I have never heard this. That is crazy. I mean, I understand that Crohns is very bad and can flare at any time, and that the military needs to depend on its recruits and their good health. But the government doesn't usually treat Crohns as a disability.
If this is the case in the military, then the U.S. government needs to recognize Crohns as a disability and provide disability pay to those of us with it. I looked into it several years ago when I was working but miserable with a Crohns flare and it appeared at that time that it is very tough for people with Crohns to go on disability. I had to keep working at a job even though I was in terrible physical condition because I needed the insurance.
Seems very contradictory.
You've no idea how far downhill you gotta go, to get disability.
In 2004 I died for nearly 20 minutes from medication complications while super weak from a severe Crohn's flare-up.
In 2006, I went into a 3 year flare-up, catching MRSA & VRE, BOTH, while at my worst with Crohn's. I was a 6 foot tall, 28yr old guy, and my weight dropped down to 97lbs. I was given 3 months to live, because treating medication resistant infections, required boosting my immune system. Treating the Crohns required knocking my immune system out completely. I was so sick already, not doing either of those options, according to 15 doctors, 4 of which were specialists, was a guaranteed death sentence, since I was already so far gone..
It was then that my disability case was approved. It had been up for decision many times over the previous months, but my social worker from the hospital, recommended contacting my disability decision contact, Everytime I got put in the hospital again, so that they'd postpone my decision until receiving those records too. They had to postpone the decision 5 times, with the 5th time being when those doctors all said there was no way I could survive past 3 months. Then they approved my disability.
I guess they thought I wouldn't be around too long to collect. They, nor those doctors realized how strong my will to fight& live, is.
The military could use people with our kind of inner strength, but on the same token, even most Crohn's patients have no idea how bad Crohn's can suddenly get, without warning.
After losing my large Colon, and everything past that, making my ileostomy permanent, I thought that was bad..
Then one morning, I woke up with my upper lip as red as stop sign, and swollen out so far, I looked like Joe Camel with red face.
A week later, I woke up again, with what I thought was an STD, a severe ulcer, and swollen genital region.
They were both super crazy rare forms of Crohns disease. They're so rare, that even with my long history of severe, aggressive Crohns, it took doctors nearly two years to figure out that's exactly what it was. Once they increased my meds, put me on a Cimzia injection, and all the routine flare-up meds, everything went back to normal.
An STD test by an infectious disease doctor, showed I had no STD. WHEN that specialist seen my negative results, he said the kind of STD that presents with my symptoms, is the curable kind, and that he almost wishes that's what I had wrong with me, because if it's Crohns, he knew it could, and would eventually flare-up again.
... ...
As for the military, don't worry everyone.
As long as we're fighting the kinds of wars we are now, yes you're unable to join. If a real war ever breaks out, especially one where we're invaded, trust me they're gonna need every available hand to have a gun in it, and a willingness to sacrifice their lives if necessary, to fight back against the Invaders,.. whether they be North Korean, Chinese, Russian, or possibly U.N., which has become emboldened over the years, trying to place it's laws or treaties, above our Constitution.