brother rejected by army-help please

cupkate

My 17 year old brother has dreamed of joining the army for some time. He has been attending interviews and taking weekly fitness tests and absolutely loving it. The staff at the army careers office have been really encouraging. Now he has failed the medical. They said it was due to more than 1 instance of self harm and means he can never be considered for armed forces.
The only incident I can think of was when he was at primary school and was being bullied-out of frustration, so that he would not hit them back, he banged his head on a wall.
The letter also mentioned his low mood and anger problem-he had counselling at school for this. I never saw it as an issue-I thought he was just being a normal teenager!
He shows no signs of any mental health problems and has never seen his GP for any of these things because they were minor problems.
The letter says he can appeal but needs a letter form GP/hospital.
Does anyone know if there is any point in appealing?
I would be grateful for any advice please

Barneysmom

Yes, ofcourse he must appeal.
This is his life's dream, he can't give up at the first hurdle.
Get that doctor's letter and he can go for it

cupkate

Thanks for your encouraging words Barneysmom. He's gonna go to the army careers office for some advice first. He hasn't given up hope

k9387

Yes, keep trying. It may take a while but if it is really what he wants then it will be worth it.

Which AFCO is it?

cupkate

Thanks k9387. Hope you don't mind, but I'd rather not say;we're in Scotland

Esoog

I'm guessing 9387 is a last four...

cupkate, you're saying he's only had one incidence of self harm? Obviously he's told/or they have seen (depending on where he is on the application process; it could be self declared on an RG8 or info provided by GP) more than one instance. Perhaps you are not aware of the full story?

Here's a link to a - now slightly out of date - AFCO5 which has basic information on medical criteria which may/will preclude entry;

http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/AFCO_Form5-U.pdf

Psychiatric disorders Ongoing psychiatric illness. Psychosis. Schizophrenia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Autism. Personality disorder. More than one episode of deliberate self-harm of any type. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Alcohol, drug or substance dependence. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) unless free of symptoms and not requiring treatment for at least three years. Anorexia and bulimia

I would ask him to be totally honest with you, if he says he only has one episode of self harm ie the banging of the head against the wall, then by all means go into the appeal process as strongly as possible - as someone somewhere may have got the wrong end of the stick.

If he has had more than one episode, appealing is still an option and may be he has a chance providing he can provide the right kind of evidence; ie two episodes when young at school etc etc.

Something to bear in mind when he returns to the AFCO is that; Please note that Armed Forces Careers Advisers and their office staff are not medically qualified and that all final decisions regarding medical suitability for entry are only made by appropriately appointed medical staff. so they may be "unwilling" to provide anything more than details of the appeals process.

cupkate

Esoog-sound advice. I appreciate it. He assures me there was only this one instance of self harm but it did result in 2 injuries.
I think we'll go down the GP route first of all then and see what he says.

Esoog

cupkate wrote: »

Esoog-sound advice. I appreciate it. He assures me there was only this one instance of self harm but it did result in 2 injuries.
I think we'll go down the GP route first of all then and see what he says.

Probably a sound idea, Just out of interest, you say he's failed his medical - has he actually gone for a medical at an ADSC or is just based on RG8 information? I'm thinking your brother has filled in his parts of the RG8 (family medical history etc) and it has been sent away to his GP to fill in their parts. It's worth seeing what the GP has on record and if it doesn't match your brothers account you can go from there; two injuries from one instance may have been recorded as two incidents etc. If your GP is unwilling or unable to help then; http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1309.aspx?categoryid=68&subcategoryid=160

Some more info;

Condition Exceptions/Remarks

29 Self-Harm. 3-year symptom and treatment free
period prior to application following
one episode.

ie, if you can prove it was only one episode it needs to be over 3 years ago

The "good" news is that your brother has time on his side to get his evidence together for an appeal at only 17.

cupkate

Esoog, he hasn't attended an actual medical-it was information on the RG8. It could only have come from his GP. He has an appointment today to see the GP to find out exactly what he put on the form and where that information came from. It was definitely more than 3 years ago. My brother can barely remember it. Thanks again for your help.

gemmaw

Hi, I don't normally reply to posts as a rule but felt inclined to in this instance. I feel really sorry for your brother and understand the frustration. I am currently a member of the Territorial Army, and whilst the TA has the same entrance medical and tests and training as the regular army they are sometimes slightly more relaxed on borderline cases. As he is still young why not suggest he joins his local territorial army for a year or two if they will have him, this way he will get to experience basic training and army life without the long commitment, and whe he applies to the regulars he is viewed much more favourably, plus he'll be miles ahead of other new recruits because he would have already done it in the TA! The TA isn't a definite way in but worth a try, when we get borderling people in a letter of recommendation from your GP in psychiatric/mental illness cases often is enough to persuade.
Good luck x

cupkate

That's good news Gemmaw. I'll let him know-don't think he's considered that.
He went to see his GP today and there is incorrect info on his file. This gives him grounds for appeal. Fingers crossed.