Active Duty Service Member having WLS???

I know this is a long shot but I'm gonna ask.  If any of you know of anyone who has had WLS while on Active Duty through Tricare please PM me.  My friend has been given a referral and letter of medical necessity from her MILITARY doctor but I have no idea what to  expect next.  I know the regs and all that but I also know that with the military there are always loopsholes and waivers.  Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Apparently I don't know how to post replies on here.  I tried to do the quick reply and it disappeared.  Anyway, basically what I said was that I don't personally know of anyone who was in this situation, being active duty and having weight loss surgery.  So, I looked for some info on the web and found this link.  http://www.bethesda.med.navy.mil/patient/health_care/surgery _services/bariatric_surgery/BariatricSurg%20Restriction%20AD %20DoD%2007-0061.pdf

I don't know if there are any loopholes to get around this...  I am hoping someone can give you more information. 

I'm sorry, but a LOT of people have been shot down on this. Her chances for staying in the service are virtually zero if she is in a position to require WLS. They are VERY tight on this issue.

Active duty service members are not covered under Tricare. Theirs is a different path for receiving medical care. It looks very similar to outside observers, but it is not the same. So the rules vary on some things, and WLS is one of them where just about nobody has ever gotten through.

Gina, Majormom, was able to get her DS, but she was....oh crap, I can't remember whether she was Guard or Reserves. That's a different ball of wax. Her DS was not covered under Tricare or via a MTF.

I've only heard spouses getting wls through tricare. I didn't think you could be active duty and have wls. I remember one person on the Mexico board self paid in Mexico and did not tell the military. Not sure what ever happened to her. ?

I don't think WLS is really conducive to active duty military. Unless your friend is in JAG or some other guaranteed desk job, I don't see how it would work. Long after the surgical incisions have healed, small stomachs still require babying and numerous small meals throughout the day for a long time. Not to mention the vitamin requirements that need to be spread out throughout the day.

Military life just does not accomodate the ongoing, long term physical needs that WLS presents.

Tricare rime specifically states that if an active duty service member has WLS it is grounds for discharge. The concern is deployment situations and the military cannot guarantee the access to food/water that a WLS post op requires. ETA deployed personnel can go for very long periods of time without food and need to have the ability to eat considerable amounts when available. Guzzle guilds when available. Then there is care from field medical persons.

Since having WLS is permanently disqualifying for military entrance due to post op deployment concerns, I would think it would be a no-go for active members also. I am not sure of your friends branch of service, but my hubby is a Marine, and they are put on weight control at 5lbs over their allowed weight! If they do not successfully get off that program they cannot reenlist at all, or be promoted. I am trying to figure how a service member could get big enough to qualify for WLS while active in the first place..

Good points, Fawn.  WLS for ACTIVE duty really had me scratching my head.  I knew guys in the mid 70's who gained intentionally to get discharged.  It's hard wrapping my head around a service member who is obese enough the qualify for WLS and still be an effective member of any branch of the service. 

k9ophile, Chair Force veteran who has been both; fit to serve and obese enough to qualify for WLS, but not at the same time.

If the person GETTING the surgery is indeed Active Duty Military (NOT a dependant spouse) they CANNOT get it while AD and it is grounds for immediate dismissal. I cannot even fathom how someone active duty and deployment ready can be 100+ lbs overweight! They ride your ass long before you get to the 100+ lb mark.

Now, if this person is a DEPENDANT then that is different. Active Duty does not "really" have Tricare until they retire. They see the doctors on base and are considered Government Property. By the way, if an active duty person WERE to get 100 lbs+ morbid obesity, not only do they get kicked out, they run the risk of getting a letter of reprimand or other punishment.

I am former active duty and my husband was in for 30 years. Good luck!

Warmly,
Jackie