I know this is the military and not diving but wondering the rationale for the restriction and if it is related to long term health concerns. This is the only logical reason since otherwise I think they would prefer now otherwise healthy recruits that are presumed immune.
The US military is banning anyone who had COVID-19 from enlisting, according to a new memo
I had seen this elsewhere. The stated fact that the ban is permanent is incomprehensible to me. It makes some sense to filter for that in the recruit population right now as a crisis measure, but I have to believe that statement that is permanent is either mis-reported or otherwise distorted somehow. In any case, the DOD, like any bureaucracy, can change its "mind".
I can give a little context to that "permanent" ban.
I used to be in charge of recruiting for the Coast Guard. We use the same accession standards as the other services (but you do need to score better on the aptitude test if you want to be offered an enlistment contract).
Under the new COVID policy, an applicant with a history of COVID will be marked "PDQ" or permanently disqualified. That strikes me as a reasonable safeguard given how little we know about the effects of the virus on the people who have had it and the possible consequences of introducing potential carriers or physically damaged recruits into the military population.
That does not mean that nobody who had COVID will ever join the military or that this policy will remain in place forever.
It is very likely that--after more has been learned about the virus, after a vaccine has been developed, and after the military knows more about what they're buying when they enlist a recruit with a history of COVID--the policy will be modified. Maybe they'll make people with a history of COVID take a lung function test. Maybe it will become a non-issue altogether. Time will tell.
But the military will find a way to manage its need for recruits, its need to safeguard its current forces, its need to ensure its recruits are fit for service, and the evolving state of knowledge about this virus.
There have been other conditions that used to be permanently disqualifying, but are now waivable under certain conditions. For example, it used to be that any applicant who had ever taken Ritalin was permanently disqualified. Eventually the services realized that rule was disqualifying a lot of Eagle scouts, athletes, and other physically active leaders who don't like sitting still in classrooms. So they modified the rule to permit waivers if the applicant hadn't taken it after age 13. That still excluded too many prime candidates, so they modified it again to permit waivers if the applicant has completed a complete year of schooling since his or her last dose of Ritalin.
I expect the COVID policy will evolve similarly. They'll start with a highly cautious policy and modify it as it makes sense.
