The Air Force Accessions Center announced the expansion of medical waiver considerations for multiple medical conditions, which opens up the opportunity for military service to an additional 600 applicants annually, Nov. 1.
The Department of the Air Force holds strict medical accession standards but can grant waivers in specific cases. The new policy expands previous guidance in several areas, including asthma, hearing loss and food allergies.
"We are constantly evaluating how we can bring in the best talent while ensuring our members can serve effectively and safely," said Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, AFAC commander. "By expanding waiver criteria for manageable health conditions, we can access a wider pool of qualified applicants without compromising mission readiness."
The new waiver policy will allow for the recruitment of individuals with clinically diagnosed asthma, provided they do not require daily preventive medication, and their rescue inhaler use is kept to a minimum. This marks a significant change from the previous standard, which disqualified all individuals with a positive asthma diagnosis and did not consider the severity of the diagnosis, according to Col. David Gregory, director of the Accession Medial Waiver division at AFAC.
Additionally, applicants with hearing loss in one ear that has been diagnosed as moderate hearing impairment can now be considered for waiver, provided the opposite ear meets the standards of mild hearing impairment.
Finally, individuals with a documented history of food allergies, provided there has been no anaphylaxis or serious systemic reaction, will now qualify for a waiver.
All three of the expanded waiver considerations will come with limitations to the career fields that applicants will be eligible to ensure members will not be put into career fields that will put them at increased risk to worsen their medical condition and be given an assignment limitation code in accordance with medical retention waiver practices per Air Force Personnel Center
