<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Resent to correct address: I'm sorry to just now replying to a post from July, but I was off line for a while due to my transfer. I'm a career officer in the Coast Guard and a confirmed Celiac. I just now saw Tami Powell's query and summary from last summer, and I had to reply to the list to clear this up. The military does NOT exclude Celiacs. I was diagnosed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC two years ago, and after we finished the lymphoma discussion, the next thing I asked was about my career. The Coast Guard follows the same medical requirements as the rest of the armed services, except some of our flight restrictions are more severe. My dietician at Walter Reed was counseling about 25 active duty Celiacs at the time, so I am not the only one by any means. In fact, I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to be in the military if afflicted with Celiac Disease. I turned up aenemic on a routine blood test two years ago. That was the only indcation anything was wrong with me at all. I was above norms in every other category on physical exams. Four months later I was on a well designed gluten free diet. Not one needless procedure or crazy hypothesis, just a direct professional path diretlty to the right answer. Four endoscopes later I was confirmed fully healed ("well defined villus architecture"), corroborated by a follow up negative anti-endomysial antibody test. With the GI clinic there, combined with their dietary staff, WRAMC has to be one of the most enlightened and competent medical institutions in the US in handling Celiac Disease. My medical record states I am eligible for biennial blood tests, and I never get an argument when I ask for another. Please do not tell your children they cannot be in the military because they have Celiac Disease. Compliant Celiacs are amongst the healthiest people around, and it makes absolutely no sense for the military to exclude us. If a recruiter tells you otherwise, ask to see it in writing. It's not there. John Cameron LCDR, US Coast Guard USCG Marine Safety Office, Portland, ME [log in to unmask]