From Disability Scoop:
“People With Disabilities
Fight US Military Disqualifications”
Together, Hannah Cvancara and
Joshua Martinez fall into at least three of the 30 categories of medical
conditions that disqualify potential candidates from service in the U.S. armed
forces. Cvancara, 26, of Spokane, Wash., was born with fibula hemimelia, a
condition that prevented the bones in her legs, ankle and foot from growing
with her body. She lost her left leg and walks with a prosthetic. Martinez, 22,
of Gainesville, Ga., survived brain cancer as a child but lives with autism. He
said that from the start few people expected much from him. For both, however,
military service beckoned. They sought the opportunity to prove themselves
capable and to prove the naysayers wrong. “I have this duty to serve,” Cvancara
told Stars and Stripes, “and I don’t want the fact that my leg is going to stop
me, because I am already doing what I would be doing in the Navy.”
Defense Department regulations
rule out military service for a range of medical conditions, from deformed
eyelids to malignant tumors to a history of frostbite. But the way is not
completely barred. The DOD will waive any of those conditions, provided the
applicant justifies the waiver with medical documentation or mitigating
circumstances. Martinez satisfied that requirement and today enjoys a
successful career as a Marine on Okinawa. Cvancara, an orthopedic nurse and the
daughter of a former Air Force flight surgeon, played seven sports growing up
and still likes to hike, run and swim. But one goal eludes her. The Navy turned
down her application to become a commissioned nurse in 2017. She tried again in
March 2021 and a year later was still waiting on a decision.
Since the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, more service members, primarily in the Army, have continued
serving despite losing limbs. But starting a military career with such a
disability appears to be a higher bar. “A commissioned officer in the medical
field is required to be physically capable of working in a demanding hospital
environment,” Angela Steadman, spokeswoman for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery, told Stars and Stripes by email. That environment requires prolonged
standing and heavy lifting aboard a naval vessel, she said. It also involves
climbing ladder wells, moving in tight quarters and walking on uneven surfaces.
Cvancara said she doesn’t expect special treatment, just an opportunity. “I don’t
want there to be accommodation to the mental or physical standards,” she said.
“But people with disabilities that can meet those standards should be able to
have a chance.”
‘Very few reasons’ On
Okinawa, Marine Sgt. Joshua Martinez, 22, is training for a new role in
defensive cyber operations. Before arriving at Camp Hansen, he was a network
administrator aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America, homeported at
Sasebo Naval Base, Japan. Marine of the Quarter three times and
Noncommissioned Officer of the Quarter once, Martinez as a lance corporal was
chief of networking for Marines in Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines,
according to the Marine Corps. “There are very few excuses in the world,
there are very few reasons in the world why anyone can’t be great or can’t do
great things or represent something great,” he told Stars and Stripes. At
age 4, Martinez was diagnosed with brain cancer, he said. Chemotherapy failed,
but neurosurgery saved him. Just months after the operation, however, doctors
diagnosed him with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, developmental disorders that
often result in impaired social and communication skills. Today, both autism
and Asperger’s are diagnosed as autism spectrum disorder. After that,
Martinez said, very few people outside of his family expected much from him.
One teacher even told him that he’d never graduate high school. Despite
that, Martinez set out to join the Marine Corps. Among other requirements, he
had to undergo a year of psychological evaluation and track down the
neurosurgeon who operated on him as a child to confirm that Martinez’s
childhood cancer would not interfere with his ability to perform as a Marine.
“It was pretty arduous,” he said. “And it was difficult, because to get
those medical records all the way back from 2001 or so, we needed to provide so
many different types of identification and proof.” Military life tends
to agree with people with autism, who are typically focused and hardworking,
said Arzu Forough, the president and CEO of Washington Autism Alliance. Her
late son, Darian, had autism and served in the Army National Guard, she told
Stars and Stripes. “The structure of military life — the predictability and the
fact that expectations are very clear — is a really, really good thing for a
person on the spectrum,” she said. “They thrive in that type of structure. The
more predictable things are, the better they thrive.” The military also provides people with autism
with camaraderie and social support, Forough said. Martinez said that becoming
a Marine profoundly changed his life, especially his ability to communicate and
pick up on social cues. “I feel like I’m more of a normal person now because of
my interactions with Marines,” he said.
‘Far from over’ As March
wound down, Cvancara anticipated the Navy’s response to her second try at
becoming a commissioned nurse. She ran down the list of things she said makes
her a good candidate. “I got my nursing license on my own dime,” she
said, by earning a bachelor’s in nursing at National University, San Diego, in
2019. Cvancara stayed fit. For a
Navy physical readiness test in October 2020, she posted good scores: 30 pushups,
a 2:30 plank time and a 1.5-mile run in 13 minutes, 29 seconds. “I’ve
had six surgeries throughout my life, all on my leg,” she said. “I’ve gone
through a lot of my life being a patient and I think if I join, I will have a
lot of empathy to give back in the future with all my patient experience.” The
Navy denied her application on March 30 without explanation, Cvancara said. She
said she would appeal that decision. Though disappointed, she continues
to advocate for herself, and others like her. Cvancara traveled April 5 and 6
to Washington, D.C., with members of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic
Association and her employer, the Evergreen Prosthetics and Orthotics clinic in
Spokane, she said. They talked to members of Congress about reforming
disability standards in the military. “My fight is far from over, in one
way or another,” Cvancara said. “I know I will never stop advocating for myself
and for the disabled community for the chance to fulfill their passion.”
^ There shouldn’t be blanket restrictions
on the Disabled serving in the Military. If they can make it through regular
Basic Training then they should be allowed to serve. ^
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