These "health standards" have been around for ages now and they exclude anyone who is on insulin or oral medications for diabetes from joining the military. And these standards aren't just for soldiers. They are for practically everyone! This includes nurses, mechanics, etc. I was reading another blog post on this subject and this one fellow said that he believes that we should be allowed to join the military because the technology to manage diabetes is so much more advanced than it was back when these standards were created. I couldn't agree more! If you can prove that you have really tight control over your condition then I don't see why you shouldn't be able to join.
This being said I can somewhat understand their justification behind this. It would be a risk is you had a hypoglycemic episode while using a firearm and you cannot always eat on a regular basis. But say you were using CGM and were on an insulin pump. You would be aware of what your blood sugar was and you wouldn't have to eat until you were ready. There are definitely ways of fixing these problems and I think that it is discriminatory to exclude people simply because of a condition that they have. Especially one that can be controlled so well.
I do believe that there are ways that a diabetic can successfully serve in the military and I also think that it is extremely outdated to prohibit pwd (people with diabetes) from joining.
p.s I'd like to point out that there are many police officers who are diabetic that also carry guns. Jussayin.
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