encourage him to ask about the alternatives.
I appreciate his ambition may be ‘Marines or nothing’, but it may be worth asking about other careers in the Forces which aren’t so likely to result in him picking up this condition again. It may not flick his switch at the moment, but he’s going to have to deal with the fact that his body can’t cope with Marines/Paras/infantry duties. But there’s PLENTY of careers in the military which still provide the same opportunities for young lads in terms of personal development, trade training, travel, future careers etc etc.......
He’s been dealt a crap hand, but he’ll get over it.
All the best
Despite having some of the best combat footwear around, if your particular genetic make-up means that, for reasons beyond your control, your feet sweat more than some, or the skin of your feet can’t cope with being cooped up in tight damp boots for days on end, then you’re going to end up with an ‘immersion foot injury’ unless the medics pull you out before it gets to this stage.
Think ‘athletes foot’ times 100. No amount of foot powder can sort you out when you’re actually in the field if you’re susceptible........ and often there just aren’t enough opportunities to stop your patrol and change socks!
Foot care sounds such a trivial issue, but with the RM and many other infantry roles it’s key. Trench foot is not a condition confined to World War One.......we’ve just renamed it ‘immersion foot’, that’s all.
I do hope the situation improves for your lad. He will be down in a big way. If he has had a severe case of trench foot (3 months with little improvement isn’t good) he may not be eligible for ANY future military service, but I’d encourage him to ask about the alternatives.
I appreciate his ambition may be ‘Marines or nothing’, but it may be worth asking about other careers in the Forces which aren’t so likely to result in him picking up this condition again. It may not flick his switch at the moment, but he’s going to have to deal with the fact that his body can’t cope with Marines/Paras/infantry duties. But there’s PLENTY of careers in the military which still provide the same opportunities for young lads in terms of personal development, trade training, travel, future careers etc etc.......
He’s been dealt a crap hand, but he’ll get over it.
All the best
