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Need Help Understanding Military Aviator Vision Requirements...

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jelly

Registered User
First off, I just want to say to the founders of this board...it's great to have such a resource on the 'net for us who are contempletaing a career in military aviation and are looking to learn more or just hang out with people that share a similar interest.

My question at the moment is this: Plainly spoke, I'm a good deal nearsighted, but my goal is to become a pilot (either fixed or rotary wing) in a branch of the service.

The Marines have always been at the top of my list, and looking at vision requirements for Navy/Marine aviators, it looks like the "spec" calls for an applicant's uncorrected vision can be no worse than 20/100 (correctable to 20/20) in each eye.

Now, since I'm nearsighted, and don't believe my vision is as good as 20/100 (don't know how "bad" this is, and I need to get a vision test since I haven't had one in years!), what are my chances of becoming a military aviator?

Is it possibly to have PRK surgery before going into the military and still be able to fly?

I guess what confuses my is that they state "uncorreted" vision can be no worse that 20/100...but what if you have the surgery before you take the test?

Thanks,

Jelly.
 

NeoCortex

Castle Law for all States!!!
pilot
to be an NFO your vision can be 20/100 corrected to 20/20, if you want to be a pilot your vision can be no worse than 20/40 corrected to 20/20. Also you near vision has to be 20/20 uncorrected. I had PRK done. The way it works is you have a pre and post op vision. when you put in for the waiver you turn in all your medical info from the eye docs. and they give you a waiver, if everything is ok. So basicly what I"m saying is it doesn't matter what your pre-op vision is (Except for your Diopt to see how long after the surgery you have to wait to apply). According to where in the US you are, I would go to one of the Lasik centers and have a check done, they do it for free. Tell them exactly what you want, PRK, and why, because you want to be a pilot in the military. and let them tell you what they think the chances are of your vision being good enough. I had the top of the line pocedure and it cost $3600, so it's not cheep.

If you need any more info, feel free to post or PM me.
 

pennst8

Next guy to ask about thumbdrives gets shot.
Contributor
NeoCortex,
$3600 per eye or for both?

Damn, there goes my car fund.
 

NeoCortex

Castle Law for all States!!!
pilot
for both, I had a great doc. Got the new Aslom Laser, Custom Cornia, Flying spot. All of the latest Tech. The custom Corina, they bounce light off the back of your eye and measure it. you want that light to bounce back as flat as possible. Then they take that info, feed it into the coomputer and the computer uses the laser to fix your eye. It was great. By the end of the week after teh surgery I was seeing 20/30, by the end of the 2nd I was seeing 20/20, then it moved up to 20/15.

Also, I have the "life time warranty". So if my vision gets worse, they go back and fix it for free.
 

EA-6B1

PLC Jrs 1st Inc. Kilo-3
Neo,
The Lasik center did a consultation for free? There's one doc that I've gotten info from, and he wants $200 for a day of testing to see if my eyes are a go. This sound right? Also, how did you know what "technology" was top of the line at the time? Has the laser changed since you had it done? Thanks.
 

NeoCortex

Castle Law for all States!!!
pilot
yeah it was free!!! I can't believe that they wanted you to pay to see if you could pay even more to have your eyes done. I knew that the laser was top of the line, because it had just come out 2 weeks before I had the surgery. You can usually find out online, but the docs that did my surgery told me about it. They didn't pressure me into anything, just wanted what was best for me. I"m not sure about the laser changeing, but I"m going in for my 6 month checkup on Apr 8th and I'll ask.

The place I had it done was www.Lasikplus.com thought they were great. I also have some $100 off coupon if anyone wants one. Just PM me.
 

Daedalus

Registered User
Almost every place will do it for free. Some doctors that like to charge 6-7k for the surgery will charge you for it. Go somewhere that doesn't charge. If you don't like the doctor you don't have to pay or have financial pressure to have that dr do it.

Not exactly the right place, but Neo, can you tell me what your astb, gpa etc were when applying, are you prior? Are there more slots out there than there were for the past few years, any idea?
 

Daedalus

Registered User
One note on technology. When a new laser comes out they have to tweak the algorithm to get the best results for everyone. Glad to see you got great results Neo, but I would get something that has been around the block with good results.
 

NeoCortex

Castle Law for all States!!!
pilot
Sure Daedalus,

ASTB - 59 7/7/7
GPA 2.85 BS Econ, Minors in Chm/Bio/MIS
I put in my app on Feb 17th or so and got Pro Rec'd SNA on Mar 10, still waiting on my Final Select
Had good LoRs
Alot of leadership, sports, and other stuff in college
 
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