I-RILO/Railroaded

bat_dad

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Registered Member
All,

So I have been stalking these forums for a bit now, and I wanted to share my personally story and timeline because honestly I have no idea how the heck I got here:

April 2011- Enlisted, was AD SF for 2 years before getting DQ'd from AFSC because my CC did not think that my "anxiety" issue(more on that in a min) jived with carrying a gun and checking IDs all day.

All of 2013 through 2017 - Spent most of 2013 working in Mobility/S4 where I did a bang up job. I was coded as a 9A000 (Not for Cause)and was subsequently afforded the opportunity to retrain (Aug 2013). I became a BaseOps troop and have had nothing but success ever since (Staff 1st time in'14, Tech 1st time in '17, Levitow at ALS in '14, NCO of Qtr in '16. . .basically knocking out anything/everything AF asks you to)

April 2017 - Picked up on a non-rated board for OTS. Selected to be an Airfield Ops Officer (my first choice). Only needed a flight physical and I would be gtg. Did FP with base MTF, was completely fine but the documentation regarding why I was DQ from SF raised a red flag or two. It was well documented, but basically my "anxiety" issue in 2013 stemmed from the fact that I was incorrectly prescribed an anti-depressant by a PCM when I went to go get seen for chest pains I was having. these chest pains were brought on by ruptured cartilage I had in my chest area because we worked 12son flight, I didn't workout for a few months then decided on my first day back in the gym that I would ego lift and slap 275 on the bench for some reason (I was a dumb kid with an ego, and I paid the price). Even though I had explained the situation to the flight doc that performed my physical, one of the civ admins in the flight med office believed I was withholding info, and then I was immediately referred to ACS for a consult/waiver recommendation for the psych piece.

October 2017 - I went to ACS at WPAFB for 5 days. I had arather easy time getting their recommendation for a waiver on the psych piece because it had been 4 years or so since I had any anxiety attack or been on meds and over the last 4 years I had straight 90+ on PT tests and my familylife couldn't be better (something they really harped on) in addition to those aforementioned accolades. They said they would give a rec for a 36 month waiver with no restrictions or contingencies. All good right? Well. . . not exactly. The flight doc that they pulled in to do his annual residency requirement decided that because I had allergies (I had a prescription for Claritin and some other allergy specific inhaler, but not a rescue inhaler like albuterol)he wanted me to take a methocholine test for asthma. See, it was his "expert opinion" that the PFTs that my base PCM made me accomplish a month prior to prove to the base flight docs that my allergies were just that were not sufficient evidence I didn't have asthma because I had never seen a pulminologist. This is where it completely goes off the rails:

1. ACS is supposed to be a consult service that recs/non-recs individuals for waivers that have been referred to them (i.e. the psych waiver), and while that guy was technically a flight doc the evidence provided by my PCM and base flight doc should have been sufficient. Initially I refused to participate in this fishing expedition, and to my knowledge at that juncture it wasn't going to be an issue until...

2. After I returned from lunch that day (which was 2chipotle steak bowls. . . I'm from Ohio and they have one on every corner,where I'm at now you have to drive 45 min to get to the nearest one) assuming I would do final review with my psych docs and then go back to TLF, take a nap then back for the return flight home the next day. Nope, this guy basically read me the riot act and told me that my psch waiver was in jeopardy and I would be kept in Ohio longer if I did not take methocholine challenge test.

*note* for those of you that have taken this test, you know that this is the AF gold standard for eliminating a diagnosis for asthma. There are however, several rules that apply to prep beforehand. One of the main rules is not to eat until you can't move prior to taking it because it could hinder the ability for you to take the test to the best of your ability (something about lung capacity, but I'm not a doc). Additionally, if you have a cold(something I had for 2 weeks prior and while I was up there) they advise against taking it because of diminished lung capacity.

3. I took the test, and even though the technician seemed pretty confident that I was "ok" I did not get the full results until the following day. Was not shown the actual #'s but that same flight doc who had caused all of this said "yeah, you definitely have asthma". Needless to say I was pisssed, but went back home knowing that I was good to goon the psych piece.

Nov 2017 - Had a meeting with base flight doc (the actual guy in charge) who basically told me that he disagreed with what went on in Ohio and that he was going to inform AETC/SG that he disagreed. He said that the worst case scenario I would look at is that my flight physical would be stamped as rejected and that I would still be cleared to commission. I was also informed that the asthma "diagnosis" was confined solely to this process with ACS and that once the flight physical was rejected that it wouldn't carry beyond that except. . .



Jan 2018 - I received a class date for April 2018 for OTS,and I was actually given an assignment for airfield ops officer AFS with a RNLTD in June. Called up the civ admin guy from earlier in this crazy story andas it turns out, despite the fact that AFRS said they wouldn't give me a classdate until all my documents were in (to include the FP) my paperwork waswithheld by ACS and AETC had not even seen it yet. AETC is now refusing tomedically clear me for commissioning and this has become a retention issue.From what they told my flight doc, I need an IRILO and a fit determination fromAFPC in order to let me commission at all and they said they wanted me to go onmeds (even thought I really, truly do not need them) for 8 weeks if I have hopeof getting a waiver approved for airfield ops officer AFSC, but even then therewas no guarantee.


Feb 2018 - 19th- received code 37, 20th-CC letter of supportwas filled and signed (my CC is absolutely awesome and he and the base flightdoc have really got my back on this. . as opposed to the admin guy and ACS), 21st- DAWG met and rec'd that my case be sent to AFPC for a "quickturn" decision. I am not on any medications, have not had any asthmaattacks ever, I have legit 90's (full test) the last 4 years with that 5th yearPT test being a 90 w/o running (partially torn hamstring)


Today (1 March) - was sent a email late yesterday afternoon stating that base flight doc called AFPC to ask them to hurry (28 duty days left until that OTS start date, and it takes at least 5 to get a new assignment and another 3 for a new AFSC) and was informed that my PEBLO would email me once the results are back. PEBLO confirmed today that package was sent up on 21st, but that it could be as long as 3 weeks because AFPC is backed up even though they made sure to include how pressing of an issue this was with my deadline fast approaching for OTS.

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I think the April class date is an extreme longshot at this point in time, but my bigger concern is how I feel like I've been tricked/railroaded by the AF. After several people told me I was gtg, I re-up'd my contract to ensure that I had plenty of retain ability for the course (I was already working off an extension, one I am currently in until 2 April). I know that asthma cases (even the legitimate ones) have been RTD w/ a C-Code as of late, but I'm not 100% confident that AETC/SG will allow me to commission at all if the factual evidence at this point in time has not made a difference. Trying to figure out what my options are if I keep getting stonewalled even after a RTD. Any suggestions/advice is appreciated because this whole situation is nothing short of "be-fuddling". Considering writing my congressman, but I'm not sure if that will hurt or harm the process.

Bat_Dad
 
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