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the army

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Just to say that I've had a response back from DUK, they're happy to put their support for me into writing and I should be getting that within two weeks.

Tom H
 
Tom Hreben said:
Hi Northerner,

I haven't thought about that. Could you give me a few pointers about where to begin? Diabetics are more than capable of doing everything that a non diabetic person can do. Take a look at this nutcase/man with a point to prove:

http://runningwithdiabetes.com/

Tom H
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my god ive just looked at this link... wow it just goes to show what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. hope you manage to sort everything out Tom.
 
Just to say that a letter from DUK will be coming through very soon. I'll copy up some choice sections and put them onto here.
 
bev said:
There is a lady on the other childrens forum i am on whose son is 15 and is thinking of joining the army - but after a bit of research it seems that a lot of diabetics are discharged on medical grounds -does anyone have any links or information i could pass on to them? Thanks. Bev🙂
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Unless things have changed dramatically in the British Armed Forces if a person is not in perfect health, he/she will not get in.Before I was a type 2, I was in the army.R.A.O.C. And a person had to be in A,1. Condition.
 
Sucr`e said:
Unless things have changed dramatically in the British Armed Forces if a person is not in perfect health, he/she will not get in.Before I was a type 2, I was in the army.R.A.O.C. And a person had to be in A,1. Condition.
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nope nothing has changed for the british army, but a lot of other countries are experimenting with allowing diabetics to join up and serve. we just want the government and the armed forces to give it a go really. as an ex forces lad myself who was discharged because i became a type 1 i know wjhat its like to have your life stripped away from you 🙂
 
Hello everyone,

A bit of good new. My MP's office is arranging to meet with Diabetes UK to talk things over. DUK will state that they don't support the blanket bans that are in place and that they believe that diabetics should be subject to an induvidual assesment prior to being allowed to join.

I'm also planning to ask DUK or my MP to suggest that if anything happens regarding this, that I be allowed to join my local branch of the TA. I think this would help me to formulate protocols to adopt when I'm training and a series of "actions on" things for people to be able to cope with me being affected in some way by diabetes. Any thoughts on the matter?

Tom H
 
insulinaddict09 said:
my god ive just looked at this link... wow it just goes to show what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. hope you manage to sort everything out Tom.
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Dead impressive! How on earth did he manage to maintain a steady glucose level throughout!

Tom, I think what you're doing is really impressive too and wish you the best of luck, even though as a mother, the last thing I'd want a young man to do is join the forces. However, i think everyone should strive to do what they want to and follow their dream... 🙂
 
runner said:
Dead impressive! How on earth did he manage to maintain a steady glucose level throughout!

Tom, I think what you're doing is really impressive too and wish you the best of luck, even though as a mother, the last thing I'd want a young man to do is join the forces. However, i think everyone should strive to do what they want to and follow their dream... 🙂
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can i ask why your so against the armed forces???
 
mikep1979 said:
can i ask why your so against the armed forces???
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Hi Mike, I'm not - my father fought in the 2nd world war and life would have been a very different story if we had not won. I have every respect for our forces but I do question our government about some of the conflicts it enters us into. I think the way some veterans have been treated by the government is deplorable and I'm glad the Ghurkers won their day. I still think the families of every 1st world war soldier suffering from shell-shock, who was shot, should receive an unconditional apology and those who returned from the gulf and elswhere with health and medical conditions deserve our and the government's full support.

As a mother, I feel so sad every time I hear of a young man dying - that's all. I hate injustice and war and what is does to people, but reckognise that sometimes it's the only option.

Hope this reassures you and answers your question.
 
Tom, just to say Well done! Your a true inspiration - you have worked hard to get to this stage and i wish you well. I too wouldnt like one of mine being in the army - not because i dont respect what they do - but because i couldnt bare it if anything happend to them! I am against violence and i can never see why we have to have wars. But thats just my personal opinion - it doesnt mean i dont respect what people in the army actually do. I think most mothers would feel the same.🙂 Bev
 
Cheers Bev, i think you probably explained it better than me!

Don't let me put you off tho' Tom - I'd feel proud of you fighting your corner if I were you're Mum. Go for it!
 
runner said:
Hi Mike, I'm not - my father fought in the 2nd world war and life would have been a very different story if we had not won. I have every respect for our forces but I do question our government about some of the conflicts it enters us into. I think the way some veterans have been treated by the government is deplorable and I'm glad the Ghurkers won their day. I still think the families of every 1st world war soldier suffering from shell-shock, who was shot, should receive an unconditional apology and those who returned from the gulf and elswhere with health and medical conditions deserve our and the government's full support.

As a mother, I feel so sad every time I hear of a young man dying - that's all. I hate injustice and war and what is does to people, but reckognise that sometimes it's the only option.

Hope this reassures you and answers your question.
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wasnt having a go runner 🙂

just im ex forces and love to know the reasons why people like to think all soldiers are well bad people.

i come from a family with a long history in both the uk and us armed forces.

i understand the concerns of a mother and agrre that the government have sent us into some really bad places, but when you sign up you agree to do the bidding of these puppet masters no matter how horrid it may be.
 
mikep1979 said:
wasnt having a go runner 🙂

i understand the concerns of a mother and agrre that the government have sent us into some really bad places, but when you sign up you agree to do the bidding of these puppet masters no matter how horrid it may be.
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No probs 🙂 I think it's healthy and good to exchange views - as long as you agree with me LOL 😉
 
runner said:
No probs 🙂 I think it's healthy and good to exchange views - as long as you agree with me LOL 😉
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lol well i do make a habit of never arguing with a lady hehehehehe 🙂
 
Thats great Tom, for anything to change it takes people who will challenge the rules and you are one of those people. Keep up the fight!
 
sofaraway said:
Thats great Tom, for anything to change it takes people who will challenge the rules and you are one of those people. Keep up the fight!
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Couldn't agree more, Tom, well done for all your hard work! And I hope the exams are going well too!🙂
 
Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I'm going to e-mail my MP tomorrow and DUK aswell. I'll be asking that they suggest to one another (just covering the possibilty of one forgetting to mention it lol) that I be allowed to join the TA during my time at uni. I feel that this would give me a good idea of what to expect from officer training and allow me to develop strategies to work my diabetes around exercises and so forth.

Tom
 
Hello all!

Time for an update. I've had a e-mail from DUK after their meeting with my MP. DUK say that he is willing to help me. They have left the article about the American soldier with type one who was deployed to Iraq on operations - http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-forecast/jul2005/back.jsp

They are going to provide him with a list of questions that he can ask in Parliament about diabetes and the army. They will be providing accounts of people unable to join up or that were discharged due to diabetes (MikeP if you read this can you get in touch with me if you want to let DUK know about your time in the army and discharge due to diabetes?). They have discussed that things work differently in different countries and the emergency services.

Tom
 
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