Waiver for refraction greater then -5.5

[Luchini]

Im considering a few different ways to finance my flight training and have always considered the military. I wouldnt mind joining the military and I might actually join the military soon (non-aviation) to help finance college and help with personal responsibility and the chance to do something great. Im about 2 years away from my associates degree. That being said I do know the AF allows PRK surgery but upon closer reading it says the maximum refraction you can have before surgery is -5.5 and my is -6.5

Considering I am disqualifed for the AF what about the other branches of the military? Will they accept a PRK waiver with the patients original eyesight at -6.5?

 

[skywiz]

prk

You might want to look into the navy. I got the prk 1 year prior to flight school and had no problems. My refractive error was borderline (which was -3.0 at the time) BUT that might have changed. Do a websearch for NOMI (navy operational medicine institute ) and they will have all the standards.

 

[Future SNA]

Both the Navy and the Marine Corps fall under the same regulations, their refractive limit for PRK is -5.50 with a wait time of 3 months, and MAX of -8.00 with a wait time of 6 months, so essentially you'll have to wait longer before you can submit your entire application, not a big deal really. I had it done about 2.5 years ago, my refraction was about -6.00 or so in both eyes, have 20/20 vision now and leave for USMC OCC 187 in 3 weeks, good luck!

 

[wingnutt]

...and leave for USMC OCC 187 in 3 weeks, good luck!

whatsamatter...cant handle kansas anymore???

 

[Luchini]

Both the Navy and the Marine Corps fall under the same regulations, their refractive limit for PRK is -5.50 with a wait time of 3 months, and MAX of -8.00 with a wait time of 6 months, so essentially you'll have to wait longer before you can submit your entire application, not a big deal really. I had it done about 2.5 years ago, my refraction was about -6.00 or so in both eyes, have 20/20 vision now and leave for USMC OCC 187 in 3 weeks, good luck!

So are you sure the max is 8.0? I was really set on becoming an officer after I got my BA but the whole max 5.5 thing really set me off.

 

[Future SNA]

Yes, I'm 100% positive the max is 8.00, you just have to extend the wait to apply to 6 months, I'm sure a quick search of the internet can yield all the information you'll need on it, so I won't post too much.

Wingnutt, moving back to the great State of Kansas as we speak, and if I can get over the loss of my beloved Chiefs, I think I'll be alright! Do I know you?

 

[Luchini]

Thanks for the info Future SNA. I tried scouring the net but most of the times it has so much technical mumbo jumbo its hard to sort out exactly what the requirements are. With that being said how many hours a month do naval or marine aviators average a month and is a pilot slot difficult to obtain? Also how long is the commitment? I believe its 10 years but want to double check.

 

[Future SNA]

Most of my answers will be just what I've "heard" about hours per month, etc so don't quote me too much. Committment I believe is 6 years after winging for helos, 8 after winging for fixed wing, but should be 8 for both in the near future. Hours per month varies, but I've heard about 15-20 during workups, etc, and you can typically expect more when you're deployed. I look at it like this, I've flown as much as 120 hours per month, which sucks, and as little as 0. There was a long time I only flew about 40 hours a month, which wasn't bad, sometimes I was tired of flying, others I couldn't get enough. So honestly, 15-20, and your pay doesn't suffer? Hell, that's fine with me. As for difficulty of spots, Navy wise I hear they are just so backed up with aviators, even Yeager couldn't get in. Marines? I guess it can't be that hard, I got in with the Marine Corps first try so it never hurts to try, I had a good college gpa, good test scores, pretty good PFT score, and mucho flying hours, so that helped me. I do think there are a lot of competitive applicants out there, and yeah it may be difficult, but this is pretty much every civilian pilots dream, so BY FAR it's worth the try. By far I'm a believer that timing is everything, and right now the timing seems to be good for Air Applicants for USMC. BTW, www.airwarriors.com has a wealth of info.

 

[AxisVDP]

"Im about 2 years away from my associates degree."

I thought you needed a bachelor's degree to join the military as an officer.

 

[wingnutt]

I thought you needed a bachelor's degree to join the military as an officer.

...not to be a warrant officer