Overview

• The Pentagon’s new guidance, effective July 22, bars recruits with congestive heart failure, ongoing schizophrenia treatment, multiple sclerosis, a history of cystic fibrosis or a suicide attempt within the past year.
• Recruits missing a limb, with implanted pacemakers or defibrillators, past corneal transplants or psychotic disorders now require a waiver from their branch secretary.
• The overhaul follows an April directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to centralize waiver authorities and standardize medical reviews across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.
• Last fiscal year the services granted more than 52,400 medical waivers, primarily for ADHD and astigmatism—conditions left unchanged by the new policy.
• Officials attribute a rise in waiver counts to efficiency gains from the MHS Genesis health-record system rather than to lowered enlistment standards.