Is it true? injury??

Question

ive heard from may people that if you have torn cartilage in you knee that they medical discharge you from the army? i dont think its true cuz its not a life changing issue like losing an arm or leg could it be true ... my husband is healing very well he torn his knee cartilage and the doctor said he dont need surgery just need to heal on it own so hes at an rehab center at his basic training area.but he said he may come home before he restarts basic in january ..(hes going one leave) but they can medical board you out for cartilage torn??? it just sounds stupid

Answer 1

Sounds like your husband is working with the military to rehab.  As long as he does that and he heals then he won't be medically boarded.  The military spends a lot of money on a person entering basic training.  They do not want to have to send them home permanently.  He'll be fine, just rehab and then re-do basic.  If for some reason the cartilage doesn't heal properly then they would consider surgery and go from there.

Answer 2

my brother tore the cartilege in his right knee in afghanistan. not out on mission but playing football..... it happened the day before they were redeploying so he came home w his unit as planned and was put on profile. he has had the surgery to repair his knee and is now back off profile and preparing for his next deployment next month.

Answer 3

He could be discharged, if it was causing a lot of problems and interfering with his day-to-day duties quite a bit, but it's highly unlikely.

You have to think about it from the Army's perspective.  On average, they spend $13,000 on recruiting and training a qualified Soldier.  That's a pretty big investment, and not one that they're going to let go of willingly, unless they absolutely have to.