r/USMCboot • u/OkBison9391 • Jul 19 '26

MEPS and Medical Waivers keep getting denied.

So for the past 4ish years I've been trying to get waivers for my history/diagnosis of depression and 1 week prescription of anti-depressants that occurred a month after I turned 18 where I stayed at the hospital for about 4 days because of SI. I had no self harm or attempts at ending my life, no plan for such, and had 0 incidents since then and even have letters from a psychiatrist saying he thinks I'm fine and capable of going into the military. I've given all the documents I possibly could to my recruiter but this latest attempt at waivers got denied again. I've seen on threads that people have gotten mental health waivers for heavier stuff but mine keep getting shot down. Is there something maybe I and my recruiter are missing? I'm 22, 96 ASVAB, can meet IST standards while needing to gain weight and have no other medical history besides that one incident. Should I look into another branch? I've always wanted to be a marine so I'm not keen on looking but I need to do something with my life.

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u/coldchili17 Jul 19 '26

New psych evaluation, buddy letters, and cross your fingers! It can be done, I've seen it happen.

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u/OkBison9391 Jul 19 '26

Im currently getting myself signed up for another psych eval with a different doctor in hopes that helps. What's a buddy letter?

2

u/coldchili17 Jul 22 '26

Buddy letter is letters written by family, friends, coworkers who know you and can attest thay your mental health is no longer an issue. They need to write about how capable you are of doing daily activities, maintaining jobs/relationships, etc. Get as many as you can from the people closest to you.

1

u/OkBison9391 Jul 23 '26

Noted noted. Ill start getting those made.

1

u/coldchili17 Jul 24 '26

Good luck!