Asthma, Hearing Loss, No Longer Disqualifiers From Air Force Service

SAN ANTONIO — Asthma, hearing loss and food allergies will no longer be an automatic bar to military service under an expansion of medical waiver considerations, the Air Force Accessions Center announced Monday.

The center, established in October 2018, is responsible for supporting recruiting efforts for both the Air Force and Space Force.

Like all branches of the U.S. military, the Department of the Air Force has a strict set of standards for whom it will welcome into its ranks, but it can grant waivers in specific cases.

The service estimates that the just announced waiver considerations for a variety of medical conditions will open up the opportunity for military service to an additional 600 applicants annually.

“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, in a written statement. 

“By expanding waiver criteria for manageable health conditions, we can access a wider pool of qualified applicants without compromising mission readiness,” Amrhein said.

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 as to the career fields applicants will be eligible to enter in order to ensure they are not put at an increased risk to worsen their medical condition.

According to a report in Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper, every branch of the military has struggled in recent years to attract new members.

In 2023, it said, the Air Force missed its new recruit goal for the first time in nearly a quarter century.

It responded by relaxing its rules on tattoos and increasing bonuses, steps that led to its once again reaching its recruiting goals this year.

The decision to expand the waiver criteria for certain medical conditions was made after “careful consideration of the potential medical, operational and financial impacts, and in close coordination with medical and operational experts across the Department of the Air Force,” Gregory said.

“Any adjustment to medical waiver practices comes with some level of cost for the [Air Force],” Gregory said. “After analyzing the available data on these conditions, the cost was felt to be acceptable to accommodate more applicants who are otherwise qualified to join the Air and Space Forces in specific career fields.”

The department said it is developing a process to monitor the long-term effects of these changes, including the medical and operational outcomes, to ensure they continue to meet the service’s needs.

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