Rejoining after a medical discharge.

[mike.dt]

I was medically discharged from the REME (VM) in 2009 after suffering a severe fracture just below my knee. In September 2011 after my leg was 'healed' I applied to rejoin and my paperwork (Army form 203) was posted off to Glasgow, and returned (about 2 months later) with a deferred stamp on it. I started to build a case for appeal and went to see a musculoskeletal specialist. He gave me X-rays and scans which revealed that there were still fragments of bone lodged in my patella tendon, much to my surprise, because at that point I was adamant that I was fit and running at about 6 mins per mile. So instead of appealing the decision I underwent corrective surgery in February 2012. The surgery was successful and I was back at work after 3 weeks (idiotic really but I was skint ).

Since my recovery from the operation i've been building my fitness and strength steadily and am now running the 1.5 miler in 9.30-10 minutes, doing 60 press ups without a break and about 80 sit ups in 2 mins. I'm also playing right mid at a local football team . So my fitness is good, i'm confident and it's been 12 months since my knee surgery... so in theory; I now meet all of the Army's medical requirements, but that's in theory I've started my application to rejoin once again and have my first appointment tomorrow (14/02/2013). My first choice is Royal Artillery (light gun).

That's my story so far! I'm happy to answer any questions about the process, and i'll post updates here so that people (if anyone is interested) can follow my progress.

Cheers, Mike

[mike.dt]

At the recruiting office (which I previously worked in ) I was told that my chances on rejoining are high! I'm definitely not getting my hopes up just yet though. The recruiter has decided to go about the process a slightly different way; rather than sending off a 203 form, he's got me to fill out an RG 8 as if I was joining for the first time. This is because apparantly an RG 8 will come back within 2-3 weeks whereas a 203 will take a good few months.

So my RG 8 form is being processed and I also attached a letter written by my musculoskeletal specialist which says (amongst loads of other medical jargon...) 'I understand that the patient wishes to be re-instated into the armed forces, and I can see no orthopaedic reason against this or any other form of physical activity should the patient feel able.' So hopefully that will support my application.

[mike.dt]

My RG8 has finally come back as deferred. The reason being that, although I have waited for the 12 month recovery period to pass, I have not filled in and presented a satisfactory diary of exercise for the latter three months of this period. Satisfactory is: running for 30-40 minutes twice weekly, and hill walking with at least a 10kg load for 90-120 mins (6-8 miles) each week.

This is slightly annoying for me, because if someone had just let me know that I had to do this then I definitely would have! Saving pointless time and effort now (rant over . So i'm now compiling a diary that has been back-dated to February, as I exercise regularly and have a similar routine week to week.

It is made clear on the letter that although my application is deferred and they have given me terms to fulfil for re-application, a re-application will still be CONSIDERED not straight accepted. So this is not saying "Do this and we'll accept you", unfortunately.

The saga continues! I'll post again at the when the reply comes back from my second attempt. Churs.

[mike.dt]

My fitness diary is away and being reviewed. In the meantime I've been asked to go on a look at life course, which i thought was a bit strange given the fact that I've been in before. Apparently it significantly improves your chances of being accepted at your selection interview. So, as I need every help I can get, i'm doing it. My RG8 is expected back at the end of October. I was delayed in sending it off due to the birth of my son at the end of July

I'll keep posting info here, cheers for reading.

[Hyperlithe]

If I had seen this thread earlier I would have bee telling you to keep an exercise diary, sorry!
There was a chap on my selection last week who had gone through Sandhurst and had knee problems, and they won't even let him attempt the fitness test for three months while he keeps a record of all his exercise, and then it has to be reviewed before they'll accept him. I had it easier - although I did have some knee problems 3 years ago I have the advantage of continuous service so they could look at my entire medical record and see that I haven't been back to the doctor since I got the orthotics in my trainers.

Good luck!

(Oh, and congratulations! )

[mike.dt]

My RG8 has finally come back as deferred. The reason being that, although I have waited for the 12 month recovery period to pass, I have not filled in and presented a satisfactory diary of exercise for the latter three months of this period. Satisfactory is: running for 30-40 minutes twice weekly, and hill walking with at least a 10kg load for 90-120 mins (6-8 miles) each week.

This is slightly annoying for me, because if someone had just let me know that I had to do this then I definitely would have!

This wasn't aimed at anyone on here! I was talking about the recruiting staff. Thanks for wishing me luck Hyperlithe. It all seems a bit absurd to me, but I suppose they have to cover their asses. I'm exercising regularly and having no trouble whatsoever, so when I tell people that the Army won't accept me on medical grounds at present, they're always a bit confused! The initial agreement with the medical staff at my unit was that I have "12 months out" to rest it thoroughly... 3 years ago .

It's always good to hear other people's stories, there's not much info out there for someone in my situation. Even the recruiting staff can't really give any solid info, everything just goes away to these mysterious beings in an office in Glasgow!

[Tab]

May I wish you all best mate

[mike.dt]

May I wish you all best mate

Thanks mate

I've got back from my Generic army insight course now! It was absolutely brilliant. Basically just 3 days of phase 1 training. I put in a 1.5 mile time of 9.42 and our section won two of three competitions against the other section so I was chuffed with that! The staff were great and i'd highly recommend this course to anyone who is unsure about what the army is about. There was a para instructor there and he absolutely destroyed all the infantry applicants with extra press ups etc and also on a tab out into the area, he dragged all the infantry applicants out and made them run the entire route with him, whilst the others walked it. Only three people managed to keep up all the way including me! Even though i'm not applying for an infantry role, I didn't want to miss out on any extra phys. When we finished the Para instructor spent about 10 mins calling us disgusting creatures, and letting us know that all those who couldn't keep up with him wouldn't get into his regiment, and those that did, might scrape a pass by the skin of their teeth! loads of great banter, great phys, and some great prep for selection. All round good fun.

Day 1:
Arrive at 11:00
Had a brief then lunch
1.5 mile PFA (Personal fitness assessment.)
Showered and changed
Drill practice
Recruitment presentation
Dinner
Demonstrations on making beds and block jobs etc
Bed

Day 2:
Up at 06:00
Room inspected
Breakfast
Assault course for 3 hours (very hard work.)
Showered and changed
Lunch
Icebreakers
Lesson on patrolling
Kit issue
Tab onto the exercise area (3 miles)
Lessons in the field about cooking, cam and concealment, erecting a poncho properly.
Tab back out, patrol to a target to 'capture the flag'. (Our section was captured and beasted for an hour.)
Back to the Block to sleep due to bad weather (H&S gone mad! Very disappointed!).

Day 3:
Up at 05:00
Inspection at 06:00
Race from outside the block to the assault course, over it twice, and back. (Our section won )
Breakfast
Returned the kit
Thoroughly cleaned the block.
Had a debrief
Transport home.

For those of you that don't already know, a Tab is a fast paced walk/run whilst carrying webbing, rifle and bergen all filled with equipment. Everyone was expected to maintain the standards of the Army whilst they were there.

[mike.dt]

I must have impressed someone because the recruiting office have since called and invited me in for a formal interview. Bearing in mind that my RG8 has still not come back since it was deferred! They seem fairly keen, so maybe the fact that i've done this course will bode well for me from a medical point of view.

[mike.dt]

So i've had my final interview in the recruiting office and passed with no snags at all. My application has now been passed to a CSM at the NRC... This is completely new to me. Apparently now I just have to wait out until i'm contacted by the CSM regarding my selection. He should be in touch at some point over the next fortnight. I won't need to speak to the recruiting office at all anymore. Rail warrants and all relevant paper work will be emailed out to me.

When I asked about the progress of my medical documents in Glasgow, I was told not to worry about it and to just carry on as normal. If something is wrong then i'll hear about it. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing, but hey, we'll see. The ETA on them was the end of October.

I'm now in a bit of a weird in-betweeny stage where I don't really know what I should be doing or how soon i'm going to selection or if i'm going at all, so i'm just running 2 miles every day, getting my best time over the 1.5 and doing my press ups etc

As usual i'll keep posting updates. I hope this is giving a bit of an insight into the process and the timescales. Cheers!

[harryg96]

Brand new to this site! I've had my first interview and I have been booked onto a Generic Army Insight Course (GAIC) and this is the only thread that I've seen with any information about the course on it. Is there anything else you could tell me? Like, how fit were the people there? DO you have to do really well to go through to selection and so on? I'm not the fittest tbh but I'm working on it all now and the course isn't till 7th January so I'm gonna train hard and work on my running, push-ups, sit-ups and heaves. I run on the treadmill at the gym atm and always put it on at least 4 incline and I can do my 1.5 miler in under 10 minutes but I'm worried that when I go to run outdoors I won't be as good and I will struggle! Any help will be very much appreciated!

[mike.dt]

Brand new to this site! I've had my first interview and I have been booked onto a Generic Army Insight Course (GAIC) and this is the only thread that I've seen with any information about the course on it. Is there anything else you could tell me? Like, how fit were the people there? DO you have to do really well to go through to selection and so on? I'm not the fittest tbh but I'm working on it all now and the course isn't till 7th January so I'm gonna train hard and work on my running, push-ups, sit-ups and heaves. I run on the treadmill at the gym atm and always put it on at least 4 incline and I can do my 1.5 miler in under 10 minutes but I'm worried that when I go to run outdoors I won't be as good and I will struggle! Any help will be very much appreciated!

To be honest, the general fitness of the guys that turned up was pretty poor. I think there were only around 5 people that got under 10.30 in the run. Keep up your preparation and get some running done outside. Its a cracking course and i'm sure you'll enjoy it! Just remember that the staff there will be writing a personalised report on you and the way you've performed so use it as an opportunity to show them you have the potential to be a great soldier!