Active Duty having surgery????

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!

PS - I really have researched so I know ALL about the posted TriCare policy and the DoD regs...looking for someone with actual REAL WORLD experience or knowledge on this!  I know people have had it done, just looking for HOW.  Thanks!!

Not sure about other branches, but I cant see it being any different from the Navy.  You are NOT allowed to have any form of weight loss surgery, be it lap band, gastric bypass or gastric sleeve, etc, as the future dietary restrictions would make you undeployable (at least thats what they told him).  My husband has been trying for YEARS to have it done and is actually in the process of being "asked to retire early" for not meeting BCA standards.  I know they have even kicked out several on our current base  that went to private "in town" doctors and paid for it themselves to circumvent the military restrictions.  If you find out how... please let me know to try and "salvage" whats left of his career.  But with sleep apnea, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel in both arms, 3 bad cervical discs, and now we just found out... flat feet!.. they wouldnt approve him for lap band or gastric... so I would also LOVE to know what qualifies as "medically necessary" then.

I know you posted this back in August, but can you tell what happened with your friend? I'm on Active Duty and have been searching for these so-called people who have been approved to have the surgery on AD. I'm Air Force and my doctors are fighting very hard to get the surgery approved because of all the comorbid factors surrounding my care.  I am wondering if there's someone that did get it approved an how. Hoping since this was August, your friend found something out.  I know there are waivers for just about everything. It's getting the waivers to the right people in the right way.  I've seen just about everything waived in my 9 years of service, so as my doctors would say, NO because of an AFI or a TRICARE standard does not just mean NO.  A patient's health still comes first.

Thank You!

Did either of you have any luck with approval for WLS?