An “unofficial cadet program” at the Maryland School for the Deaf profiled by Good Morning America allows deaf students to experience the military training and discipline of a basic training program.
Despite the fact that deaf people are unable to enlist in the US military, teacher Keith Nolan hopes to persuade the Department of Defense (DOD) to reconsider their policy by using the program to demonstrate the skills his students have.
Nolan and his staff have lobbied the DOD for years to fund the program, however, this year a provision called “Reducing barriers to service in US Space Force,” part of the Senate National Defense Authorization Act Report, may help Nolan’s cause. The provision states:
Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to craft the personnel regulations of the US Space Force with the intent to open accession into the US Space Force to the widest possible pool of talent while meeting military standards by limiting, to the maximum extent possible, restrictions based on physiological conditions.
According to the GMA article, the DOD still needs to define how to reduce the barriers to entry by reviewing the “restrictions” they consider to be prohibitive.
To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
Source: Good Morning America, Yahoo News
