Recently Presidential Hill posted an article about some changes the U.S. Military is making in requirements for recruits.

The article reports:

It was reported last week that the Pentagon recently implemented new rules that allowed 700 recruits rejected over a previous diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to join the military without a waiver.

The rule changes, which took effect in June 2022, permit individuals diagnosed with 38 different medical conditions to join the military provided they have no symptoms and required no medication for a designated number of years depending on the specific condition, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Those diagnosed with ADHD, for example, must be symptom-free for three years, while those diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder must be symptom-free for seven years.

The Mayo Clinic describes Oppositional Defiant Disorder as follows:

Even the best-behaved children can be difficult and challenging at times. But oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) includes a frequent and ongoing pattern of anger, irritability, arguing and defiance toward parents and other authority figures. ODD also includes being spiteful and seeking revenge, a behavior called vindictiveness.

I can’t imagine a person with ODD even making it through boot camp.

The Presidential Hill reports:

The Pentagon’s new recruiting rules come as the US Army is facing recruitment shortages.

In the last fiscal year, recruitment for the Army fell short of its goal by 15,000. The Army subsequently reduced its recruitment goal for FY2023 by 15,000.

According to current statistics, only 23 percent of young Americans meet the necessary standards for joining the military while less than 10 percent are even interested.

Under the revamped rules, potential recruits with a history of ADHD will be able to join if they have completed high school or college, held a job, and have been symptom- and medication-free for three years.

Army Lt. Col. Kim Helgemoe, a member of the Pentagon’s Accession Policy that sets medical admissions standards, said the symptom-free period is to ensure that the recruit is capable of making it through the initial entry training and can “hopefully” have a “successful military career.”

I have no problem with accepting people with ADD or ADHD. My husband could be the poster child for ADD and did very well in the Navy. He is a computer geek, and I suspect from my observations that a lot of computer people have ADD. Their brains simply work differently. However, the real solution is to find out why the recruiting numbers are down and solve the problem.