So my brother is wanting to go into the air force but we have heard they are not allowing diabetics to enter the military. He is pretty upset about it because he has wanted to do this for awhile now. He still has a few years though until he's 18 but I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this or ran into this problem?
The military will only take people who are 100% healthy. And I think this is appropriate. The military is no place for a diabetic. There is no way the military is going to provide the food and medicine/ testing supplies needed for a diabetic to stay healthy. I personally know that I would not want to be oversees in the middle of combat worrying about my blood sugars going low/high or being afraid to lose my diabetic supplies etc...
As I understand it (you may want to verify this), if you are already in the military and become diabetic, they will allow you stay on. However, if you have diabetes prior to joining the military, they will not let you join.
I do not know the reasoning behind this. There have been several stories about diabetics in the military, though. One of my friends has been in the military about 11 years now and developed diabetes about a year and a half ago. He has been allowed to stay on with the National Guard in a different capacity than what he was working before (I couldn't tell you his position or job title at the moment). For Iowa, he was the first diabetic in the military, but there are others like him.
Because he still has a few years before he is allowed to join, he might consider other avenues for careers. You could try encouraging him to explore other subjects he likes to see what he thinks of them. It's always possible his goals may change.
Check out this article for detailed information on diabetes blanket bans in DOD and military positions
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:qCfFAU064esJ:www.diabetes.org/uedocu