📝 Accessibility in Uniform: What the Military Can Learn
- Kirk Carlson
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
By Covenant of Courage | July 2025
“You can serve—but only if you’re perfect.”
That’s the unspoken message thousands of injured and disabled service members have received—many after devoting themselves to military service with everything they had. From boot camp injuries to chronic conditions that arise during enlistment, these warriors often face a harsh reality: discharge, denial, and disconnection from the very system they swore to protect.
It’s time we ask a serious question:
What can the military learn from the broader disability rights movement when it comes to accessibility and inclusion?
🔍 The Blind Spot: Disability Is Not Incompatibility
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, revolutionized workplaces across the U.S., requiring reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Elevators were installed. Doors widened. Schedules adapted. Tasks modified.
But in the military?
Reasonable accommodations are often nonexistent—and the assumption persists that if a service member can’t deploy or pass a physical fitness test, they are no longer useful.
This is a profound miscalculation. In today’s force, we need:
Cyber warriors
Intelligence analysts
Legal aides
Instructors
Logistics planners
Emergency responders
All of whom could perform with excellence regardless of certain physical or medical limitations.
🛑 Discharge ≠ Justice
Right now, thousands of injured service members are being discharged through non-deployable policies—even if they could serve in vital roles stateside. This results in:
Loss of identity and purpose
Gaps in VA benefits eligibility
Mental health decline
Lifelong stigma
What’s missing is a reasonable reassignment pathway, like the workplace accommodations civilians are guaranteed under the ADA.
✅ Lessons the Military Can—and Must—Learn
Here’s what the Department of Defense should take from the ADA and modern accessibility practices:
1. Reassign, Don’t Remove
Just because a Marine can’t run a PFT doesn’t mean he can’t teach field safety or operate UAVs. Reassignment preserves morale and retains skill.
2. Create Adaptive Roles
Many injured troops can serve with minor modifications—adjusted schedules, remote work, desk duty, or ergonomic gear. These accommodations exist in the private sector. Why not in uniform?
3. Expand Definitions of “Service”
Valor isn’t limited to combat. Veterans serving in community programs, cybersecurity, education, and disaster preparedness are just as essential. Let’s broaden the definition of meaningful military contribution.
4. End the All-or-Nothing Mentality
The binary approach—either fully deployable or fully discharged—is outdated. A tiered model of service based on ability, experience, and mission need is possible—and long overdue.
🛡️ The Case for Change
Groups like Covenant of Courage are leading the charge through the #ReasonableRanks campaign, advocating for:
Discharge policy reform
Mental health support
Veteran-led training programs
Community reintegration initiatives
Their mission is clear: No service member should be left behind for being injured in the line of duty. And no warrior should be told their service is over—just because they need to serve differently.
✊ The Path Forward
Accessibility isn’t about lowering standards—it’s about updating systems to reflect modern needs, tools, and missions. The military can either evolve or continue losing highly trained, deeply loyal personnel.
The choice is ours.
The time is now.
It’s time to make our uniforms accessible.
📢 Join the movement. Sign the petition. Share the mission.
📩 Contact: support@reasonableranks.org
🌐 Learn more: www.covenantofcourage.com
Comments