Reserve vs. Regular Force medical?

[dylreming]

Hi everybody,

Right now I am in the process of applying to ROTP. There have been some hiccups regarding my medical exam and history - things are not looking looking so great, I don't expect I'll be accepted and I'm looking at plan B. However, my recruiter told me that if this falls through, if in the future I still want to join, I may have better luck if I apply in the reserves.

I didn't ask for clarification at the time but this leaves me pretty confused. Aren't the medical exams the same for reserves and regular force? I did read that the FORCE test is a part of the reserve application; would doing well on that give me a leg up even if my medical history isn't that great? That sounds unlikely to me. Thanks.

 

[ModlrMike]

The medical for regular and reserve service is conducted to the same standard, so I don't know what the recruiter was talking about. Regarding the FORCE test, for RegF it's done after enrolment, for ResF it's done prior. This is primarily because if you have a poor result in the RegF, you can be placed on remedial PT, which is not an option in the ResF. The standards are the same, and a good result on your FORCE test does not give you an advantage regarding your medical.

If you have a medical history that may disqualify you, you may be asked to supply additional information from your family doctor. Full disclosure and transparency is the only way. If it continues to look unfavourable for you, Plan B should be something other than the military, not a different level of service.

In closing, and not to sound harsh: everybody gets to apply, not everybody gets to join.