First class medical question
 

Hello everyone Im am brand new to this forum and need to clear up a couple of questions about obtaining a first class medical. My situation is when I was 19 years old I was charged with a possesion of marijuana, open container, and minor in possesion of alcohol. I went to through a drug and alcohol program that was supposed to clean my record but when I joined the army all of them showed up along with the classes I took. Right now im 25 years old so its been six years with a clean slate and I need to know if I should mention these charges at my first class physical? If I need to mention these events how do you think it will effect the outcome of the physical. By the way all of these charges were misdormenors. Thanks to all that shed some light on my situation.

You are in a grey area here.

The good news...in the grand scheme of things your record is minor because:
1) You were young
2) It was years ago
3) It was just possession, not anything worse
4) It was a one-time event (I assume)

What you need to be careful of...

The FAA and the airlines will do a background check on you at some point...this check will involve a search of federal databases that are actually snapshots of federal, state, and local records. The problem for you is that even though you got your local record expunged or sealed, there is no guarantee that the feds will delete THEIR copy of your records...in fact I guarantee that some "security agencies" will not ever delete any records they have...that information is intelligence data.

Generally since your record is minor, and you have military service with an honorable discharge (I assume), I would suggest full disclosure to avoid having it come back to haunt you later. If you prefer to not disclose it, you need to talk to an attorney who knows aviation labor law...don't settle for a regular labor lawyer, the rules for pilots are different.

Regarding you Medical read the questions carefully when answering. My guess is you'll need to tell them. Answer the question as it is written.

Regarding an airline interview, if they ask then tell them (I promise they will). if they don't then keep it to yourself, though I find it almost impossible to think they wouldn't ask.