Carys Holmes, 17, from Derbyshire, told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour that despite passing all the necessary physical tests to join the British Army, she was told her family history meant she wasn't eligible.
A teenager who sailed through fitness and cognitive tests when applying to join the Army was told she wasn't eligible to join 'at the last minute' because her mother and auntie had both had breast cancer diagnoses.
She said: 'I applied in October and sent them my medical records and they glanced through them at that point - and gave me the all clear.' After sailing through the physical challenges, she continued to the final part of the process, when all the people who'd failed other elements of the tests had already been sent home.
Carys' mother Rachel, right, is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Her daughter hasn't yet been tested to see if she has the BRAC1 gene Rachel called the decision - now overturned - by the British Army to not offer her daughter a job 'short-sighted' Advertisement 'And this is at a time when the Army really should be doing all that it can to improve its reputation amongst women and encourage more and more young people to join up. It does seem to be a very serious own goal.'
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Army told the BBC: 'If a candidate appears at risk of a specific genetic disorder, the occupational physician responsible for recruit selection will assess the risk and its likely impact on the candidate’s health and safety in a military workplace - normally, without the need for genetic testing.'
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