Can I serve as a soldier with food allergies

Judging from the current military recruitment physical examination standards and the actual military service requirements, the vast majority of people with a clear history of food allergies are basically unable to pass the military recruitment assessment and are not eligible for enlistment.

Think about it, the army’s food supply is all standardized. Big pot rice in the daily canteen, self-heating food for individual soldiers in field training, and compressed dry food for emergency situations are all produced and distributed in batches. How can we provide you with individually customized meals that do not contain allergens? There was a young recruit from Jiangsu who had a mild allergy to milk since he was a child. He usually avoided dairy products at home and only had two itchy red bumps for two days at most. When he signed up, he felt that this was a minor problem and deliberately concealed his allergy history. He was fine for the first half month of his enlistment. It was the first time for the recruits to drink a large pot of radish soup flavored with milk powder. Within ten minutes of taking one sip, their throats were swollen and they couldn't breathe. They couldn't even speak. They were sent to the health team for emergency treatment before they recovered. Within a week, they were dismissed and the staff responsible for the initial inspection were punished.

In the past two years, different voices have emerged. Some young recruitment staff and allergists have also mentioned that if you are only allergic to a very small number of ingredients that do not appear in the regular meals of the troops, such as avocado, chia seeds, truffles and other things that are not in the military supply list, and the allergic reaction is very mild and can be quickly relieved by taking oral anti-allergic drugs, can the requirements be relaxed appropriately? However, this view has not yet been included in the official physical examination adjustment standards. The core reason is that the attributes of the troops are too special. In extreme scenarios such as emergency rescue and disaster relief, cross-regional training and even actual combat exercises, even clean drinking water may not be available in sufficient quantities, let alone preparing exclusive meals for you. Once an allergy occurs, at least you will be unable to complete the task, at worst it will slow down the pace of the entire team's operations, and even have to allocate manpower to take care of you. Under special circumstances, it will affect the overall deployment.

If you really want to enlist in the army, you might as well do a full set of allergen tests first, and take the report to the staff of the local recruitment office for early assessment. If you are really allergic to conventionally supplied ingredients such as wheat, peanuts, and eggs, and the reaction is relatively severe, don't force yourself to do it. You can still contribute in other positions.